Paul L. Bates
Paul L. Bates | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Paul Levern Bates |
| Born | March 4, 1908 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | February 21, 1995 (aged 86) Dunedin, Florida, U.S. |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Service/ |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1941–1963 |
| Rank |  Colonel |
| Commands held | 761st Tank Battalion |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards |  Silver Star Legion of Merit Bronze Star Medal (2) Purple Heart |
Paul Levern Bates (March 4, 1908 – February 21, 1995) was a United States Army officer. He served a distinguished and decorated career in the Army, which most notably included commanding the first black tank battalion to enter combat in World War II. He also became well known as the white colonel who refused to court-martial future Baseball Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson.
Early life
Bates was born in
World War II
In January 1943, then Lieutenant Colonel Bates took command of the
When the unit completed training in rigidly segregated boot camps in Louisiana and Texas, Bates refused a promotion from lieutenant colonel that would have separated him from what he regarded as one of the best tank battalions in the Army.[2]: 29 He was eventually promoted to colonel.
While in Texas, Bates refused to court-martial a black officer who had refused to move to the rear of a bus at
The 761st entered combat in November 1944 as part of General
Ironically, Bates was the first member of the 761st to be wounded.
In 1978, after a 33-year struggle by the unit's veterans, President Jimmy Carter awarded the 761st a Presidential Unit Citation "for extraordinary heroism in action".
Later years
Following his retirement, Colonel Bates remained in close touch with the veterans of the 761st and their families, attending yearly reunions and establishing a scholarship at McDaniel College for lineal descendants of the battalion members who served the unit from August 1944 through April 1945. The Paul L. Bates Memorial Scholarship Fund was established in 1999 under the terms of his will, and is administered and maintained by the Board of Trustees of McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland.[4]
In 1993, the 761st made news because of a
Colonel Bates was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on March 1, 1995, with full military honors.[3] His wife, Taffy Bates, died in Florida, Sunday, October 19, 2014. She was 96. Born Helen Rosen in Queens, New York, "Taffy," a name she fashioned for herself, volunteered for duty as an Army nurse during World War II.[5]
See also
References
- ^ Van Gelder, Lawrence (February 25, 1995). "Paul Bates, Head of Black Tank Unit, Dead at 86". The New York Times.
- ^ ISBN 0385503385.
- ^ a b "Paul Levern Bates, Colonel, United States Army". Arlington National Cemetery. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
- ^ "Scholarship". 761st Tank Battalion. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
- ^ "Taffy Bates, 1918-2014". 761st Tank Battalion. Archived from the original on June 12, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2022.