I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1628 
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the 761st Tank Battalion, collec-
tively, in recognition of their crucial role in the success of Allied forces 
in Europe and for the example they set as the first Black soldiers 
to go to war as part of an American armored unit. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 26, 2025 
Mr. PALMER (for himself, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. ESTES, Mrs. BICE, Mr. DUNN 
of Florida, Mr. STAUBER, Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS, and Mr. MOORE of Ala-
bama) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House Ad-
ministration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the 761st Tank 
Battalion, collectively, in recognition of their crucial role 
in the success of Allied forces in Europe and for the 
example they set as the first Black soldiers to go to 
war as part of an American armored unit. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘761st Tank Battalion 
Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) The 761st Tank Battalion, known as the 
‘‘Black Panthers’’, was activated on April 1, 1942, 
and served as the first predominantly Black Amer-
ican armored battalion in the European Theater of 
World War II until its deactivation on June 1, 1946, 
in Germany. 
(2) Lieutenant Jackie Robinson, the first Black 
Major League baseball player, was among the few 
Black officers in the 761st, but he was court 
martialed before seeing combat for an act of civil 
disobedience in refusing to move to the back of a 
bus. 
(3) Despite resistance from many top-level 
American politicians and military officers, the 761st 
served valiantly under Lieutenant General George S. 
Patton. 
(4) In his welcoming speech, Patton said, ‘‘I 
would never have asked for you if you weren’t good. 
I have nothing but the best in my Army. I don’t care 
what color you are as long as you go up there and 
kill those. . .’’. 
(5) After entering combat in late fall 1944, the 
761st lived up to their motto, ‘‘Come Out Fighting’’, 
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enduring 183 days of combat without being pulled 
from the line. 
(6) The 761st played a crucial role in numerous 
battles including the Battle of the Bulge and helped 
break out the encircled American paratroopers in the 
town of Bastogne. 
(7) During their time in combat, the 761st in-
flicted 130,000 casualties on the Germans while en-
during a casualty rate of almost 50 percent with the 
loss of 71 tanks. 
(8) As the spearhead for several of Patton’s 
moves toward Germany, they were the first Amer-
ican unit to break through the Siegfried Line and 
they were one of the first American units to link up 
with the Russian Army at the Enns River at Steyr, 
Austria. 
(9) Sadly, like other Black soldiers in World 
War II, members of the 761st did not receive the 
recognition that was due them upon returning home, 
and instead faced prejudice at home after the war. 
(10) The accomplishments of the 761st were 
largely unrecognized until 1978 when, over three 
decades after the war, the battalion finally received 
a Presidential Unit Citation. 
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(11) The citation acknowledges ‘‘the extraor-
dinary gallantry, courage, professionalism, and high 
esprit de corps displayed in the accomplishment of 
unusually difficult and hazardous operations in the 
European Theater of Operations’’. 
(12) In addition to that citation, individual 
members of the 761st had earned the following: 1 
Medal of Honor, 11 Silver Stars, and approximately 
300 Purple Hearts. 
(13) The United States is eternally grateful to 
the soldiers of the 761st Tank Battalion for their 
crucial role in the success of Allied forces in Europe 
and for helping ensure freedom around the globe. 
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 
(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 
the House of Representatives and the President pro tem-
pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 
for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold 
medal of appropriate design to the 761st Tank Battalion, 
collectively, in recognition of their crucial role in the suc-
cess of Allied forces in Europe and for the example they 
set as the first Black soldiers to go to war as part of an 
American armored unit. 
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the 
presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 
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