The fifth annual Ruben Rivers Medal of Honor Ride will roll through Seminole this weekend. The ride is hosted by Roll to Wreaths 4 Vets, a group of riders dedicated to honoring veterans.

Rowdy Butler, president and founder of Roll to Wreaths Riders 4 Vets, said Saturday’s ride is in honor of Rivers, a United States Army staff sergeant who was killed in action while serving as a tank company platoon sergeant during World War II.

“A portion of Highway 9 is named after Ruben Rivers, a decorated World War II veteran who was born in Tecumseh. We expect to roll into Seminole between 12 noon and 12:15 Saturday,” Butler said.

Following the ride, ceremonies will be held at 3 p.m. at the American Legion in Tecumseh.

Rivers died in November 1944 in a French town that was occupied by Germany. He was posthumously presented with the Medal of Honor in 1997 in ceremonies at the White House.

Shortly after arriving in Europe in the fall of 1944, the 761st Tank Battalion that Rivers belonged to was chosen by General George S. Patton to be part of his Saar Campaign in the Allied drive to the Siegfried Line. On November 8, 1944, the battalion joined with the 104th Infantry, 26th infantry Division, in an attack on German positions near Vicsur-Seille in northeastern France.

As they approached the town via a narrow road, a roadblock improvised by the Germans using a fallen tree and several mines stopped the progress of the tanks and infantry. The Germans soon trained their mortar and rifle fire on infantrymen stranded in the roadside ditches, and the situation threatened to produce heavy casualties very quickly.

Rivers, positioned in “A” Company’s lead tank, realized that following protocol would fail to alleviate the situation. Instead, he took action that resulted in him being the 761st’s first Silver Star recipient. His heroic efforts are recounted below in the official medal citation:

“During the daylight attack, Staff Sergeant Rivers, a tank platoon sergeant, was in the lead tank when a road-block was encountered which held up the advance. With utter disregard for his personal safety, Staff Sergeant Rivers courageously dismounted from his tank in the face of directed enemy small arms fire, attached a cable to the road-block and moved it off the road, thus permitting the combat team to proceed. His prompt action thus prevented a serious delay in the offensive action and was instrumental in the successful assault and capture of the town. His brilliant display of initiative, courage and devotion to duty reflect the highest credit upon Staff Sergeant Rivers and the armed forces of the United States.”

Unfortunately, the medal would have to be awarded posthumously. A little more than a week later Rivers would again distinguish himself leading the platoon, but this time he himself would not be so fortunate.

On November 16, Able Company, with Rivers in the lead tank, would lead another assault. This time the target was German positions in Guebling. On the way into the town, Rivers’ tank hit a mine, disabling it and leaving Rivers with a significant injury. Shrapnel had cut his leg from knee to thigh and as deep as the bone.

Allowing the medics to only clean and dress the wound, Rivers took command of another tank and, as the Germans had begun to mark the area for heavy artillery fire, moved to take cover with the rest of “A” Company. It would not be until the morning of November 19 that the 761st would again push forward, but by now Rivers’ condition had seriously deteriorated. A dangerous infection had developed, threatening the loss of life and limb, and the wound was visibly causing a great deal of pain.

Rivers had been urged to evacuate the night before, but he had again refused to leave the field. As usual his tank led the way, but while advancing toward German positions near the town of Bougaltroff, “A” Company “came under extraordinarily heavy fire. Williams ordered the remaining tanks to pull back, but Rivers had located the German anti-tank unit and, with one other tank, moved to fire on the area and cover the withdrawal.

In the process, Rivers was fully exposed, and the Germans quickly trained their fire on his tank, landing two direct hits with high-explosive shells. Rivers was killed instantly.

Captain David J. Williams recommended Rivers for the Medal of Honor.

(Information on Rivers taken from Wikipedia).