After prolonged injustice, the Buffalo Soldiers wrongfully executed in 1917 have been honored with new headstones at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. During the events of a race riot in Houston, 13 Black soldiers from the all-Black 24th Infantry Regiment were hanged by the U.S. Army without a fair trial. As per KENS 5, a false rumor of an impending attack on the soldiers led to the violent incident.
A century later, the Army conceded that all convictions should have been overturned. KENS 5 reported that the soldiers were interred in graves marked only by a grim date, December 11, 1917. Now, decades following their unjust demise, the Department of Veterans Affairs has rectified this historical oversight by revealing the soldiers' complete identities with the unveiling of new headstones.
The new markers bear the names, home states, ranks, regimental units, and dates of death of the 17 soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment. These soldiers had originally been placed in graves with headstones that showed merely their names and year of death. The VA's deputy secretary, Tanya Bradsher, said in a statement obtained by Task & Purpose, “These headstones will not erase history, or right the wrongs of the past, but they will ensure that future generations can understand that history and remember their names,”
The Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery has also, updated a sign to acknowledge the circumstances that precipitated the soldiers' executions – a homage to their memories and an educational point for those who come to pay their respects. At the ceremony, family members of the Buffalo Soldiers were in attendance and were presented with certificates that reflected their ancestors’ cleared service records.
