July 6, 1944
During World War II, while stationed at Fort Hood, Texas as a Second Lieutenant, Baseball player Jackie Robinson refused to move to the back of an Army bus when requested to by the driver. The driver summoned the military police, who took Robinson into custody. When Robinson later confronted the investigating duty officer about racist questioning by the officer and his assistant, the officer recommended Robinson be court-martialed When his commander refused to authorize the legal action, Robinson was transferred to another unit and was charged with multiple offenses. Robinson was acquitted by an all-white panel of nine officers. Robinson’s court-martial proceedings prohibited him from being deployed overseas, thus he never saw combat action.
