Buffalo Soldier Monument, The

Army, Feb 1997 by Williams, Anthony R

The magnificent Buffalo Soldier Monument stands boldly as a tribute to the Buffalo Soldiers, black soldiers who served in the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments that helped settle the American West. The monument, a "brainchild" of Gen. Colin L. Powell, USA Ret., is a tourist attraction and historic landmark at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. The magnitude of the statue symbolizes the unity of many working together to honor, express gratitude and bring credit to those courageous African-American soldiers. It also represents a continual challenge to revive the memory of the forgotten soldiers in our American memoirs. Gen. Powell, a deputy commander at Fort Leavenworth in 1981-82, observed that there were no tributes to the Buffalo Soldiers there. His initial idea was for a modest statue. It was his strong belief that the efforts of the Buffalo Soldiers, from the early days of the West through the 1950s, were worthy of commemoration. When Gen. Powell left Fort Leavenworth, others continued the attempt to create a lasting tribute to the Buffalo Soldiers.

Cmdr. Carlton G. Philpot, a Naval officer assigned to the Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, was among those who followed through on Gen. Powell's idea. He volunteered to help Brig. Gen. Alonzo D. Dougherty Jr., ARNG Ret., who, along with a group of Buffalo Soldier supporters, had been discussing ways of bringing the idea to light. The group soon became known as the Buffalo Soldier Committee. Its objectives (as outlined in the Buffalo Soldier memorial dedication book) were the following: Have information on the Buffalo Soldiers included in dictionaries, encyclopedias and history books as part of American history by the year 2000; enhance the awareness of the American public regarding the history, achievements and contributions of the Buffalo Soldiers; and develop immediate and long-term projects to accomplish the listed objectives.

The group-armed with only $5,000 start-up money donated by the Leavenworth Historical Society, no experience in fund raising, no knowledge of monuments and no architectural background-began researching and talking with others about the Buffalo Soldier. Lee W. Brubaker and Eddie Dixon forged the Buffalo Soldier Monument concept. Both felt the project was worthy of quality workmanship, which they provided. Unfortunately, Brubaker, the artist who painted Scouts Out, which depicts Buffalo Soldiers on the plains, died without seeing the monument completed. His family, however, wrote of his "pride in being selected to participate in honoring this special group of men. The monument will bring the entire country into an awareness of the contributions of these special people."

Eddie Dixon is an artist from Lubbock, Texas, who has made a career creating historical sculptures of African Americans. His work on the 12-foot, 9-inch bronze statue was done with a personal passion. He saw the Buffalo Soldier Monument as a way of preserving a part of black history that had been omitted from texts. His hope is that his work will help black youngsters in the future view American history from a different perspective than he did as a child.

Labor and materials for the project exceeded the monument committee's small fund. As a result, a series of fundraisers were held to get the $1.2 million needed to complete the monument. Donations were solicited, grants were awarded (an anonymous Command and General Staff College student volunteered to write a grant proposal because he believed in the project), and commissions were earned from Brubaker's print, among other efforts. Large corporate donations came in as did donations from individuals and groups. Students from Fort Leavenworth collected large donations and presented them to the committee. Soldiers sponsored car washes and wrote checks just because they wanted to be a part of the tribute. Cmdr. Philpot recalled an elderly woman who donated money because she remembered how "good the Buffalo Soldiers looked proudly wearing the U.S. Army uniform." It was uplifting for the committee to see revenue coming in from people of all walks of life because they believed it was time to recognize the achievements of the Buffalo Soldiers.

People also gave of their time. They donated office space, answered telephones, provided videotaping to solicit contributions and took on other duties. All the fundraising efforts supported the monument-its statue, pools, entrance wall, historical markers commemorating 9th and 10th Cavalry Medal of Honor recipients as well as the regiment's history, hand railings to the lower pool, benches and donors' plaques. Committee members were amazed by how quickly things got under way, and how the pieces needed to finish the project fell into place. About a year after the Buffalo Soldier Committee meeting, the groundbreaking ceremony took place. The ceremony received much publicity, including the CBS nightly news broadcast that aired July 28,1990. Many 10th Cavalry soldiers attended the ceremony and proudly looked on as keynote speaker Gen. Powell addressed them and others in the audience. For many, this was a moment they had anticipated for years. Powell quoted from the last order issued by Col. Benjamin H. Grierson, the first regimental commander of the lOth Cavalry, to his black troops in 1888: "The officers and enlisted men have cheerfully endured many hardships and privations and in the midst of great dangers steadfastly maintained a most gallant and zealous devotion to duty...and they may well be proud of the record made, and rest assured that the hard work undergone in the accomplishment of such...valuable service to their country cannot fail, sooner or later, to meet with due recognition and reward."