In 1991, AUP published a four oral histories of #BuffaloSoldier veterans of the 10th Cavalry who served at Fort Leavenworth, 1931-1940. Henry Hollowell, Elmer Robinson, Julian Brown, and Lorn Brown shared their experiences of military service.
Link: armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/comb…
CWO Harry Hollowell enlisted as a private in 1936. His brother, Donald Hollowell, also served 10th Cavalry, but left military service in 1938 to pursue a legal career. Donald would later go on to serve as Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legal counsel.
Hollowell credited the 10th Cav with laying the groundwork for the work done at CGSC, “which shows that the country will never be at its best until it has all the groups, all the ethnic groups, of the nation making their contribution to the American way of life.”
SGT Robinson briefly worked in the polo stables at Fort Leavenworth before being reassigned as a clerk for the Book Department, where he learned how to use the typewriter and created invoices for shipments. He opted out of 10th Cav at the start of WW2, serving rear detachment.
SGT Brown recalled working with horses as 10th Cav trained horses for maneuvers in Louisiana and Texas in 1941. “Train the horses just like we did the recruits. They had eight weeks of training; horses had eight weeks of training.”
Mr. Brown discussed the difficulties he witnessed for Black MPs in Louisiana. White MPs could carry a gun, but Black MPs were issued a baton, or “stick.” Black MPs were also prohibited from arresting white soldiers in Fort Polk, a problematic situation for Brown.
Today, visitors to Fort Leavenworth can visit the National Buffalo Soldiers Monument. Dedicated on 25 July, 1992 by General Colin Powell, the first African American to serve as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Within the park, visitors will find statues honoring the long and continued service of Black Americans in the United States Army.
One of the first monuments visitors will encounter is dedicated to the 6888th Postal Directory Battalion, an all Black unit of women who spent WW2 in England and France clearing up backlogged mail in the European Theater of Operations.
The monument, dedicated in November of 2018, features a bust of LTC Charity Adams, the first African-American woman commissioned in the Army and the first and only commanding officer of the battalion.
Along the “Circle of Firsts” path, you’ll encounter a bust of Gen. Roscoe Robinson Jr., the first Black four-star general. He graduated West Point with an engineering degree in 1951 and served as a battalion commander in Vietnam.
Born into slavery, 2LT Henry Ossian Flipper was the first Black man to graduate from West Point and commissioned into the US Army. He was sent to Fort Leavenworth where he led Buffalo Soldiers in the 10th Cavalry during the Apache Wars.
2LT Flipper was unjustly accused of conduct unbecoming and was court-martialed and dismissed from the US Army. 118 years after his dismissal a formal review found the conviction and punishment “unduly harsh and unjust.” He was pardoned in 1999.
Along the “Walkway of Units,” you’ll see a monument dedicated to the “Triple Nickels,” an all-Black airborne unit that fought forest fires in the Pacific Northwest during WW2.
This bust of Gen. Colin Powell was dedicated in September of 2014. He’s generally credited with having the idea to honor Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Leavenworth.
Walking up to Powell’s bust, one is struck with the solemnity of the space. Behind his likeness, is a list of Powell’s 13 Rules for leadership. “They worked for me.”
These monuments are a daily reminder of the sacrifices of the Buffalo Soldiers to the United States Army and those that work, live, and go to school at Fort Leavenworth are often seen spending time walking along the paths and admiring these heroes.
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