By Mike Lavelle
The Vail Voice often features stories that address the history of the old west, of Vail, Tucson, and close-to-visit towns in the southwest. Readers are also aware that our local history includes such characters as Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp (once a deputy sheriff in Pima County), “Doc” Holliday (a special police officer in Tombstone), Chiricahua Apache Chief Cochise (for whom the county is named), and Chiricahua Apache Chief Geronimo.
Often, we are familiar with these names as many westerns have been made, such as the “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral,” that tell the story of events from the old west. Not surprisingly, many of these westerns were also filmed in our larger local area. More specifically, many of these westerns were filmed at “Old Tucson.” It is worth a trip to visit there and actually walk the grounds, as seen in many of these westerns.
I recently moved from Vail to Sierra Vista, and while many of our southwestern towns have a similar history, often with some of the same people, our specific towns also have their own special, and often unique, history. Along these lines, I have come to know more about another southwest location of special interest – Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista.
Still in operation as an Army base, Fort Huachuca has a long history dating back to the “Indian Wars” of the late 1800s. Of special interest is that the base was the home of the famous Buffalo Soldiers, who among other exploits, also took part in the Spanish-American War, most notably playing a critical role in the battle at San Juan Hill, that helped catapult Teddy Roosevelt of the “Rough Riders” to the office of Governor of New York, then serving as Vice-President to President McKinley, and following McKinley’s assassination, to the presidency, all in two short years!
For those interested in history, it has been noted that the 10th Cavalry Regiment of Buffalo Soldiers under “Black Jack” Pershing never received the accolades that the volunteer Rough Riders got, and, as one of the Rough Riders would note later – without the Buffalo Soldiers, the “Rough Riders would have been exterminated.” https://www.historynet.com/black-jack-pershing.htm
The 9th Cavalry Regiment of Buffalo Soldiers were also involved in the war and an estimated 25 percent of U. S troops were comprised of black soldiers (9th and 10th Cavalry and the 24th and 25th Infantry Regiment – all from Fort Huachuca). Reports detail how these troops served with distinction, and, as one example, Sergeant Major Edward Lee Baker, Jr. was presented with the Medal of Honor for his actions under fire.
The Vail Voice plans to have more articles in coming issues about the plans to restore a historic building from WW2, the “Mountain View Colored Officer’s Club,” (MVCOC), which was recognized as one of American’s “Most Endangered Historic Places.”
To learn more about the Buffalo Soldiers and the MVCOC restoration plans visit: https://swabuffalosoldiers.org/
To learn more about their actions in the Spanish-American War visit: https://history.army.mil/documents/spanam/BSSJH/Shbrt-BSSJH.htm
