Setting the record straight

There’s been ample note made of the ever-declining ranks of living veterans of World War II, which thin each year as the war’s survivors die.

The next great passing may be members of segregated black units. The units weren’t fully abolished until the 1950s, but numbers shrank to a handful after World War II.

One Louisa man is part of a group that tries to keep the memory of that experience alive.

George Grady is a veteran himself, having served two tours in Vietnam. He got involved with the Buffalo Soldiers, a group that honors segregated soldiers, in 2001.

He works to present the soldiers’ history, which is fraught with undercutting, frame-up charges from white superiors and constant supply shortages, he said.

“They were given the last of everything,” Grady said.

And while, early in their history, black segregated units were readily used for combat through the Spanish-American War at the turn of the century, by World War I, black soldiers had largely been relegated to logistic duties, a pattern that repeated itself for decades, he said.

He also has a variety of paraphernalia, ranging from miniature soldiers (including some he’s painted himself) to a tapestry honoring black soldiers from history.

The group honors all segregated soldiers, not just the group most often thought of as “buffalo soldiers” — infantry and cavalry from the 19th-century’s Indian wars on the Great Plains.

As part of the group, Grady is even able to spend time with one of the last surviving buffalo soldiers, John J. Nichols, who was a master sergeant and served in World War II.

Nichols served in one of the units that was originally associated with the buffalo soldiers moniker, the 10th Cavalry Regiment, before the unit lost its horses and was sent overseas for World War II.

Nichols can remember telling his superiors during that time that he was going to fight someone — them, or the enemy, and it was their choice.

But while the two are united about the importance of black military units from the Civil to Korean wars, they can get into lively debate about the relative merits of historical figures, many of whom in turn supported and undermined black troops.

Grady said the best part is teaching the history the group celebrates.

To that end he’s traveled to Atlanta and New Jersey to spread the message. He often girds himself in a full 19th-century uniform, with blue jacket and pants and a blue kepi. (The style of military cap is probably best known from its use by both sides in the Civil War.)

“[Segregated soldiers] persevered through it because they wanted to be a part of the United States Army, and if we could get our youngsters to see that today, I think they’d be in better condition,” he said.