Posted on 09/13/2005 8:19:51 AM PDT by Borges
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.
Sgt. Matthews, who also was the oldest Buffalo Soldier, was heir to a proud military heritage that originated with the black soldiers who fought in the Indian wars on the Western frontier. Historians say that the Cheyenne, Kiowa and Apache tribes bestowed the appellation because the soldiers' black, curly hair reminded them of a buffalo's mane.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
See you at Fiddlers Green 1SG. RIP
Rest in peace, Amigo.
Rest in peace, Amigo.
God bless.
Rest in Peace and thank you for your honorable service.
RIP Sir
Ping
He was part of the history of Texas that was unlike anything else in our nation's history. God Bless him!
Rest in Peace soldier.
111...dang that is old...wonder if he smoked..:)
I think George Patton lead a group of Buffalo soldiers also.
Sergeant Matthews lived a magnificent life and the Buffalo Soldiers deserve a memorial in Washington. Too bad Sergeant Matthews won't see it. An important part of our history needs to be remembered.
Actually it was General John J.Pershing who was an officer with the 10th Cavalry Regiment early in his career. Hence his nickname 'Black Jack'.
Photographs from the era show that blacks served in the regular cavalry units in about the same proportion they were among cowboys at the time, or about 20%. There was far less discrimination on the Western Frontier than there was in the East or the South.
Shooting, riding, herding, plowing, building, what counted in the West then was the ability to do the job at hand. Those who could do that prospered, including blacks and women. It was a harsh involvement, but the hardships did not discriminate.
Congressman Billybob
"I think George Patton lead a group of Buffalo "
I don't know but "Black-Jack" Pershing commanded Buffalo soliers and perhaps Patton was with him then but that would have been before 1915.
When was the official end of the Buffalo Soldiers??
"I did it all," Sgt. Matthews told The Washington Post a few years ago. "Yes, I was there."
"Actually it was General John J.Pershing who was an officer with the 10th Cavalry Regiment early in his career. Hence his nickname 'Black Jack'."
You are correct, and have obviously studied a lot of military history.
I understand that during World War II Patton went to the 761st Tank Battalion (made up of African-American soldiers except for senior officers and some junior officers) and said, "Men, I don't care what color you are, as long as you kill Germans!"
What a storied life. Boy howdy did he get to see a lot of history/progress in his time. Wonderful story! Rest in peace my friend. You have surely earned it!
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