WEST POINT—The annual Buffalo Soldiers Memorial Ceremony at West Point took place on Sept. 4 at Buffalo Soldier field. A wreath was placed at the memorial bronze plaque embedded in a rock.
The event honored the last Buffalo Soldier to serve at West Point, Sgt. Sanders H. Matthews, who passed away days before at the age of 95.
Maj. Gen. Fred A. Gorden, retired, presented an artist’s rendering of what a proposed one and a half-size bronze memorial sculpture would look like. The memorial was designed by renowned memorial sculptor Eddie Dixon.
The event was attended by about 100 members of the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club, as chapters from various states rode in on their “iron horses.”
President of the West Point chapter of the club, Melvin Smith, said the memorial represents a significant part of the history of Buffalo Soldiers, which Congress formed at the end of the Civil War to give a job to thousands of displaced black soldiers and ex-slaves.
