"I believe theirs is a story that should be known," Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said of the 761st tank battalion.
The six-time NBA MVP spoke at Bowdoin on October 6 at 7:00 p.m. in Morrell Gymnasium. His new book, Brothers in Arms, tells the impressive story of the battalion, the U.S. Army's first black armored unit to fight in World War II. Anthony Walton, Bowdoin writer-in-residence, co-authored the book and organized Abdul-Jabbar's appearance at Bowdoin.
"I think Mr. Abdul-Jabbar's visit to the campus is significant because he is an American of great accomplishment and experience in a number of areas, and it is an honor for us to have him here," Walton said prior to the lecture. "Also, it will be interesting to hear his presentation, and to hear his views, perhaps, on other subjects."
Abdul-Jabbar began his talk Wednesday by reading a short excerpt from Brothers in Arms, and then briefly answered questions from the audience, allowing the talk to last just under an hour. He explained how a longtime friend of his father's, Leonard "Smitty" Smith, first sparked his interest in the 761st tank battalion. Smith served as a police officer with Abdul-Jabbar's father, but for many years never mentioned his involvement in World War II to anyone, which Abdul-Jabbar later discovered is very common among war veterans. It wasn't until years after Abdul-Jabbar's childhood, at a screening for a documentary about the 761st battalion, that he became aware of Smitty's military background.
Abdul-Jabbar was so deeply affected by the documentary that he began a 12-year project to research the record of the 761st battalion, conducting both audio and video interviews with its members. Walton became a part of this process and helped Abdul-Jabbar express the honor and integrity of the men.
"It was awe-inspiring, and fun, to interview Leonard Smith, William McBurney, and Preston McNeil, and several of the other soldiers," Walton said. "To listen to men who had survived the Saar and the Battle of the Bulge tell their first-hand stories brought those moments of history alive for me in ways I hadn't anticipated."
The 761st battalion was formed at a time when blacks were being trained in order to gain support from the black community, and were not actually permitted to go to war. They were sent to Europe when there was a critical need for troops, but instead of fighting on the front line for two months before rotating out, these men were kept on the front line for six months. In the time that the men of the 761st were in battle, they liberated over 30 villages and numerous concentration camps, while simultaneously facing a 50 percent casualty rate, low supplies, unskilled leaders, and intense racism. They made history as the first all-black tank battalion, but their story is one that has regrettably been forgotten.
Abdul-Jabbar made a point of expressing how necessary Brothers in Arms is to history, given the fact that our country is losing thousands of World War II veterans every day. He also informed the audience that the book is being made into a motion picture to be directed by Denzel Washington.
In the Q&A session following the lecture, questions focused on the broader topic of race relations in America. The men of the 761st battalion came home from war only to be faced with intense racism and hatred. Since then, Abdul-Jabbar feels America has come a long way in repairing race relations, with the Civil Rights Movement as perhaps the most concrete example of our country's success in developing racial equality. When asked if he feels that there is still racism in America, he responded that he doesn't think there is.
"Americans see other Americans regardless of color as fellow Americans...I want blacks and whites to help each other make a better place for all of us."