Morgan Freeman Shares Personal Connection to ‘761st Tank Battalion: The Original Black Panthers’ Doc
Preview
For Academy Award winner and Air Force veteran Morgan Freeman, making this gripping two-hour documentary about the Black Panthers—the only Black tank unit to see combat during World War II—was an important mission.
761st Tank Battalion: The Original Black Panthers premieres Sunday, August 20 on the History Channel. As detailed below, the doc features an interview with one of the last surviving members of the 761st Battalion, as well as the current and first Black Secretary of Defense, Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III.
“New and archival interviews, period footage, still photographs, and new commentary and stories from family and relatives of the Black Panther soldiers” also help shape the powerful story, per History Channel, in addition to “insights and opinions from prominent historians on WWII and experts on race and inequality in America.”
Here, Freeman (who is featured in the film in addition to executive producing it) talks about how the valiant soldiers succeeded at a time when the U.S. military was segregated.
You executive produced this doc. Why was this story so personal for you?
Morgan Freeman: Black men and women have been involved with every war this country has ever been in and acquitted themselves well. I grew up with movies, and during that period of me growing up, [we weren’t] part of that history being told: no cowboys, no soldiers, nothing. It has to be told.
What was it like to interview the battalion’s last surviving member, Robert Curtis Andry?
Like meeting a hero. The word is enthralled. This is a guy whose body is still full of shrapnel. A guy who almost didn’t survive first contact with the German army.
Andry’s recollections—and historical reports—show they were heroes and true to their motto, “Come Out Fighting.”
They trained more than anybody else, so they were better at it than anybody that even Patton had ever seen. What surprised me was that none of the brass, starting with Eisenhower, thought it was worthwhile to use Black soldiers in combat.
Any hopes for the documentary’s impact?
The more Americans know about our history like the 761st, and the more people talk about it, the better we’re going to be in terms of interactions with each other.
761st Tank Battalion: The Original Black Panthers, Documentary Premiere, Sunday, August 20, 8/7c, History Channel
761st Tank Battalion: The Original Black Panthers where to stream
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