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While Jackie was adjusting to his change in rank from an enlisted man to an officer and recovering from his most recent ankle injury, the Army was in motion adapting its units to function more efficiently in the modernizing world, actions that would impact Robinson and his immediate future. On December 9, 1943, Jackie and sixteen other lieutenants received new orders. They were to report to the 2nd Cavalry Division at Fort Clark, Texas, just outside of Brackettville, near the Rio Grande, a post guarding the Mexican border since 1852.
Jackie arrived at Fort Clark in the midst of modernization changes and the reorganization that the 2nd Cavalry was undergoing in converting from its original 1921 horse-mounted mission to its becoming an infantry unit. Along with its sister unit, the 1st Cavalry Division—an organization that would become known as the “First Team” that led the way in every future U.S. conflict to remain on active duty today—the 2nd Cavalry was dismounting and turning in its horses. The 1st Cavalry was all white and quickly filled its ranks to be combat ready and deploy to the Pacific Theater in the summer of 1943. Meanwhile the 2nd Cavalry, an integrated division with black enlisted soldiers and mostly white officers, never enjoyed full strength until the draft inducted a sufficient number of black soldiers to fill their ranks. Yet, even with the buildup and overseas orders, the 2nd Cavalry would soon become a footnote in history. (Historical Perspective 8.)
On December 21, the 2nd Cavalry assigned 2nd Lt. Robinson to Troop F of its 27th Cavalry Regiment. Jackie’s stay with that unit was brief, but he had sufficient time at Fort Clark to observe that Mexicans in Texas were treated little better than blacks. Referred to as “wetbacks” whether they were in the United States legally or illegally, Hispanic Americans did have the advantage over African Americans in that they were thoroughly integrated into the Armed Forces. Non-citizen Hispanics also found readily available employment because of the Mexican Farm Labor Agreement, initiated on August 4, 1942, which brought workers across the border to work in the fields and orchards in the Bracero (Spanish meaning “manual laborer”) Program, an effort to replace Americans—black and white—called up by the draft.
When Jackie reported to Troop F, preparations for deployment to North Africa were underway, including requiring soldiers of the 27th Regiment to pass rigid physical tests. Jackie’s injured ankle worsened and precluded his passing the test and his assignment to a berth on a boat to North Africa. Instead, his medical condition produced transfer orders on January 4, 1944, back to the Cavalry Replacement Pool at Fort Riley with temporary assignment in route to Brooke General Hospital in San Antonio for evaluation of his injury.
Jackie’s short stay at Fort Clark did not merit a mention in either of his autobiographies. Nor did he include learning while on the border that his mother was ill or his efforts to get leave to visit her. That latter piece of information comes from a single piece of paper in his military personnel file that is a copy of a telegram from his sister Willa Mae saying, “Mother is very sick. Please come home immediately.” Other than marked “Received” and date-stamped January 4—the same day Jackie received orders to report to Brooke General Hospital—the paper reveals nothing.
As ordered, Jackie reported to Brooke General Hospital “for observation and treatment.” His medical history and physical findings stated, “This 24 year old 2nd Lieutenant, with 1 9/12 service (12 months as officer), was admitted to this hospital 5 January 1944, to the Medical Service. He transferred to the Orthopedic Service on 27 January 1944.
“Patient gives a history of having sustained an injury to the right ankle in 1937 while playing football at Pasadena, Cal. He was in a cast for several weeks and recovered in about 6 weeks. He next injured the ankle in 1941 playing football in Honolulu, as a civilian. He recovered in about 2 weeks. His next injury was in September 1943 while on obstacle course at Ft. Riley, Kansas. Since that time the ankle had given him considerable difficulty in that it is painful and swells following excessive walking.”
“Physical examination is essentially negative. X-ray examination shows an old, ununited fracture of the medial malleolus of the right ankle with some evidence of traumatic arthritis.”
On January 28, 1944, the Brooke General Hospital Disposition Board met to make recommendations about Jackie’s health, treatment, and future. Records show that the Board reviewed the medical history and findings and concluded that Robinson’s medical problems “existed prior to entrance on active duty.” This was important, as it would prevent Jackie from someday filing for a veteran’s disability claim regarding his ankle that was not a service-related injury.
The findings continued, “The Board is of the opinion that this officer is physically disqualified for general military service but is qualified for limited service. He is not qualified for overseas duty at this time. The Board recommends that he be discharged from the hospital and assigned to temporary limited service. It is recommended that his assignment be such that he will not encounter calisthenics, marching, drilling or other duties requiring strenuous use of the right ankle, and that on or about 28 July 1944 he be reexamined with a view to determining his physical fitness.”
Jackie reported to the Cavalry Replacement Center at Fort Riley on February 7, 1944, to face new concerns—not about his ankle or his next assignment but rather about his relationship with Rachel. Through letters and phone calls, they discussed her intention to join the United States Cadet Nurse Corps, a program authorized on March 29, 1943, by the Nurse Training Act—also known as the Bolton Act—to provide “for the training of nurses for the armed forces, government and civilian hospitals, health agencies, and war industries through grants to the institutions providing the training.”
Rachel saw the Cadet Nurse Corps as an opportunity because its purpose was to ensure that the country had enough nurses to care for its citizens at home and abroad during the war. Because it was non-discriminatory and welcomed women of all races, she was interested.
Although cadet nurses wore uniforms, they had no commitment to join the military upon graduation. The cadet pledge, considered a statement of intention rather than a binding contract, stated, “At this moment of my induction into the United States Cadet Nurse Corps of the United States Public Health Service, I am solemnly aware of the obligations I assume toward my country and toward my chosen profession; I will follow faithfully the teachings of my instructors and the guidance of the physicians with whom I work; I will hold in trust the finest traditions of nursing and the spirit of the Corps; I will keep my body strong, my mind alert, and my heart steadfast; I will be kind, tolerant, and understanding; above all, I will dedicate myself now and forever to the triumph of life over death; As a Cadet nurse, I pledge to my country my service in essential nursing for the duration of the war.”
Rachel was motivated not only by her own patriotism but also by other factors. For one, she later explained, “I was broke as a student. I had no money, and I could earn none in the current student ways. When I was not working in the hospital, I was in class; there was no time. The Corps paid a stipend of twenty dollars a month.” Remembering the damp, cold San Francisco winter, she added, “I also liked the big, warm flannel coat they gave you; I really wanted that heavy coat.”
Jackie had a low opinion of women in uniform, assuming they were sexually promiscuous predators taking advantage of GIs far from home. About his reactions, he later wrote, “I shook with rage and youthful jealousy.” Although Rachel had made no commitment to enter the armed forces after graduation, Jackie demanded that she cease and desist with her interest in the Corps or break off their engagement. Rachel, determined to earn her nursing degree, responded by returning his engagement ring via the U.S. Postal Service.
While Jackie tried to deal with the broken engagement, Fort Riley officials—without regard to his “limited service” status—set the course of his future based on their needs rather than his. With the backdrop of successful “island hopping” occurring in the Pacific and preparations in progress for the Allies’ invasion in Europe, more men and officers, black as well as white, were needed at the front or with units preparing to deploy overseas, Jackie among them.
Lieutenant Robinson was ordered to report to Camp Hood, Texas, on April 12, 1944. It would be a decision that would change Jackie’s life and the future of Major League Baseball forever. Had he not received those orders, Jackie himself might have gone the way of a footnote in black athletics as his Fort Clark unit had in army history.