Buffalo Soldier Bill Now in Congress!

Posted January 21, 2010 at by Geneva Brett, VP.

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If you listen very carefully you might be able to hear ” thank you”  whispered from across the ages from some Veterans of Foreign Wars called Buffalo Soldiers.  No Veteran should be slighted or forgotten; every Veteran signed a blank check to the USA  …. to do whatever, whenever, wherever duty called.  It is time these Veterans are not only remembered, but also honored for their service, valor and excellence under extreme adversity.

Our sincerest thanks and appreciation to Congresswoman Speier and the co-sponsors. 

January 21, 2010 Press Release …..

Speier bill honors Buffalo Soldiers’ historic Presidio-Yosemite trek

Today, Congresswoman Jackie Speier (San Francisco/San Mateo County) introduced the Buffalo Soldiers in the National Parks Study Act along with Reps William “Lacy” Clay (MO), Barbara Lee (CA), John L. Lewis (GA) and 47 other original co-sponsors.  The bill authorizes the National Park Service to study the role the African American regiments played in establishing the National Park System and to honor their historic contribution to the nation.

The Buffalo Soldiers were garrisoned at the San Francisco Presidio toward the end of the 19^th Century and dawn of the 20^th.  Many came to San Francisco after successful campaigns in the Philippine Insurrection and the Spanish American War (where they gained legendary status as fearless fighters alongside Theodore Roosevelt’s “Rough Riders”).  Among the duties assigned to the Buffalo Soldiers was patrolling the newly-preserved Yosemite and Sequoia parks prior to the establishment of the National Park System.

To get to the parks, the soldiers left the Presidio in May and headed south along El Camino Real through San Mateo County.  It was a thirteen day trip covering 280 miles from San Francisco to Yosemite.  The trek to Sequoia spanned 320 miles and took 16 days.  Later, regiments disembarked from Monterey, shortening the journey somewhat. 

“I lived my entire life within walking distance of El Camino Real and never knew this chapter in our local history,” Congresswoman Speier said.

“This bill directs the National Park Service to study and disseminate the role of Buffalo Soldiers in the foundation of the National Park System.  Locally, my hope is that this remarkable story is incorporated into lesson plans for children learning about our region.  We all learned in history class about the Spanish missionaries, the 49ers and the railroad barons.  In more recent years, educators have stressed the history of local Native American tribes who made their home along what would later be known as San Francisco Bay.  The story of the Buffalo Soldiers should be added to that history.”

WHY THEY’RE CALLED BUFFALO SOLDIERS
According to legend, Native Americans nicknamed the troops “Buffalo Soldiers” in reaction to their dark skin and curly hair.  Since the buffalo was highly-esteemed in Native American cultures for its bravery and fierce fighting spirit, the troops accepted the title as a badge of honor.

The Buffalo Soldiers’ story has most recently been memorialized in Ken Burns’ documentary The National Parks: America’s Best Idea: http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/watch-video/#858.

You can stay up to date with all of the sponsors and the movement of the bill at www.thomas.gov –  in the next few hours, the bill should be listed (HR 4491).

Please email or phone your Congressional Representative and urge them to vote YES to honoring these little noted and mostly forgotten American Veterans.  If you don’t know your Congressional Representative, you can find your Representataive based on your zip code.  You can also write your Representative.

There is no sense in complaining about what folks did or didn’t do yesterday … YOU must act today to make a difference!  Please, and thank you!