Branch Rickey (3 page)

STATEMENT of Mr. Milton N. Renegar, Bus Driver, Southwestern Bus Company, 7 July 1944:

I drive a bus for the Southwestern Bus Company. At approximately 10:15, 6 July 1944, I was driving my bus and stopped at Bus Stop #23, on 172nd Street, Camp Hood, Texas. Some white ladies, maybe a soldier or so, and a colored girl and a colored Second Lieutenant got on the bus. The colored girl and the colored Lt., whom I later learned to be 2nd Lt. Jack R. Robinson of the 761st Tank Battalion, sat down together about middle ways of the bus. On that particular run I have quite a few of the white ladies who work in the PX's and ride the bus at that hour almost every night. I did not say anything to the colored Lt. when he first sat down, until I got around to Bus Stop #18, and then I asked him, I said, “Lt., if you don't mind, I have got several ladies to pick up at this Stop and will have a load of them before I get back to the Central Bus Station, and would like for you to move back to the rear of the bus if you don't mind.” When I asked him to move back to the rear he just sat there, and I asked him to move back there a second time. When I asked him the second time he started cursing and the first thing he said was, “I'm not going to move a God dammed bit.” I told him that I had a load of ladies to pick up and that I was sure they wouldn't want to ride mixed up like that, and told him I'd rather he would either move back to the rear or get off the bus, one of the two. He kept on cursing and saying he wasn't going to get back, and I told him that he could either get back or he'd be sorry of it when I got to the Bus Station, or words to that effect. He kept saying something about it after I started up the bus, but I could not understand what he was saying. He continued to sit there with the colored girl and the girl did not say anything. When we arrived at the Bus Station I had “Pinky” Younger, the Dispatcher, call the MP's. Everybody on the bus was mad about it. I had asked the Lt. in a nice way to move and he had refused. One of the ladies who was riding said, “I don't mind waiting on them all day, but when I get on the bus at night to go home, I'm not about to ride all mixed up with them.”

This lady works at PX #10 and I believe her daughter works with her and was with her last night. The colored Lt. kept on doing a lot of cursing and the feeling on the bus was pretty bad. All the people were very much upset about the situation and wanted something done about the Lieutenant's attitude. When I told the Dispatcher to call the MP's I told him I was having some trouble with a negro Lieutenant. This white lady asked me if I was going to report the Lieutenant and I told her, “Yes,” and she said, “Well, if you don't I am.” At that time the colored Lieutenant said to the lady, “You better quit fuckin' with me,” and he meant everybody that was trying to do something about the trouble he was causing. There were white women and children and soldiers present, it looked to me like forty or fifty people within hearing distance, and when the Lt. said that, it was outside the Bus Station but could have been heard plainly inside the Station. After the MP's arrived and the Lt. went to get in the patrol wagon he called me a “son-of-a-bitch,” and walked around to get in the wagon, he said, “I don't know why the son-of-a-bitch wanted to give me all this trouble,” and the women were all still there at that time. The MP's just asked the Lt. a few questions and he kept cursing and so the MP told him he was using a lot of bad language in the presence of ladies and told him he was going to take him over to the Provost Marshal Office and let him talk to the Provost Marshal about it. I told the Lieutenant to hush once and he just kept on raving and cursing. What the Lieutenant said to the lady in the presence of other ladies as I have stated it above, he said three or four other times, and said it to everyone there. He also said something about this white lady as he went around to get in the patrol wagon and I know he was cursing the lady, but I could not tell what he said. I heard him say something to the MP about wanting his name and organization, but I don't know what that was. The only time I heard the colored girl who was with him say anything was when he started to leave with the MP's and she just asked him what the trouble was.

 

STATEMENT of Mrs. Virginia Jones, 702 Pearl Street, Belton, Texas, 19 July 1944:

I am the wife of 1st Lt. Gordon H. Jones, Jr., 761st Tank Battalion, Camp Hood, Texas. I was with Lt. Jack R. Robinson on the night of 6 July 1944. We left the colored officers club and caught a bus in front of the officers club. I got on the bus first and sat down, and Lt. Robinson got on and came and sat beside me. I sat in the fourth seat from the rear of the bus, which I always considered the rear of the bus. The bus driver told Lt. Robinson to move and Lt. Robinson said, “I'm not moving.” The bus driver stopped the bus, came back and balled his fist and said, “Will you move back?” Lt. Robinson said, “I'm not moving,” so the bus driver stood there and glared a minute and said, “Well, just sit there until we get down to the bus station.”

We got to the bus station and Lt. Robinson and I were the last two to leave the bus. The bus driver detained Lt. Robinson and demanded to see his pass. Lt. Robinson said, “My pass?” and the bus driver said, “Yes, I want to see your pass.” Lt. Robinson asked why did he want to see his pass, and then we got off the bus. A woman walked up to Robinson and shook a finger in his face and said, “I'm going to report you because you had a right to move when he asked you to.” She stood there and argued with Lt. Robinson awhile, and I don't remember what all was said. Lt. Robinson did not say anything at first and then he said, “Go on and leave me alone.” So she walked into the bus station, and about that time the crowd around the bus driver and Lt. Robinson thinned out, and the bus driver said something to the Lt. which I could not hear. No one was close enough to hear, but whatever it was riled Lt. Robinson and he walked up to the bus driver and said something to the bus driver. I did not hear what he said because I wasn't close enough to hear.

 

STATEMENT of Mrs. Elizabeth Poitevint, Civilian Employee, PX #10, Camp Hood:

When we got to the Central Bus Station we all got off, and the driver asked the Lieutenant for his identification card, and the Lt. said, “I haven't done anything and I'm not going to show you my identification card, I'm going to get on another bus and go on.” The driver said, “I want your identification card to turn you in,” then I said to the driver, “If you want any witnesses for what he has done to you, you can call on me, because I've heard everything he has said.” Then the Lt. turned to me and said, “Listen here you damned old woman, you have nothing to say about what's going on. I didn't want to get into this, they drafted me into this, and my money is just as good as a white man's.” And I told him, I said, “Well, listen buddy, you ought to know where you should sit on a bus.” I started on to the bus station and I asked the bus driver if he was going to report him, and I told him that if he didn't report the colored Lt. then I was going to report him to the MP's. I had to wait on them during the day, but I didn't have to sit with them on the bus. . . .”

 

STATEMENT of General Gerald M. Bear, Captain, Assistant Provost Marshal, Camp Hood, Texas:

Arriving at the MP Guard Room, 2305 on 6 July 1944, I found 2nd Lt. Jack R. Robinson in the MP guard room. I asked the Lt. to step outside the MP Guard Room to wait in the receiving room. Captain Wiggington, Camp OD, was relating and explaining to me what had just occurred as to the incident at the Central Bus Station, Camp Hood, Texas. Lt. Robinson kept continually interrupting Captain Wiggington and myself and kept coming to the guard room door-gate. I cautioned and requested Lt. Robinson on several different occasions to remain at ease and remain in the receiving room, that I would talk to him later. In an effort to try to be facetious, Lt. Robinson bowed with several sloppy salutes, repeating several times, “OK, sir. OK, sir.” on each occasion. I then gave Lt. Robinson a direct order to remain in the receiving room and be seated on a chair, on the far side of the receiving room. Later on I found Lt. Robinson on the outside, talking to the driver of the 761st Tank Battalion OD's jeep. I then directed Lt. Robinson to go inside the building and remain in the receiving room.

Lt. Robinson's attitude in general was disrespectful and impertinent to his superior officers, and very unbecoming to an officer in the presence of enlisted men.

 

STATEMENT of 2
^nd
Lt. Jack R. Robinson, 0-103158, Company B, 761st Tank Battalion, Camp Hood, Texas, taken in the Military Police Orderly room, Camp Hood, Texas, 0030, 7 July, 1944:

I left McCloskey General Hospital, Temple, Texas, about 1730, 6 July 1944, and went to Temple, Texas on the City Bus. I got on another bus and came out to the Officers Club, Camp Hood, Texas, the colored officers club located on 172nd Street. I arrived there at approximately 1930. I was in the club for some time. While in the club I saw Captain McHenry, Lt. Long, Captain Woodruff and Captain Wales.

I remained in the Officers Club until approximately 2½ hours later. At approximately 2200 I got on the bus at 172nd Street and Battalion, I believe, just outside the colored officers club. I got on the Camp Hood bus. I entered at the front of the bus and moved toward the rear and saw a colored girl sitting in a seat at the middle of the bus. I sat down beside the girl. I knew this girl before. Her name is Mrs. Jones. I don't know her first name. She's an officer's wife here on the post. I sat down there and we rode approximately five or six blocks on the bus and the bus driver turns around and tells me to move to the rear which I do not do. . . . He tells me that if I don't move to the rear he will make trouble for me when we get to the bus station, and I told him if he wanted to make trouble for me that was up to him. When we got to the bus station a lady got off the bus before I got off, and she tells me that she is going to prefer charges against me. That was a white lady. And I said that's all right, too, I don't care if she prefers charges against me. The bus driver asked me for my identification card. I refused to give it to him. He then went to the Dispatcher and told him something. What he told him I don't know. He then comes back and tells the people that this nigger is making trouble. I told the bus driver to stop fuckin with me, so he gets the rest of the men around there and starts blowing his top and someone calls the MP's. Outside of telling this lady that I didn't care if she preferred charges against me or not. I don't know if they were around or not, sir, I was speaking direct to that bus driver, and just as I told the captain (indicating Captain Wigginton, Camp Officer of the Day), if any of you called me a nigger I would do the same thing, especially from a civilian, a general, or anybody else. I mean I would tell them the same thing. I told him I'm just using a “general,” any general, if anybody calls me a nigger, I don't know the definition of it. That's just like anyone going around calling you something you don't know what is. The colored girl was going to Belton, her home, and she got off the same time that I got off. The only time I made any statement was when this fellow called me a nigger. I didn't have any loud nor boisterous conversation. That's the only profane language I used if you call it profane. (When told by Captain Bear that that was vulgar and vile language Lt. Robinson said: “That's vulgar is it, that's vile is it?”)

I want to tell you right now sir, this private you got out there, he made a statement. The private over in that room. I told him that if he, a private, ever call me a name (a nigger) again I would break him in two.