What was Jackie Robinson's rank in the United States Army?

Jackie Robinson's rank in the United States Army was second lieutenant.

Drafted in 1942, Robinson served in a segregated Army cavalry unit at Fort Riley, Kansas. He applied to Officer Candidate School and, after delays partly connected to racial discrimination, was admitted with help from heavyweight champion Joe Louis and Truman Gibson.

Robinson completed OCS and received his commission in January 1943. He was then assigned to the 761st Tank Battalion, the celebrated Black Panthers unit, at Fort Hood, Texas. Despite the unit's later combat service, Robinson never deployed overseas.

A 1944 confrontation began when he refused a bus driver's order to move to the back of an Army bus. He faced a court-martial but was acquitted of insubordination. He later coached Army athletics at Camp Breckinridge and received an honorable discharge in November 1944. A common mix-up is confusing his commissioned officer rank with the enlisted ranks of sergeant or captain.