1. Short title This Act may be cited as the 761st Tank Battalion Congressional Gold Medal Act . 2. Findings The Congress finds the following: (1) The 761st Tank Battalion, known as the Black Panthers , was activated on April 1, 1942, and served as the first predominantly Black American armored battalion in the European Theater of World War II until its deactivation on June 1, 1946, in Germany. (2) Lieutenant Jackie Robinson, the first Black Major League baseball player, was among the few Black officers in the 761st, but he was court martialed before seeing combat for an act of civil disobedience in refusing to move to the back of a bus. (3) Despite resistance from many top-level American politicians and military officers, the 761st served valiantly under Lieutenant General George S. Patton. (4) In his welcoming speech, Patton said, 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… . (5) After entering combat in late fall 1944, the 761st lived up to their motto, Come Out Fighting , enduring 183 days of combat without being pulled from the line. (6) The 761st played a crucial role in numerous battles including the Battle of the Bulge and helped break out the encircled American paratroopers in the town of Bastogne. (7) During their time in combat, the 761st inflicted 130,000 casualties on the Germans while enduring a casualty rate of almost 50 percent with the loss of 71 tanks. (8) As the spearhead for several of Patton’s moves toward Germany, they were the first American unit to break through the Siegfried Line and they were one of the first American units to link up with the Russian Army at the Enns River at Steyr, Austria. (9) Sadly, like other Black soldiers in World War II, members of the 761st did not receive the recognition that was due them upon returning home, and instead faced prejudice at home after the war. (10) The accomplishments of the 761st were largely unrecognized until 1978 when,