[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 130 (Saturday, August 5, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1689]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


     INTRODUCTION OF BILL TO HONOR SERGEANT RUBEN RIVERS WITH THE 
                      CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR

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                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, August 4, 1995
  Mr. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, together with 63 other Members 
of the House, today I introduce a bipartisan bill that would enable the 
President to award posthumously the Congressional Medal of Honor to 
Sgt. Ruben Rivers.
  In 1944, a serious injustice occurred. Although Sgt. Ruben Rivers 
showed extraordinary courage and sacrificed his life for his country 
during World War II, he nonetheless was passed over by his superiors 
for the Congressional Medal of Honor. It is most appropriate that we 
reconsider Sergeant Rivers for the medal this year, while we are 
commemorating the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.
  Sergeant Rivers was part of the all-black 761st Tank Battalion. The 
battalion was called upon by General Patton to liberate Bougaltroff, 
France from Nazi control. During a fierce battle, Rivers drove his tank 
over a mine and was injured, his thigh lacerated to the bone. Rivers 
was ordered by his commander to retreat to safety for medical 
treatment. Sergeant Rivers not only refused to abandon his fellow 
soldiers, he also refused morphine so that he could remain alert and 
continue fighting. Rivers fought on for days until he was killed during 
another battle while trying to knock out Nazi positions firing on his 
company. Rivers, from Tecumseh, OK was 25 years old. Sergeant Rivers' 
nephew, former Richmond Mayor George Livingston, lives in Richmond, CA, 
in my district.
  Capt. David Williams, a white officer, immediately recommended to his 
superiors that Rivers receive the Medal of Honor posthumously. As was 
the case with other black soldiers, the recommendation for Rivers was 
never acted on. The Department of the Army establish a 1952 deadline 
for conferring the Medal of Honor for service in World War II. This 
bill waives that deadline for Sergeant Rivers, thereby enabling the 
President to present the medal to Rivers' sister, who is still alive 
and is fighting for this recognition.
  To date, no African-American has received the Congressional Medal of 
Honor for service in World War II, even though over 1.2 million black 
soldiers served in that war. This blemish on our Nation's history 
should be wiped clean, and we should start by allowing the Department 
of the Army to reconsider Sergeant Rivers for the Congressional Medal 
of Honor. 



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