The 827th Tank Destroyer Battalion was an all-black unit operating in the German theater during World War II.

“Enemy tank destruction was our business, and that’s all we wanted to do.” – Pfc. Charles Branson, assistant gunner, 827th Tank Destroyer Battalion.

They served bravely, and on one particularly fruitful day the unit brought down eleven German tanks, scattering the rest of the enemy. The next day they bagged another four. Unfortunately, racial animosities prevented the 827 from amassing more victories. The unit was largely disbanded and its black soldiers were relegated to non-combat duties. It was a shameful time, but one that underscores a larger truth about the American spirit – we have always been fighters, even when we ourselves are the victims of injustice.

Details of this battalion were pulled largely from Christopher Paul Moore’s book Fighting For America: Black Soldiers – The Unsung Heroes of World war II.

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