By LINDA CHION KENNEY
linda@observernews.net
A memorial honoring the Buffalo Soldiers will be dedicated this weekend at the Hillsborough County Veterans Memorial Park and Rear Admiral LeRoy Collins, Jr. Veterans Museum, adding another important chapter to Tampa Bay’s ongoing remembrance of military service and sacrifice.
The dedication ceremony for the bronze monument is set to kick off 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, in the ever-growing outdoor history museum in Tampa, at 3602 North U.S. Highway 301.
The free event, open to the public, is to include members of the Tampa chapter of the National Association of Buffalo Soldiers & Troopers Motorcycle Club. Also in step, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard and Mounted Patrol. Retired Army Brig. Gen. Remo Butler is to deliver keynote remarks. Hosted by
Hillsborough County Veteran Community Services and county leaders, the dedication is set for the park’s outdoor amphitheater, followed by the unveiling of the bronze monument on park grounds.
According to reports, the Buffalo Soldiers were Black U.S. Army troops who served in segregated regiments established after the Civil War. Beginning in 1866, they served throughout the American West, protecting settlers, guarding mail routes and building roads and other infrastructure. They also served in military campaigns, including the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War. By some accounts, the nickname “Buffalo Soldiers” was given to the Black troops by Native Americans.
Noted is a direct connection to Tampa. In 1898, as the United States prepared to invade Cuba during the Spanish-American War, thousands of troops passed through Tampa. Two Black regiments — the 24th and 25th infantries — camped on the edges of Tampa Heights before departing for Cuba. An historical marker commemorating the Buffalo Soldiers in Tampa Heights stands at the intersection of East Columbus Drive and North Central Avenue, near the site of their encampments. Hillsborough County and the Tampa Historical Society erected the marker in 1998.
Joe Eletto is a Riverview resident and longtime member of the Greater Riverview Chamber of Commerce, newly merged as the Greater Brandon and Riverview Chamber of Commerce, which continues to support each chamber’s long-standing Military Affairs Committee tradition. Eletto helped establish and served as president for the Riverview chamber committee. The combined committee today is led by president Joe Muhlberger. The committee meets 9 a.m. the third Friday of the month, at the chamber, which has space in the bottom floor of The Regent at Riverview, just outside the Winthrop community.
Eletto, a veteran and long-time supporter of Veterans Memorial Park, said he is happy to see the growth of the park and its impact on remembering, “lest we forget,” the service and sacrifice of soldiers and their families.
Indeed, taking a walking tour of the monuments, markers, plaques and pavers at Hillsborough County Veterans Memorial Park gives testament to the area’s rich military heritage, to the enduring horrors of war, and to the human cost measured in service and sacrifice.
Overall, the collection of park memorials includes remembrances for the Seminole Wars, Spanish-American War, Mexican-American War, Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan).
Tributes also are for Prisoners of War (POW) and soldiers Missing in Action (MIA), Committed Forces, Medal of Honor recipients, Purple Heart recipients, Submariners, the Armory, Veterans Freedom, American Eagle, Gold Star Families, and the more than 4,000 military dogs who prevented more than 10,000 casualties in Vietnam.
Likewise, “the Buffalo Soldiers monument is a needed recognition for these soldiers,” Eletto said. “It’s important for young people to have that knowledge, and also for adults, who don’t have any idea that this group of soldiers even exists.”
Overall, all park monuments “are an appreciation of what took place in the past and how it affected our country for the positive,” Eletto said. “It’s important that this sacrifice does not go unnoticed, especially with our students coming up.”