Arthur J. (Junior) Whitbeck

Arthur Whitbeck - The African American Soldier

Arthur Whitbeck was born in the town of Hudson, north of New York. Immediately after his high school education, he enlisted in the army. At Camp Claiborne in Louisiana, he was trained as a tank crewmember, assigned to B Company of 784th Tank Battalion. As an African American he experienced segregation in the army firsthand. On March 4, 1945 B Company of 784th Tank Battalion took part in the battle for the German village of Kamperbruch. Arthur and his comrades' tank was hit by anti-tank guns.

Arthur did not survive, dying from his injuries at the age of 21.

Growing up in Hudson, New York

It is not known when exactly Arthur J. (Junior) Whitbeck was born, but it is likely to have been in 1924. He was the son of Arthur (ca. 1904 -?) And Agnes (ca. 1903 - ?) Whitbeck. He had one brother - Irving (ca. 1926-201?) - and two sisters: Betty (ca. 1928-2012) and Jean (ca 1930-2011).

The family Whitbeck was of African American descent and lived in the town of Hudson, along the river north of New York. Hudson is generally regarded as the oldest settlement along the Hudson River and was named after Henry Hudson, the 16th century English explorer who first explored the river.

The Whitbeck family was descended directly from the founder of Hudson, the Dutch settler John Thomas Van Witbeck, who around 1660 bought land from the local Indians (the Mohicans) and settled there with his family. ( "Van" was omitted in the course of time and replaced with 'h'). Arthur J. Whitbeck was therefore of African American and Dutch descent.

The father of the family worked in a garage and at the outbreak of the war the family lived at 6 Spring Street in Hudson. Arthur's grandfather nicknamed him 'Snookie'. That name also appears on a preserved shopping list sent to his grandmother asking her to buy supplies and to send them to the front. Arthur's requests included writing paper, brushes, crackers and socks.

Camp Claiborne

At the outbreak of the war Arthur was still a student at Hudson High School, where he graduated in 1942. He played basketball, softball and football. He was also a good (left-handed) bowler. Shortly before graduating, Arthur joined up on December 1, 1942.

Arthur was sent to Camp Claiborne, where he first received his training as a soldier and then trained as a tank technician. Camp Claiborne was a huge military training camp in Louisiana. Between 1939 and 1946 more than a million soldiers were stationed there for shorter or longer periods. Several military units were established at Camp Claiborne, including 5 5 US Tank Group, which consisted758 Tank Battalion, 761 Tank Battalion and 784 Tank Battalion where Arthur served.

What was special about these tank battalions was that they consisted entirely of African American soldiers, while some senior officers were white. This was due to the fact that during World War II the US military was completely segregated (of which more later).

This can also be seen from theHeadstone Inscription and Interment Record, where his burial information is recorded. In the Race Code(Race) is a 2. ‘1’ Meaning white, ‘2’ meaning ‘black’…

Tank technician 784th Tank Battalion

Arthur Whitbeck was assigned to B Company (Baker) of 784 Tank Battalion, which was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel George Dalia. The battalion consisted of little more than 700 men equipped with light reconnaissance tanks M5 Stuart (17 units) and M4 Sherman tanks (54 units). Arthur Whitbeck was part of a Sherman tank crew.

The crew of such a Sherman tank consisted of five people: a driver, a machine gunner, a gun-loader, a gunner and a commander. It is not clear what position Arthur held: one source speaks of him as a driver and the other as a gun-loader, and another talks about promotion to commander. Probably the truth lies somewhere in the middle, and during his military career he probably held all positions.

His last rank was certainly that of Technician Fourth Grade (T/4), a rank which we do not have in the Netherlands, and is similar to a rank between corporal and sergeant first class.

From 5 US Tank Group is 761 Tank Battalion – nicknamed ‘The Black Panthers’ – is the most famous. Their motto wasCome out fighting. Their motto was Come out Fighting. They were General George Patton's first African American combat unit in the war. On the eve of their first combat operations, General George Patton spoke to the men of761 Tank Battalion 761st Tank Battalion in his typical style:

“Men, you're the first Negro tankers to ever fight in the American Army. 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 Kraut sonsofbitches [= klote-moffen]. Everyone has their eyes on you and is expecting great things from you. Most of all your race is looking forward to your success. Don't let them down and damn you, don't let me down!”

The soldiers of761 Tank Battalion would ultimately amaze not only Patton, but also everyone, by taking part in the battle continuously for 183 days, a tremendous achievement.

The Sherman tank

The M4 Sherman tank - usually shortened to: Sherman tank - named after US General William T. Sherman, who fought during the Civil War for the Northerners. It was the tank most used tank by the Allies in World War II. A total of about 49,000 were produced.

There were several versions of the Sherman Tank. Almost all of them had as the main weapon a 75-mm cannon. The tank was very high, so it was an easy target for enemy tanks and anti-tank guns. Additionally, the armor, especially at the back, was very thin allowing fuel and engine and stored ammunition to quickly catch fire.

Therefore, the Sherman received the nicknames Tommy Cooker en Ronson because so many tank crews burned. (Ronson was a lighter brand with the slogan:Lights First Every Time)

Later in the war, water bags hung around the ammunition, a simple measure by which the probability of a tank flre was reduced after a hit from 60% to 15 %.

Segregation

The US military was, just as American society, fully segregated at the outbreak of World War II. That was no secret. A study by the US Army in 1925 stated, “Blacks are mentally inferior, by nature subservient, and cowards in the face of danger. They are therefor unfit for combat”.

Many white Americans believed that African Americans lacked the ability and courage to be good soldiers. General George Patton addressed the men of 761 Tank Battalion and praised them before he sent them into battle, but on the way back from that speech he said to his (white) fellow officers: “They gave a good first impression, but I have no faith in the inherent fighting ability of the race”.

Due to these doubts about the qualities of African Americans - or Negros as they were then called by everyone - black soldiers were assigned to support the troops, as drivers, and for the supply and transport of materials and supplies. The graves for the fallen soldiers at the Margraten cemetery were dug by African Americans.

What added to the anti-African American feelings was that many whites were afraid of what would happen if black soldiers had weapons in their hand, would they not then suddenly turn against their white compatriots?

Thanks to first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and General Lesley McNair there were still some 'colored' combat units deployed in battle. This included the three battalions of 5 US Tank Group and the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African American soldiers who were trained as fighter pilots and bomber pilots. After their training, they were placed in 477 Bombardment Group en 332 Fighter Groupnicknamed the ‘Red Tails’. George Lucas (known for Star Wars films) made a film based on these world famous black aviators - the 2012 film Red Tails (referring to the red tails of the P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft of 332 FG).

However, at the time it was virtually impossible to have military units from both white and black soldiers. The army units were either all white or all black. The officers of the African American armed forces were white.

Discrimination was still the order of the day, especially in the southern states where the backlash from slavery was still ongoing. Arthur Whitbeck - a native of upstate New York - would certainly have had to deal with discrimination during his time at Camp Claiborne in the deep south of the United States.

Eventually President Roosevelt in 1948 abolished segregation in the US Army, but Arthur Whitebeck would not live to see that.

The Sherman tank

784 Tank Battalion left America on October 30, 1944 and reached the port of Le Havre in France on Christmas Day. The front was at that time along the German border and the Ardennes offensive was in full swing.

The battalion went right through Soissons (F), Belgium and South Limburg. Arthur's unit passed Maastricht. Within a week they had advanced from Normandy to the German border.

In the first two months of 1945, 784 Tank Battalion was involved in combat operations just across the Dutch-German border. On December 31 they moved to Germany in Eschweiler and they were first engaged in combat operations. In February they were in Geilenkirchen, Hilfarth and Wassenberg.

The allied army at that time occupied the area between the border with Germany and the Ruhr in order to gain control. The next goal was to capture the area to the Rhine.

On 26 February 784 Tank Battalion crossed the Roer and joined, along with some other units, Task Force Byrne, whose task it was to advance the to the Rhine and to take out any German resistance they would encounter. They went up the east side of theSiegfried Line and attacked the last German defense. On March 2 they were in Venlo (the day before it was liberated) and in Germany on 3 March.

While taking Kamperbruch

Task Force Byrne was successful in its mission and Arthur and his comrades made great progress. That changed on the evening of March 2. B Company of 784 Tank Battalion was ordered to participate in a night attack on the village of Sevelen. That was heavily defended by German Fallschirmjäger units (= parachutists).

Initially, there was little opposition, but that changed when the Allied troops reached the center of Sevelen. The Germans blew up a bridge on the south of the village so the American soldiers were cut off from reinforcements and supplies. Arthur and his comrades would have spent several nerve-racking hours, but at the end of the morning of 3 March, the German resistance was broken and Sevelen was in the hands of the Americans. 53 German soldiers were killed and 207 were taken prisoner. The rest of the day the battalion remained in Sevelen.

On March 4, B Company 784 Tank Battalion and the first battalion of 320 Infantry Division were instructed to attack the village of Kamperbruch. The commander expected little German resistance, but in this he was mistaken. The Germans had two Buster - 75 mm PAK 40 (= Panzer Abwehr Kanone) - aimed at the tanks of 784 Tank Battalion which came under fire. Three tanks were hit, including Arthurs'. In addition, he and two of his comrades - William Hogue and Albert Harte - were killed. Arthur Whitbeck was killed on March 4, 1945 - he was 21 years old.

Memories

On March 16, 1945 Whitbeck the family received the news that no family ever wants to hear. The original message is preserved: The secretary of war desires to express his deep regret that your son TEC 4 Whitbeck Arthur J was killed in action in Germany 4 Mar 45, J A Ulio The Adjutant General.

After Arthur's death, his family received two letters from officers of 784 Tank Batallion. Staff Officer Wilbur Smith wrote on March 9, the letter to inform the Whitbeck family of the death of their son and writes: "Arthur was one of our people who worked hard to make the unit into a well-trained and hard fighting team. He was a great NCO [...]. Thanks to his kindness, great character and good sense, he held a position of respect and admiration by all who knew him".

In an undated letter to the family Whitbeck, 1st Sergeant Evans 784th Tank Batallion later writes about the memories that the men of the battalion had: Arthur was a clean cut soldier and held up the morale of the army. We, the men of the company, have missed him so much, he was the life of the company.

Arthur Whitbeck found his final resting place in Margraten. He is buried in Section K, Row 14, Grave 1. His comrades Harte and Hogue are buried at Margraten: T / 5 Albert Harte Section E, Row 5, Grave 6 and PVT (private = soldier 1st class) William Hogue in section D, row 9, grave 11.

For its military actions, he was awarded the Purple Heart medal, the New York Conspicious Service Cross, the European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal. These medals were awarded to Arthur's family in 2002. (It may seem strange that this happened so late, but it is certainly no exception. Soldiers who survived were automatically handed the medals or sent home with the war medals. In the case of fallen soldiers things were often different. Sometimes medals did not arrive or they fell into the wrong hands or they were simply not sent to relatives. Many of these errors or mistakes were only rectified in the late 90s or later. In the case of Arthur Whitbeck, it could have been that the role of African American soldiers in the war was neglected and only later given more attention.)