Capt. David Williams has spent 52 years fighting for the Medal of Honor for one of his soldiers. And he believes if the man had been white, he would have won it years ago.
"This is my quest," said Williams, the white commander of Company A of the all-black 761st Tank battalion. "God is going to keep me alive for this."Fifty-two years ago at the height of World War II, a mine in the French town of Guebling tore Staff Sgt. Rube Rivers' leg open to the bone from thigh to ankle. Rivers refused morphine and refused to be pulled out of action, saying, "You'll need me around here."
For three days, the 761st fought on. Rivers was killed by anti-tank fire. He was 25.
A day later, Williams recommended Rivers for the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military honor.
"He deserves this," said Williams, now 76. "He had every chance to go back, but he fought on bravely."
Williams said he is convinced that if Rivers had been white, he would have been honored.
"The racism was horrible," said Williams, who spends his time today writing letters and calling federal officials, hoping to stir support for awarding the medal.
Since Congress created the Medal of Honor in 1863, it has been awarded to 3,400 men and one woman. But of the 1.2 million black soldiers who served in World War II, none have received the medal, awarded to 433 soldiers for service in the war.
In 1993, the Pentagon commissioned a study to find out why.
"It was a different time in our country," said Capt. David Farlow, an Army spokesman. "I think the study is being done to ensure that if any wrongs were done, they are being adequately looked at."
The study, which took 15 months, is completed. Senior Army officials are examining its recommendations.
There are signs that Williams' fight may one day be won. A new Army-commissioned study recommends that officials consider World War II Medals of Honor in the cases of 10 black soldiers, including Rivers.