Black Veterans Request Proclamation for Buffalo Soldier - They want him promoted to Brigadier General almost a century after his death

California Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who will also be writing Obama on Young’s behalf, said in a statement that Black History Month is a “particularly fitting time” to bestow the posthumous honor on Young.

“Colonel Young was a true trailblazer; in a time when the obstacles he faced due to the color of his skin seemed insurmountable, his achievements were astounding,” Lee said.

“This is why I will be sending a letter to President Obama requesting a presidential proclamation promoting Colonel Young to the rank of Brigadier General.”

In a letter to President Barack Obama, the National Coalition of Black Veterans Organizations (NCBVO) asks that during the celebration of Black History Month in February– a presidential proclamation be issued that elevates legendary Buffalo Soldier Col. Charles Young to the honorary rank of Brigadier General.
Col. Young was medically discharged from the U.S. Army on Jan. 22, 1917, but he was recalled in 1918 after riding 500 miles to demonstrate his fitness to serve on active military duty.

“We are firm in our belief that the honor we are seeking on his behalf was earned over a career that spanned more than thirty-two years of honorable service to our nation (1889 – 1922),” a portion of the letter dated Jan. 22, reads. “We are joined in this request by resolutions from the Commonwealth of Kentucky House of Representatives (the birth state of Colonel Young), the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, the Council of the District of Columbia and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.”

The letter, which was signed by NCBVO chairman Charles Blatcher III, goes on to state that “as the third Black cadet to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Young’s accomplishments were numerous.


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