FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. – The Main Post Chapel was renamed and the chapel's courtyard dedicated during a ceremony July 28 memorializing Buffalo Soldiers on National Buffalo Soldiers Day.
"It is a great honor for me to be a part of dedicating this building and courtyard to the lives and legacies of American heroes," said Maj. Gen. Anthony Hale, commanding general of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence & Fort Huachuca.
The post's chapel now will be known as "The Buffalo Soldier Chapel at Main Post" to memorialize the Buffalo Soldiers who served at Fort Huachuca between 1892 and 1945. Fort Huachuca was the home station for the four original Buffalo Soldier units, the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments, as well as two additional all-Black units – the 92nd and 93rd Infantry Divisions in the WWII era.
"Thousands of Soldiers will come to Fort Huachuca every year," Hale said. "Many of them will come to this chapel."
"I hope they will learn something about the history of the Buffalo Soldiers," Hale added.
Hale added the Soldiers would learn of the dedication and honor of Chaplain Louis A. Carter.
"They will study the past and perhaps see how we can advance in the future," Hale explains. "Dates like today are how we pay tribute to Soldiers who paved the way for us to enjoy our freedoms."
These tributes, Hale continued, serve as a daily reminder to everyone, regardless of their background, that all can serve with distinction.
A plaque, inscribed Chaplain (COL) Louis A. Carter Courtyard, memorializes Chaplain Carter's lifetime of service as the first Black Army chaplain to earn the rank of colonel becoming a Black mentor and hero with a long and dignified military service during World War I and in the American Southwest.
"Chaplain Louis A. Carter was many things," Hale said. "He was the clergy, a colonel, a pioneer of diversity and inclusion, but above all else, Chaplain Carter was a leader."
Hale added Chaplain Carter was a positively engaged leader.
Upon entering the U.S. Army, Carter quickly concluded that personal contact with “the men” was the key to winning their confidence and respect and to helping him understand their attitudes, behavior and problems.
“He attributed whatever success he had in his Army ministry to personal contact – in hospitals and guard houses, in garrison and field, in barracks and homes, and at places of recreation and worship” wrote past Fort Huachuca historian, James Finley.
"At Fort Huachuca, he [Carter] served as a post chaplain from 1913 to 1915, and again from 1935 to 1940," Hale said. "Aside from his regular duties as chaplain, Carter served as a post schoolmaster and librarian."
Carter was a strong advocate for literacy, he said.
"For 53 years, the Buffalo Soldiers served here on the frontier," Dr. Fiona Holter, staff historian at USAICoE. "Fort Huachuca was, and continues to be, the real home of the Buffalo Soldiers."
Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Shay Worthy, garrison chaplain, led all attendees to the front of the chapel to watch the unveiling of the chapel's new sign.
Col. John Ives, garrison commander; Command Sgt. Maj. Kuhling, garrison command sergeant major; Command Sgt. Maj. Tammy Everette, USAICoE command sergeant major; and Hale each pulled a cord, unveiling the new sign.
Fort Huachuca's Buffalo Soldiers Day proclamation sums up the qualities of the Buffalo Soldiers who served here.
“Their loyalty, patriotism and dedication to duty are qualities that we must all seek to emulate…
“These Americans played a vital role in the westward expansion of the United States, protecting settlers, fighting in combat operations and building much of the needed infrastructure for expanding the republic.
“Within these ranks of men and women are profiles of extraordinary heroism and courage. We honor their service as guardians of freedom and pioneers for diversity and inclusion.”
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Fort Huachuca is home to the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence, the U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM)/9th Army Signal Command and more than 48 supported tenants representing a diverse, multiservice population. Our unique environment encompasses 946 square miles of restricted airspace and 2,500 square miles of protected electronic ranges, key components to the national defense mission.
Located in Cochise County, in southeast Arizona, about 15 miles north of the border with Mexico, Fort Huachuca is an Army installation with a rich frontier history. Established in 1877, the Fort was declared a national landmark in 1976.
We are the Army’s Home. Learn more at https://home.army.mil/huachuca/.
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