Over the years, the annual events of the 9th and 10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers of West Point grew in popularity and became a beacon of history within the Hudson Valley region. Their efforts were recognized in 1973 when Colonel Floyd McAfee placed a “Memorial Rock” as a marker for the Black Horse Cavalry Detachments that served at the United States Military Academy from 1907 to 1946 at the intersection of Thayer Road and Mills Road at West Point. The marker helped the Buffalo Soldiers at West Point to bring greater recognition to the contributions of African Americans who graduated from the United States Military Academy, as well as engage and inform a broader public audience of the contributions of the 9th and 10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers at West Point. For 55 years, an original Buffalo Soldier that served at West Point during WWII has hosted an annual memorial service at the United States Military Academy to honor and celebrate the legacy of fellow Buffalo Soldiers and Veterans in the U.S. Army, every Labor Day Weekend. Since the 1990s, the color guard from the USMA Military Police Company and buglers from the USMA Band provide support for the Buffalo Soldiers’ Memorial Service and reunion, which ends in a 21-gun salute.
Bufallo Soldier's Memorial Rock placed at USMA
Colonel Floyd McAfee placed a “Memorial Rock” as a marker for the Black Horse Cavalry Detachments that served at the United States Military Academy
In 1973, the United States Military Academy at West Point was the first to memorialize the achievements of Buffalo Soldiers in U.S. Army history. Framed by the Hudson Highlands and poised by the Hudson River, the Cavalry Plain on which the 9th and 10th Cavalry of the Buffalo Soldiers conducted equestrian training of the Corps of Cadets at West Point was renamed the Buffalo Soldier Field, in memory of the Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th and 10th U.S. Cavalry Regiments. In the years following, the Army and communities across the nation raised monuments to pay homage to the contributions and commitments of the Buffalo Soldier. The most prominent among them being the Buffalo Soldier Monument dedicated at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in 1992.
THE 63rd ANNUAL MEMORIAL CELEBRATION | AUGUST 30 - SEPTEMBER 1, 2024
