Staff Sargent Ruben Rivers in uniform
On November 16th, 1944 while trying to advance into Guebling, France, Rivers' tank ran over a landmine near the railroad crossing into the town. Rivers' leg was cut to the bone by shrapnel and he was given the order to evacuate but refused both that and morphine over the next few days. Rivers took command of another tank and kept his company advancing into and then taking Guebling on November 19th. Later the same day Rivers was killed while trying to draw enemy fire away from American infantry when his tank was hit and exploded killing everyone in it. Rivers' had decided to take his tank out into the open to cover the retreating ground troops sacrificing himself to save many men.
WWII tank similar to what Rivers commanded
Rivers was originally recommended for the Medal of Honor a day after his death on November 20th, 1944 for the Medal of Honor by Captain Williams for his heroic actions in Guebling, France. However, like many other African-American soldiers during the war, he was not recognized for his service and sacrifice at the time and did not receive his medal of honor until more than fifty years later. Grace Woodfork, one of Rivers' sisters was awarded his medal in his place along with six other African-American families by Bill Clinton in 1997.
Of the over four hundred medals of honor awarded to soldiers and their families for their heroic actions in the second world war, not a single one went to an African-American soldier or his family. George Watson, Charles L. Thomas, Willy F. James Jr, John R. Fox, Edward A. Carter Jr, and Vernon Baker were the other six African-American men awarded medals of honor for their service in WWII. Vernon Baker is the only veteran of the seven to receive the medal himself, all the other men were awarded their medals posthumously.
He is interred at the Lorraine American Cemetery in St. Avold, France.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruben_Rivers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_African-American_Medal_of_Honor_recipients
http://www.761st.com/j1/index.php/history/ssg-ruben-rivers
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/find-a-grave-prod/photos/2011/196/10693715_131088417155.jpg
https://special-ops.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Sgt.-Ruben-Rivers.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbkdu1gBnkFFYz6zfcIgVd2jZhsNdwF2SI7z_KIS43wQVWoeQImD5S-ZSg_yPTAs3ossnTXb69-0VxGd6NmfHZFvultBm9aTTwqvcDZnmT75arvwUesSaWyo4BusZUMoAPhMhaKE0mpsg/s1600/rive rs%2Bstatue.jpg
http://media.beliefnet.com/~/media/photos/inspiration/galleries/five-african-american-war-heroes/rubenrivers.jpg?h=318
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2010/07/15/us/15baker_190-2/15baker_190-2-popup.gif
Monument dedicated to Staff Sargent Rivers
Of the over four hundred medals of honor awarded to soldiers and their families for their heroic actions in the second world war, not a single one went to an African-American soldier or his family. George Watson, Charles L. Thomas, Willy F. James Jr, John R. Fox, Edward A. Carter Jr, and Vernon Baker were the other six African-American men awarded medals of honor for their service in WWII. Vernon Baker is the only veteran of the seven to receive the medal himself, all the other men were awarded their medals posthumously.
Vernon Baker receiving Medal of Honor from Bill Clinton in 1997
He is interred at the Lorraine American Cemetery in St. Avold, France.
Ruben Rivers' grave at Lorraine American Cemetery
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruben_Rivers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_African-American_Medal_of_Honor_recipients
http://www.761st.com/j1/index.php/history/ssg-ruben-rivers
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/find-a-grave-prod/photos/2011/196/10693715_131088417155.jpg
https://special-ops.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Sgt.-Ruben-Rivers.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbkdu1gBnkFFYz6zfcIgVd2jZhsNdwF2SI7z_KIS43wQVWoeQImD5S-ZSg_yPTAs3ossnTXb69-0VxGd6NmfHZFvultBm9aTTwqvcDZnmT75arvwUesSaWyo4BusZUMoAPhMhaKE0mpsg/s1600/rive rs%2Bstatue.jpg
http://media.beliefnet.com/~/media/photos/inspiration/galleries/five-african-american-war-heroes/rubenrivers.jpg?h=318
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2010/07/15/us/15baker_190-2/15baker_190-2-popup.gif
Informative post about a noteworthy soldier and his achievements. It is sad to see that so many good soldiers were either denied or delayed in recognition for their achievements based on race. I also find it curious that he was buried in France and not in the US. Do you know why this is?
ReplyDeleteFor more information on Vernon Baker:
http://www.pbs.org/weta/americanvalor/stories/baker.html
I appreciate how this post provided me with a lot of information about Ruben Rivers. Being one of only seven African-American men awarded a medal of honor from World War II. It's great to learn about his many achievements. It's clear that racism was still a large issue at the time – reason for why he was not recognized for his service and sacrifice.
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