The Black Panthers: The 761st Tank Battalion in World War II

Gina DiNicolo is the author of The Black Panthers: a story of race, war, and courage: the 761st Tank Battalion in World War II. She will share the history of the 761st Tank Battalion, a mainly Black U.S. tank unit as well as the research journey in accurately composing such a work. The significance of the unit is its combat success as a U.S. tank battalion. She will tell the full and unvarnished history of this important American fighting force. Relying on extensive archival research, including documents not consulted in previous accounts and interviews with surviving soldiers and family members, Ms. DiNicolo will describe the unit--its training, deployment, combat, and notably its men, such as Sergeant Ruben Rivers, one of only seven African American men awarded the Medal of Honor for World War II heroism. The professionalism, dedication, and courage of the 761st endures.

Gina DiNicolo, Baltimore-born, and Anne Arundel County-raised, is a military historian and award-winning journalist who has written on military topics for more than two decades. She was a contributing editor at Military Officer magazine, where more than twenty of her stories graced the publication's cover. She is a 1984 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with a degree in history and was an officer in the Marine Corps. She is a passionate Argentine Tango dancer. She holds a doctorate in clinical psychology and resides in Annapolis, Md.