Jackie Robinson served in the Army during World War II

Robinson was drafted in 1942 and deployed to a segregated Army cavalry unit in Fort Riley, Kansas, during World War II. In January 1943, he received his appointment as a second lieutenant. The 761st "Black Panthers" tank battalion was Robinson's next stop after being sent to Fort Hood, Texas.

He boarded an Army bus on July 6, 1944. Robinson was asked to relocate to the back of the car, but he refused. Robinson was arrested after the driver dialed the military police. He was later court-martialed but was found not guilty.

He was relocated to Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky, following his conviction and worked as an Army athletics coach there until his honorable release in November 1944.

Robinson started playing baseball in 1945 for the Kansas City Monarchs of Missouri, a team in the Negro leagues. Branch Rickey, the Brooklyn Dodgers' club president and general manager, started scouting the leagues for talent around that time. Robinson was chosen by Rickey from a group of talented Black athletes, and he was then given an interview for a potential position with Brooklyn's International League feeder team, the Montreal Royals.