Brothers in Arms: The Epic Story of the 761st Tank Battalion, WWII’s Forgotten Heroes
By: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Anthony Walton / Narrated By: Richard Allen
Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
A very proud addition to Audiobook Accomplice’s Military History!
It was a wondrous day when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar discovered that his longtime childhood mentor was actually a WWII war hero. The man, Leonard Smith, was part of the 761st Battalion, the first all-black tank battalion to see combat in the war. The audiobook, Brothers in Arms, opens with scenes of action and tragedy, and instantly we the listeners come to care about the young men who bravely and courageously sacrificed so much during that skirmish.
While the book says it follows only three men of the battalion, it actually tells the stories of so many more. I can’t even begin to jot down all the men I came to care about. I’d love to, but unfortunately, this is one of the few audiobooks that I didn’t get the kindle version of also, so I have no idea how to spell their names, and I’d rather not besmirch their memories by fumbling with all sorts of misspellings; suffice it to say that there are numerous young men who did a whole helluva lot during a huuuuuge stretch of combat.
But it’s not just about combat, though that’s my favorite. It’s also about the subtle, the blatant, the horrific discrimination that they endured all while trying to serve a country that sought to keep them as no more than second-class citizens. Black men weren’t supposed to see combat. Ever. They were supposed to learn and drill and never see action, just support white units during the whole of the war. Men from the north, where they were still slighted, really came to know how much a country and a large assortment of white people viewed them with hatred and fear. Indeed, when the battalion was sent overseas was where they first felt absolute inclusion. Ironically, the Germans treated the young men better than our own country did. Though racist white troops tried telling local populations that blacks were beasts and animals and had tails, the dignity of the black troops, their friendliness, brought the populations around.
Brothers in Arms tells of racism, tells of war battles, tells of tactics and maneuvers. It tells of good and true friendships. In short, it’s everything I love in military history: the personal, the impersonal war, the courage and self-sacrifice.
Richard Allen’s narration kinda left a bit to be desired. He mispronounces place names, names of rivers and battles, but at least he’s true to the voices of the men. It would’ve been better with say, Kevin Free doing the honors, but there ya go: I’ll take what I can get.
The audiobook ends with a quick interview of two of the surviving members, and that really adds the personal touch. I’d already grown to love those guys, and to hear them as older gentleman felt like an honor.
Quite some time ago, I listened to an audiobook, I can’t even remember the name it was so underwhelming, that was about a group of forgotten black troops who worked with barrage balloons. It was disappointing because, while I thought I was going to be hearing of honorable men, I wound up learning mostly about the uses of barrage balloons. Soooo unfortunate!!! Give me men, flesh and blood men, NOT the equipment they used! So Brothers in Arms was a real treat.
Abdul-Jabbar was honored to have such a man as Leonard Smith in his life (who is an utterly delightful and irreverent young man in the book). And we are honored to have this chronicle added to a history of a tough time in America and abroad. A definite boon!
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.