News

By Nestor Tamayao

Recently Comrade Aaron Stoltz and I visited a museum that we never knew existed. Nestled within a residential neighborhood in Tacoma is the 9th and 10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers Museum. Founded in 2005, the museum showcases an overlooked part of American history: the Buffalo Soldiers.  The museum began operating in 2012.

Buffalo Soldiers originally were members of the U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, which was formed on September 21, 1866 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Buffalo Soldiers later comprised other regiments, including the 9th, 24th, 27th and 28th cavalry divisions. These African American Soldiers got their nickname by the Native American tribes they fought. The term became a generic term for all-black soldier units and is used by U.S. Army units that trace their direct lineage back to the 9th and 10th Cavalry.

Notable facts about the Buffalo Soldiers include:

• First to experiment with bicycles.
• In 1898, saved the 71st New York in the now famous charge up San Juan Hill.
• Instrumental in the victory of the Spanish American War.
• Represented over 20 percent of all U.S. Calvary Units until early 1890.
• 19 Congressional Medals of Honor.
• Five West Point Graduates.

The museum is filled with many artifacts, memorabilia and fascinating information and facts. It is one of only two of its kind in the country dedicated to the Buffalo Soldiers. The other is the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum in Houston, Texas. The museum has hosted a tribute to the famed Buffalo Soldiers with an evening with famed actor Danny Glover, who starred in the 1977 film Buffalo Soldiers.

The museum is open Wednesdays and Saturdays. For more information go to http://www.buffalosoldierstacoma.org/ or 253-272-4257.

Post 3063 presented a Legacy Life Membership to Comrade Michael Lawrence for his exemplary service and tremendous generosity at the October business meeting on Oct. 5, 2017.

Mike headed up the post’s visits to the Seattle VA Medical Center for numerous years and donated large amounts of money to the VFW Children’s Home and Post 3063 Relief Fund. He is the epitome of a veteran serving veterans and his impact will be felt for years to come. Thank you, Mike!

Mike made a heartfelt appeal that a Post 3063 comrade step up and take charge of the VA Volunteer Coordinator position. The Seattle VAMC needs our help! Please contact Commander Krawitz if interested.

Post 3063 members are encouraged to participate in a visit to the Seattle VA Medical Center on Veterans Day (Observed), which is Friday, Nov. 10. The visit will include passing out snacks to veteran patients and partaking in good conversation.

The meeting time is TBD. Volunteers will meet at the hospital’s emergency room entrance. The Seattle VAMC is located at 1660 South Columbian Way, Seattle 98108.

People who want to participate should contact Comrade Jon Guncay at jonguncay@gmail.com.

By Pete Krawitz

What a great way to end the summer. We pulled off a very successful spaghetti dinner and raffle event, raising over $4K for our various programs. A huge thank you to all who made this event a success. A special thank you to Comrade Russ Seelig, his wife, Kay, and their friends and family who volunteered a significant amount of time coordinating the event.

I’d also like to acknowledge the great work our color guard is doing. Many of you had a chance to witness the color guard in action during the Spaghetti Dinner. The team looked sharp! As of late, we’ve been receiving many requests for our color guard to conduct ceremonies at various events in the region. We are not only honoring our veterans, flag, and country during these events but are also increasing Post 3063’s visibility in the community. I’d like to thank all of the members of the color guard for their hard work and dedication. I’d also like to thank Comrades Bill Hoeller and Joe Fitzgerald for their hard work in planning, equipping, and leading the color guard. For those who might be interested in joining, please reach out to Comrade Joe Fitzgerald (colorguard@vfwseattle.org).

We’ve also been pretty fortunate to attract quite a few new members over the past few months. Many of these new members have dove right in and have been assisting with some of the activities around the post. To some of the newer members, we still have a few committees that I’d like to see brought online. The Community Activities and Scholarship committees in particular. If you are interested in leading either of these committees, please let me know.

Changing gears ever so slightly, I’d like to discuss one project that we will be working on over the next few months. As many of you know, we’ve been discussing the idea of refurbishing the post for a few years now. The purpose of a refurbishment would be to make the facility more attractive, comfortable, and accessible for our members and also increase the hall’s rental desirability and value. Before we can make any proposals on the refurbishment front, we’ve determined that we need a better understanding of our current situation. Over the next few months, I’ll be working hand-in-hand with the house committee and quartermaster to analyze our facility’s operation and maintenance situation. While the post’s finances are relatively stable, we want to ensure that we are planning accordingly and maintain this stability for many years to come. To keep our finances healthy, especially in this rapidly changing and expensive city, we need to make sure that we can adapt to the changing needs and preferences of our communities, both the veteran community and the Ballard / Seattle community. We will be sharing regular updates as we make progress with our analysis.

I look forward to seeing you at our next business meeting.

Ballard Eagleson VFW Post 3063’s October 2017 newsletter is available for download here. Highlights include September Spaghetti Fundraiser Nets $4K for Relief Fund; 105 year-old WWII Vet Joins Post During Birthday Party; Voice of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen Essays due Oct. 31; and Veteran Designation Available for WA State Driver’s Licenses.