Retired 1st Sgt. Mark Matthews
Oldest Buffalo Soldier dies at 111
Posted on 09/15/2005 6:16:47 PM PDT by SandRat
WASHINGTON -- Retired 1st Sgt. Mark Matthews, 111, one of the last of the nation's legendary Buffalo Soldiers, died of pneumonia Sept. 6 at Fox Chase Nursing Home in Washington. ---snip--- Fort Huachuca, Ariz., where he was first stationed, was still using local Indians as guides.
(Excerpt) Read more at 4.army.mil ...
May God bless his soul.
God bless him!
Oldest Buffalo Soldier dies at 111
That's a man that saw a lot of history and served his country well.
God Bless that man
I had know idea, I thought that age was long gone. RIP trooper.
Ping
The 10th Calvary, right?
Godspeed Soldier
Well, we're trying to restore the Black Officers Club at Ft. Huachuca. Having a $50 a plate Fundraiser to raise money for it on Sept 24th.
Rest in peace 1st Sgt. Mark Matthews.
Psalm 91
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him:
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him, and honour him.
With long life will I satisfy him,
and shew him my salvation.
God Bless America and Our Great Military
9th and 10th
God bless him.
Prayers UP. RIP
Thanks. I'm glad I read the article.
Thank God for this hero!
A very good reason to listen to our elders. They've been there and done that and can tell us mountains of information for our trip in life.
Oh how I wished I could have talked to him for just a half hour! All those storys and experiences!
I was lucky to live a block from my great grandmother. She didn't read to us, she told us about her childhood in the early 1900s in northern Michigan.
Its a special education isnt it? The school of hard knox. They learned the hard way and always wanted us to listen so we didnt have to take the courses they took.
111 years old, appears he lived a full life. The last battle (massacre) with Native Americans to my knowledge was the sorry affair at Wounded Knee. That was in 1890, four years before he was born.
The Buffalo Soldiers I remember from history were Indian fighters. I remember once reading a sad story of Sgt. Thomas Boyne. a Black medal of honor winner for his heroic act in saving the life of his White commanding officer during a bad scrape with the Apaches. As he had never discussed it, when he died in a Soldiers home, no one in the home at the time even knew he was a hero, what he had done, or the nations highest medal had been bestowed upon him.
http://www.medalofhonor.com/ThomasBoyne.htm
BTTT!!!!!!
That's the origin of the name, but it isn't the end of the story. The 9th and 10th Cav served a nation that treated them as second class citizens at best, both during and after the Indian wars. They served honorably and well despite the indignity, and deserve the respect and gratitude of every American.
The same is true of the Nisei in Italy and the Tuskeegee airmen in World War II. They loved their country even when it didn't show much love for them, and their courage and loyalty shamed us with our wrongs and called on us to put them right.
These men -- not "boys," as they were often called at the time -- didn't just argue against the underlying assumptions of racism. They conclusively disproved them. I don't care where you are or where you're from, if you can call someone "nigger" after he saves your life, you're a sad, perverse little creature.
My hat is off and my head bowed for Mark Matthews. I have no tears; I didn't know the man, and only learned about him after his passing, I'm glad that at least he lived long enough to gain the respect he so long ago earned, long enough to go from being segregated and marginalized to having a black man (Colin Powell) at the top of the chain of command.
Well done, soldier. You are relieved.
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