The Oldest Buffalo Soldier Stands Down

The 9th and 10th Calvary regiments were given the nickname of "The Buffalo Soldiers" by the Native Americans they fought during the late 1800s. These all-black units were given the name, according to CNN, "because the Indians thought the soldiers' hair resembled a buffalo's mane or that the Indians respected the soldiers for their courage and fearlessness, qualities they found in the buffalo."

The courage and fearlessness was undeniable. 20 of those "Buffalo Soldiers" were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

One of those men who wore the nickname with pride, Mark Matthews, passed away September 6, 2005 at the age of 111. He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetary, as the oldest surviving member of the Buffalo Soldiers.

Matthews joined the unit at the age of 16 in 1910. While stationed in Arizona, he learned how to ride, shoot and survive. Several years later, he served under General John "Blackjack" Pershing in the pursuit of Pancho Villa.

George S. Patton and Dwight David Eisenhower would go on to become generals themselves. Matthews rose to the rank of First Sergeant and served in WWII in the Pacific Theatre of War.

Matthews retired shortly before President Truman desegregated the unit. The Washington Post reported that,

In retirement, he liked to fish. He also enjoyed sitting on the front porch and telling tales about the old days out West and the not-quite-so-old days in the Pacific during World War II, often to neighborhood kids who came around and sat at the knee of a man who had experienced an adventure-novel's worth of stirring chapters in U.S. history.

I know I would have loved to have been one of those sitting on the front porch listening to those adventures.

"I did it all," Sgt. Matthews told The Washington Post a few years ago. "Yes, I was there."

More Info:

Buffalo Soldiers website

Mark Matthews Washington Post Obituary

In-depth story on Matthews