The Truth Staff
July 28 is Buffalo Soldiers Day in Ohio, as per an order signed by Governor Mike DeWine in 2022. Toledo’s Buffalo Soldiers celebrate the day every year but they do a lot more than simply celebrate special occasions. They have been, for quite a while now, a positive force in this community, working with youth, with seniors and focusing on issues such as gun violence prevention and working cooperatively with law enforcement officials.
The Lucas County Commissioners raised the Buffalo Soldiers’ flag at Government Center once again this year on Wednesday, July 22, to honor their work in the community and the Buffalo Soldiers responded in kind by thanking the commissioners for their support of that work and presenting them with memorabilia such as Buffalo Soldiers’ shirts and a plaque of recognition.
“The Buffalo Soldiers do some amazing work,” said Lisa Sobecki, president of the Lucas County Board of Commissioners as she opened the ceremony. “They have an incredible impact on our community.
Sobecki recounted briefly the history of the Buffalo Soldiers noting that they began in 1866 as the first all-Black cavalry regiment and “served with honor, courage and discipline … our Buffalo Soldiers in Toledo also serve with honor, courage and discipline each and every day.”
She noted that the original soldiers “served a country that did not yet grant them full equality, [yet] they upheld our shared ideas of service and sacrifice.”
Commissioner Pete Gerken added that the original soldiers were “commissioned to serve a country that didn’t recognize their status right after the Civil War.” Today, said Gerken, the Toledo soldiers “give youth an opportunity to engage with the community,” as he spoke of the very recent activities the local group has undertaken – such as the Camp Wiakonda youth event the soldiers held two weeks ago.
“We do a lot of community service,” said Earl Mack, post commander of the Toledo unit. “But we fly under the radar. But we cannot do this work without the support of our political leaders,” he added as he and Fred LeFebvre, the unit’s public information officer, presented the token of appreciation to the commissioner.
“We don’t wait around to be asked, when we see a need, we try to fulfill that need,” added LeFebvre summing up the approach of these modern local Buffalo Soldiers.
