16268: Happy Memorial Day.

 

15840: Buffalo Thunder For Buffalo Soldiers.

 

The Washington Post spotlighted the annual Buffalo Thunder ride to salute Buffalo Soldiers. Donate to the cause now.

 

At Buffalo Thunder ride, reflection on Black history and service

 

By Luz Lazo

 

The 8-year-old had waited all week to hear the roar of Buffalo Thunder on Sunday morning, and when hundreds of the motorcycles finally arrived in the nation’s capital, his eyes opened wide.

 

Karter Hassell had decided earlier in the day that he would wear black and gold, just like the men and women on the bikes. He didn’t know much about them, or the brave soldiers they had come to honor, but he wanted to.

 

“I’ll learn,” he said, standing beside his 7-year-old sister, Krista, and his grandmother, Helen Hassell, as they watched the riders pull up to the African American Civil War Memorial in Northwest Washington.

 

After two years of a pandemic pause, hundreds of Black motorcyclists returned to Washington for the annual Memorial Day tribute to the post-Civil War, all-Black regiments of the Army, known as Buffalo Soldiers, as well as all people of color who gave their lives for American freedom.

 

The threat of covid-19 shut down the parade in 2020 and 2021, disrupting the event’s nearly two-decade history. But the ride was back Sunday in a big way, and Hugh Valentine, one of the five founding members of the motorcycle club’s Maryland chapter, was at the forefront, proudly wearing his Buffalo Soldiers gear.

 

Valentine, 91, an Army veteran and retired D.C. police officer, was thrilled with the return of the ride, which he said is much more about community than motorcycling. After two years of protests for racial justice and a pandemic that has highlighted racial health disparities, Valentine said he hoped the parade would bring attention to the contributions that troops of color have made both at war and in their communities.

 

Today’s racial divisions come well over a century after the Buffalo Soldiers faced discrimination within the military and deadly violence at the hand of civilians. Both then and now, Valentine said, the problems stem from people’s lack of exposure to diversity.

 

“It’s up to us to change this,” Valentine said. “So that our community values the life of each individual, Black and White.”

 

Chiefly members of the Black 9th and 10th U.S. Cavalry regiments, the Buffalo Soldiers were known for battling Native Americans in the American West in the late 1800s. They protected settlers and built roads and infrastructure, while facing extreme racial prejudice within the Army. Historians say American Indians gave the nickname to the troops because of their curly hair — and as a sign of respect.

 

“These people served the country, and as Black men, they had so many struggles,” said Bobbie Coles, of Silver Spring, Md. “They were the last ones that got benefits and recognition.”

 

At Sunday’s ride, organizers emphasized the Buffalo Soldiers’ spirit of service.

 

“We ride motorcycles a lot,” Jeff “Shorty Airborne” Freeland, the Maryland chapter’s president said. “But community service is what we do.”

 

The Buffalo Thunder event is the group’s biggest fundraiser, and its cancellation the past two years meant the Maryland branch had to scale back its charitable work in the region. They weren’t able to offer as many low-income families scholarships, Thanksgiving meals and Christmas gifts. This year, the group hopes to give more than $40,000 in college scholarships to local students and help as many as 150 families with holiday turkeys.

 

Mason Monroe, chairman of the Buffalo Soldiers of Maryland Foundation, said they didn’t expect as many participants this year because of covid-19, which meant the event was likely to yield less than half the $20,000 it did during a normal pre-pandemic ride. The foundation relies on individual and corporate donations year-round, and members participate in other functions to raise funds to help majority Black communities in D.C. and Prince George’s County.

 

That community engagement was the mission of the club from its creation nearly three decades ago, Valentine said. It was, he said, meant to re-create the spirit of service of the Buffalo Soldiers — 19 of whom were awarded Medals of Honor.

 

On Sunday, about 400 Buffalo Thunder riders from across the country, many from as far as Florida and Idaho, rode from a Landover, Md., church parking lot to the African American Civil War Memorial at U Street, passing waving crowds along the 14-mile route.

 

“It’s really nice to come back together and be able to fellowship in safer times and pay homage to the Buffalo Soldiers and their sacrifice for the nation,” said Kisha Brown, a Maryland chapter member and event organizer.

 

Hassell said the event was a history lesson for her grandkids. Dressed in a Civil War costume, reenacting a schoolteacher of the era, she walked with Karter and Krista around the statue of Black uniformed armed servicemen as they read some of the more than 200,000 names engraved at the African American Civil War Memorial.

 

“It’s a teachable moment,” Hassell said, “as well as a day of celebration.”

 

10144: The Root Roots For Black War Heroes.

The Root presents Ten Places Honoring Black War Heroes.

9699: Saluting Buffalo Soldiers.

Here’s a comment left at a previous post by Buffalo Soldier 9:

Keep history alive by telling that history.

Read the greatest ‘historical novel’—Rescue at Pine Ridge—the first generation of Buffalo Soldiers. The website is: http://www.rescueatpineridge.com

This is the greatest story of Black Military History…5 stars Amazon Internationally and Barnes & Noble. YouTube commercials are: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD66NUKmZPs and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVslyHmDy9A&feature=related

Rescue at Pine Ridge is the story of the rescue of the famed 7th Cavalry by the 9th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers. The 7th Cavalry was entrapped again after the Little Big Horn Massacre, fourteen years later, the day after the Wounded Knee Massacre. If it wasn’t for the 9th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers, there would [have] been a second massacre of the 7th Cavalry. This story is about brutality, compassion, reprisal, bravery, heroism, redemption and gallantry.

You’ll enjoy the novel that embodies the Native Americans, Outlaws and African-American/Black soldiers, from the south to the north, in the days of the Native American Wars with the approaching United States of America.

The novel was taken from my mini-series movie with the same title, “RaPR”, to keep the story alive. The movie so far has the interest of Mr. Bill Duke, Hill Harper, Glynn Turman, James Whitmore Jr., Reginald T. Dorsey and a host of other major actors in which we are in talks with, in starring in this epic American story.

When you get a chance, also please visit our Alpha Wolf Productions website at http://www.alphawolfprods.com and see our other productions, like Stagecoach Mary, the first Black Woman to deliver mail for the US Postal System in Montana, in the 1890’s. Spread the word.

Peace.

9690: Buffalo Soldiers Ride On.

From The Los Angeles Times…

Buffalo Soldiers tell their stories

Two Buffalo Soldiers speak at the Autry museum, recalling their experiences as black men in the then-segregated Army. It was one of many L.A.-area events honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

By Ari Bloomekatz, Los Angeles Times

When James Cooper was a teenager in segregated Louisiana, he worked at a factory for $2 a day and didn’t see a bright future.

So he entered the military, attracted by such benefits as free lodging and meals, and eventually joined the ranks of one of the first African American regiments in the U.S. Army, becoming what was known as a Buffalo Soldier.

“Why did I join the Army? Survival. At 17, I looked at the Army and it was better than what I had,” Cooper, now 89, told a small audience Sunday at the Autry National Center of the American West, in one of many events commemorating the birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

A program in Culver City featured a panel discussion, poetry, choral and jazz music and a staged reading of a play called “The Dreamers” featuring Margaret Avery, an actress best known for her role in “The Color Purple.” In Exposition Park, the California African American Museum kicked off a two-day program with a celebration called One Dream, a National Influence, a World of People.

At the Autry, Cooper spoke of the need to tell younger people about the Buffalo Soldiers as time rapidly shrinks their ranks.

“I want them to remember what we accomplished as a black people … and that we’re still marching on,” he said.

The first African American regiments in the Army were authorized by an act of Congress in 1866.

Buffalo Soldiers guarded the Western frontier and fought in the Spanish-American War, both world wars and other conflicts. The all-black regiments disbanded in the early 1950s as the military desegregated.

Cooper and fellow Buffalo Soldier Andrew Aaron spoke in front of the Autry museum’s exhibit on Henry O. Flipper, the first African American cadet to graduate from West Point. The two men talked about their experiences fighting in Korea, Japan and Italy, and they wore high blue hats, blue jackets adorned with medals and yellow ties decorated with images of Buffalo Soldiers.

Their audience of about two dozen included children — some squirmy and some eager to take photos. One child asked whether Cooper and Aaron were the first Buffalo Soldiers, to which the 80-year-old Aaron replied: “Weren’t the first, one of the last.”

It is unclear how many Buffalo Soldiers are still alive. Charles L. Davis, who helps organize some of their public appearances, called their story “a treasure that we’re letting fade away.”

“If you don’t keep that bandwagon going,” Davis said, “people will throw dirt over your history.”

8204: Buffalo Soldiers Ride Strong.

From The Los Angeles Times…

Keeping the Buffalo Soldiers on memory’s front lines

They were the first black regiments of the U.S. Army. With each passing year, as their numbers dwindle, the veterans renew their commitment to ensuring their contribution to American military history is never forgotten.

By Ann M. Simmons, Los Angeles Times

They participated in cross-country cattle drives, escorted wagon trains and stagecoaches through often volatile territories of the Wild West and fought in the Spanish-American War and both world wars.

The first African American regiments of the U.S. Army were commonly known as Buffalo Soldiers.

Today, they are among a rapidly shrinking group of veterans who with each passing year renew their commitment to ensuring that their contribution to American military history is recognized — and never forgotten.

“Our aim is to perpetuate the memory of the Buffalo Soldiers and tell the true story of what happened,” said Bruce E. Dennis, 86, vice president of the Inglewood-based Greater Los Angeles-area chapter of the 9th and 10th (Horse) Cavalry Assn.

Authorized by an act of Congress in 1866, the 9th and 10th Cavalry, and later the 24th and 25th Infantry, formed the first African American regiments of the U.S. Army. They were initially led by white officers and constituted about 10% of troops who guarded the western frontier for more than two decades, according to the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum in Houston.

The total number of original Buffalo Soldiers still living nationwide is unclear, but there are more than two dozen chapters of 9th and 10th Cavalry associations across the country. They include branches in San Diego and the Inland Empire, where the local Buffalo Soldiers Heritage Assn. is raising funds for a memorial at Riverside National Cemetery.

In recent years, participation in the monthly meetings of the Inglewood group has waned, but the mission of the handful of original surviving members remains the same: to educate the public about their historic significance.

“We are trying to keep the legacy alive,” said Andrew Q. Isaacs, 87, who was an active member of the Inglewood group until he recently relocated to Sacramento. “We want people to remember us.”

Dennis said the men are often invited to speak at schools and to participate in holiday parades and other events.

The ex-soldiers delight in telling how the nickname Buffalo Soldiers came about. Some say it was bestowed on African American soldiers by Native American warriors, who respected their fierce fighting ability, Isaacs said. Others believe that Native Americans likened the short curly hair of black troops to that of the buffalo, or were referring to the heavy buffalo coats worn by the soldiers in winter.

“Many of the soldiers they show in the movies, when the cavalry comes riding to the rescue, they would have been black,” said Waldo E. Henderson, 86, another surviving L.A.-area Buffalo Soldier, noting that such details are often ignored.

Every year, Buffalo Soldier chapters from the around the country convene at a national convention to socialize, celebrate the association’s founding and honor veterans of past service.

The horse cavalry regiments were deactivated during World War II, and its soldiers were deployed to various service units, according to historical records. But they remained Buffalo Soldiers.

Dennis, Henderson and Isaacs acknowledged that they were little acquainted with the history of the 9th and 10th Cavalry when they enlisted — or were drafted — into the Army. The role of Buffalo Soldiers in U.S. military history was rarely acknowledged, they said.

Isaacs, who enlisted in the 10th Cavalry in 1940, received his basic training at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan., where he learned how to ride and take care of horses. He loved the Army. It fostered discipline and camaraderie. He later worked for a colonel—keeping the officer’s boots and equipment polished and his horse groomed for extra pay.

“It was better than doing regular, routine chores,” he said. “The colonel I worked for was a good man.”

Isaacs eventually spent time in Arizona, Louisiana, California and the Solomon Islands. He was discharged in 1945 with the rank of technical sergeant.

Henderson, 86, resented being drafted into the Army. He was studying English at Langston University, Oklahoma’s sole black college, and had planned to become a schoolteacher. He didn’t want to interrupt his education “to go fight somebody,” especially not in a segregated Army, he said.

Henderson still bristles when he recalls the humiliating treatment black soldiers received.

Traveling through Southern states such as Texas, Alabama, Georgia and Virginia, African American soldiers were ordered to lower the blinds on the train “because whites didn’t want to see black soldiers in uniform,” Henderson said.

“And the horses were allowed to get off the train to exercise, but the cavalrymen were not,” he added.

For Dennis, a former master sergeant who served in the same 10th Cavalry platoon as Henderson, his most memorable assignment was the two years he spent in the small Italian town of Santa Maria. His duties included checking the food and ammunition boxes and loading them onto trains bound for the front. At least 60 Italians were assigned to work for him, recalled Dennis, who even had a housekeeper, a cook and laundry service.

“It made us feel much more important,” he said. “These Italians had never seen black soldiers before. The white soldiers had told them that we had tails.”

To add insult to injury, Dennis helped build prisoner-of-war camps near the Italian town of Pisa for more than 2,000 captured German troops, who he said were treated better than the black cavalrymen.

“It was horrible,” he said. “They issued all the German POWs with brand-new fatigues. My unit got patched, used fatigues.”

In 1948, President Truman signed an executive order calling for “equality of treatment for all persons in the armed services,” regardless of race, religion or national origin.

“Truman did a very profound thing for black soldiers. We started to get the same respect,” said Henderson, who was discharged with the rank of technical engineer.

In 1992, retired Gen. Colin Powell, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, dedicated a monument to the Buffalo Soldiers at Ft. Leavenworth, where the 10th Cavalry was born.

Isaacs, Dennis and Henderson attended the celebration.

Henderson said the dedication changed his feelings about the Army.

“We had no recognition before,” he said. “It changed the whole view of black soldiers. I can proudly say now that I was a Buffalo Soldier.”