Editing Jackie Robinson (section)

==Military career==
{{Infobox military person
| image         = Jackie Robinson military.jpg
| image_upright = 0.8
| caption       = Robinson, wearing his Army uniform, receives a military salute from his nephew Frank during a visit to his home in Pasadena, California, {{circa|1943}}
| alt           = Black man in military uniform featuring the crossed-sabre insignia of a U.S. Cavalry unit receives a salute from a person out of view
| name          = Jackie Robinson
| allegiance    = United States
| branch        = [[United States Army]]
| serviceyears  = 1942–1944
| rank          = [[US Second Lieutenant|Second lieutenant]]
| unit          = [[761st Tank Battalion (United States)|761st Tank Battalion]]
}}

In 1942, Robinson was drafted and assigned to a segregated Army cavalry unit at [[Fort Riley, Kansas]].<ref name="2LT">{{cite web|title=United States v. 2LT Jack R. Robinson|publisher=The National WWII Museum|date=February 5, 2021|url=https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/united-states-v-jack-r-robinson|access-date=July 29, 2021}}</ref> Having the requisite qualifications, Robinson and several other black soldiers applied for admission to an [[Officer Candidate School (United States Army)|Officer Candidate School]] (OCS) then located at Fort Riley.<ref name="2LT"/><ref>[[#Linge|Linge]], p. 33.</ref>

Although the Army's initial July 1941 guidelines for OCS had been drafted as race-neutral, few black applicants were admitted into OCS until after subsequent directives by Army leadership.<ref>{{cite book|publisher=G.P.O. |isbn=978-1-153-75539-9 |title=Integration of the Armed Forces, 1940–65 |last=MacGregor |first=Morris J. |year=1981 |location=Washington, D.C. |chapter=Chapter 2: World War II: The Army |chapter-url=http://www.history.army.mil/books/integration/IAF-02.htm |id=n. 94 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100727161209/http://www.history.army.mil/books/integration/IAF-02.htm |archive-date=July 27, 2010 }}</ref> The applications of Robinson and his colleagues were delayed for several months.<ref name=Robinsonp13>[[#Robinson|Robinson, Jackie (1972)]], p. 13.</ref> After protests by heavyweight boxing champion [[Joe Louis]] (then stationed at Fort Riley) and with the help of [[Truman Gibson]] (then an assistant civilian aide to the [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]]),<ref>{{cite book |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/mss/text/gibson.html |title=Library of Congress: Truman K. Gibson Papers |access-date=May 22, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090509002931/http://www.loc.gov/rr//mss/text/gibson.html|archive-date=May 9, 2009}}</ref> the men were accepted into OCS.<ref name="Gale Group"/><ref name=Robinsonp13/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/02/national/02gibson.html |title=Truman K. Gibson, who fought Army segregation, is dead at 93 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 2, 2006 |access-date=September 13, 2009 |last=Goldstein |first=Richard}}</ref> The experience led to a personal friendship between Robinson and Louis.<ref>[[#Rampersad|Rampersad]], p. 91.</ref> Upon finishing OCS, Robinson was commissioned as a [[US Second Lieutenant|second lieutenant]] in January 1943.<ref name=memory1940>{{cite web |url=http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/robinson/jr1940.html |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |title=Breaking the color line: 1940–1946 |work=Baseball, the Color Line, and Jackie Robinson |access-date=September 12, 2009}}</ref> Shortly afterward, Robinson and Isum were formally engaged.<ref name=Robinsonp13/>

After receiving his commission, Robinson was reassigned to [[Fort Hood]], Texas, where he joined the [[761st Tank Battalion (United States)|761st "Black Panthers" Tank Battalion]]. While at Fort Hood, Robinson often used his weekend leave to visit the Rev. Karl Downs, President of Sam Huston College (now [[Huston–Tillotson University]]) in nearby [[Austin, Texas]]; in California, Downs had been Robinson's pastor at Scott United Methodist Church while Robinson attended PJC.<ref name="Linge, p. 18"/><ref name=enders>{{cite web|url=http://www.ericenders.com/jackieaustin.htm |title=Jackie Robinson, College Basketball Coach |last=Enders |first=Eric |work=[[Austin American-Statesman]] |date=April 15, 1997 |access-date=April 8, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091017193845/http://www.ericenders.com/jackieaustin.htm |archive-date=October 17, 2009 }}</ref>

An event on July 6, 1944, derailed Robinson's military career.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Vernon |first1=John |year=2008 |title=Jim Crow, meet Lieutenant Robinson |journal=Prologue Magazine |volume=40 |issue=1|url=https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2008/spring/robinson.html|access-date=January 20, 2019}}</ref> While awaiting results of hospital tests on the ankle he had injured in junior college, Robinson boarded an Army bus with a fellow officer's wife; although the Army had commissioned its own unsegregated bus line, the bus driver ordered Robinson to move to the back of the bus.<ref name=amhert>{{cite web |url=http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1984/5/1984_5_34.shtml |title=The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson |access-date=November 25, 2008 |last=Tygiel|first=Jules |date=August–September 1984 |work=[[American Heritage (magazine)|American Heritage]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081119151636/http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1984/5/1984_5_34.shtml|archive-date=November 19, 2008}} (also published at [[#Tygiel2|Tygiel (2002)]], pp. 14–23).</ref><ref>[[#Linge|Linge]], p. 37.</ref><ref>[[#Robinson|Robinson, Jackie (1972)]], p. 18.</ref> Robinson refused. The driver backed down, but after reaching the end of the line, summoned the [[Military Police Corps (United States Army)|military police]], who took Robinson into custody.<ref name=amhert/><ref>[[#Robinson|Robinson, Jackie (1972)]], p. 19.</ref> When Robinson later confronted the investigating duty officer about racist questioning by the officer and his assistant, the officer recommended Robinson be [[Courts-martial in the United States|court-martialed]].<ref name=amhert/><ref>[[#Robinson|Robinson, Jackie (1972)]], pp. 20–21.</ref>

After Robinson's [[Commander (United States)|commander]] in the 761st, [[Paul L. Bates]], refused to authorize the legal action, Robinson was summarily transferred to the [[758th Tank Battalion (United States)|758th Battalion]]—where the commander quickly consented to charge Robinson with multiple offenses, including, among other charges, public drunkenness, even though Robinson did not drink.<ref name=amhert/><ref name=time/>

By the time of the court-martial in August 1944, the charges against Robinson had been reduced to two counts of insubordination during questioning.<ref name=amhert/> Robinson was acquitted by an all-white panel of nine officers.<ref name=amhert/>

Although his former unit, the 761st Tank Battalion, became the first black tank unit to see combat in World War II, Robinson's court-martial proceedings prohibited him from being deployed overseas, and he was never in combat.<ref name="loc">{{cite book|url=https://www.loc.gov/topics/baseball/featured/jackierobinson.html |title=Featured Baseball Personalities&nbsp;– Jackie Robinson&nbsp;– Historic Baseball Resources |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=October 6, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010212018/http://www.loc.gov/topics/baseball/featured/jackierobinson.html |archive-date=October 10, 2008}}</ref>

After his acquittal, he was transferred to Camp Breckinridge, [[Kentucky]], where he served as a coach for army athletics until receiving an [[honorable discharge]] in November 1944.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/mss/text/robinsnj.html |title=Jackie Robinson A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress |access-date=November 24, 2008 |last=McElderry |first=Michael |year=2002 |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081112125650/http://www.loc.gov/rr/mss/text/robinsnj.html|archive-date=November 12, 2008}}</ref> While there, Robinson met a former player for the [[Kansas City Monarchs]] of the [[Negro American League]], who encouraged Robinson to write the Monarchs and ask for a tryout.<ref>[[#Robinson|Robinson, Jackie (1972)]], p. 23.</ref> Robinson took the former player's advice and wrote to Monarchs co-owner Thomas Baird.<ref>[[#Rampersad|Rampersad]], p. 113.</ref>