Dramatizations and Portrayals
In 1992, a documentary titled Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War II was produced. The documentary depicted the battalion's liberation of concentration camps during 1945, but was criticized for misidentifying the precise units and camps involved. There was speculation that the movie was intended to reduce tensions between the Jewish and African-American communities.
Most recently, Steven A. White executive produced an independent, feature length, high definition documentary on the 761st Tank Battalion. The film, entitled 761st is written, produced, and directed by Pete Chatmon and produced by 761st Tank Battalion unit historian, Wayne Robinson. It features interviews with eleven combat veterans of the 761st and is narrated by Andre Braugher.
Several of the later episodes of The History Channel series Patton 360 featured 761st veteran William McBurney who related his experiences with the battalion in the Lorraine Campaign, the Battle of the Bulge, and in the ultimate conquest of the German homeland.
A 1993 episode of Law & Order titled "Profile" featured a 72 year-old assault victim played by Joe Seneca who credited his experiences with the 761st for saving his life.
In an episode of The Cosby Show, Cliff Huxtable and some male friends are discussing their military experiences and one of them describes in detail his World War II exploits as a member of the 761st Tank Battalion.
Actor Morgan Freeman and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are co-producing a new movie about the 761st, based on Jabbar’s and co-writer Anthony Walton's 2004 book, Brothers in Arms. On 15 December 2006, Freeman discussed the film and working with Will Smith, and possibly Denzel Washington, on it in the near future.
In the science-fiction novel, The Light of Men (2008) by Andrew Salmon, the 761st liberate the fictional concentration camp of Gutundbose in which the story is set.
In the 1981 police mystery Chiefs, written by Stuart Woods, and the CBS mini-series of the same name, the 761st is mentioned as the unit of the ill-fated black mechanic Marshall Parker, killed after being arrested on false pretenses by Sonny Butts and Charley Ward, beaten and shot. Later, it is revealed as having been the unit of the new black police chief of Delano, GA, Tucker Watts, who was once, much earlier, known as Willie Cole, whose father had murdered Delano's first chief of police, Will Henry Lee.
Read more about this topic: 761st Tank Battalion (United States)
Famous quotes containing the word portrayals:
“We attempt to remember our collective American childhood, the way it was, but what we often remember is a combination of real past, pieces reshaped by bitterness and love, and, of course, the video past—the portrayals of family life on such television programs as “Leave it to Beaver” and “Father Knows Best” and all the rest.”
—Richard Louv (20th century)