[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 80 (Wednesday, June 22, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 22, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
 COMMEMORATION OF THE LIFE AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF COL. CHARLES A. YOUNG

                                 ______


                          HON. DAVID L. HOBSON

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 22, 1994

  Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, today I submit for the Record a speech 
delivered at Arlington National Cemetary on June 17, 1994 by Maj. Gen. 
Alvin Bryant, commander of the 310th Theater Army Area Command, in 
commemoration of the life of Col. Charles A. Young of Ohio.
  I urge all members to read the text of this speech in order to better 
understand the trials faced by the Buffalo soldiers who fought bravely 
to defend our Nation and who's place in history must never be 
forgotten.

In Commemoration of the Life and Accomplishments of Colonel Charles A. 
                                 Young

                      (By Major Gen. Alvin Bryant)

       Thank you General Gorden, Congressman Hobson of Ohio, Major 
     North, Buffalo soldiers, friends and honored guests. Welcome 
     to Virginia.
       It is my honor today to be here with you to pay tribute to 
     Colonel Charles Young, a man whose nickname ``Follow Me'' 
     epitomizes leadership, a man whose life exemplifies the 
     Spirit of America.
       He was a man who faced adversity with determination; who 
     faced death with courage; and who faced life with a burning 
     desire to serve his Nation and his people.
       By now we all know the story well.
       Born of former slaves in a rural Kentucky log cabin during 
     the heat of the Civil War, Charles Young was the third black 
     American to graduate from the United States Military Academy 
     at West Point.
       Commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the all-black 10th 
     Cavalry Regiment, a Buffalo soldier, he became a professor of 
     military science, French and mathematics.
       A veteran of numerous campaigns throughout the world, he 
     charged up San Juan Hill with Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough 
     Riders, and served with General John J. Pershing in the hunt 
     for Pancho Villa.
       Retired by the Army to quiet racial disharmony in a mixed-
     race unit, he was restored to active service after completing 
     his 500-mile sojourn from Ohio to Washington, D.C.
       Sent to Liberia to reorganize that nation's Army, he was to 
     die in service to his country on an expedition to Nigeria.
       Buried first on foreign soil, far from the Nation he loved, 
     he was brought home to assume his rightful place in our 
     Nation's history--to be given a hero's burial here at 
     Arlington National Cemetery where we lay to rest the sons and 
     daughters of America who have vigilantly served in the cause 
     of freedom and liberty. A fitting tribute to a man who 
     overcame many barriers, who accomplished so much, and who 
     gave freely of himself in service to our great Nation.
       This is the chronology of events in the life of Colonel 
     Charles Young. And it would be only fitting for us to be here 
     today honoring any man--or woman--who has made such 
     extraordinary contributions to our Nation.
       But Charles Young is not just ``any man.'' He is a metaphor 
     for American leadership.
       So rather than simply looking at his accomplishments, I 
     want to spend the next few minutes examining the character of 
     the man we pay tribute to today.
       What kind of man graduates with honors from high school and 
     receives the second highest score on a West Point candidate's 
     exam? A man of great intelligence.
       What kind of man spends an extra year at West Point because 
     of a deficiency in mathematical skills, only later to become 
     a professor of mathematics? A man of uncommon determination.
       What kind of man overcomes shunning from his fellow cadets, 
     using his gift for foreign languages to establish friendships 
     with West Point's immigrant janitors? A man of fortitude and 
     humanity.
       What kind of man is appointed a professor of tactics, 
     military science, French and mathematics? A renaissance man.
       What kind of man volunteers for active duty service during 
     the Spanish American War? A patriotic man.
       What kind of man regularly faces personal and institutional 
     racism, yet maintains an abiding loyalty to the Nation and 
     the principles for which it stands? A man of principle, 
     pride, and conviction. A man grounded in the principles on 
     which this country was founded.
       What kind of man spends two years tutoring a senior NCO in 
     geography, surveying and drill regulations to prepare him to 
     become an officer in the U.S. Army, and later to become the 
     Nation's first black general? A man who could see the worth 
     in another human, who was willing to work to bring it to its 
     fullest potential.
       What kind of man serves as an officer in the Buffalo 
     soldiers and earns the nickname ``Follow Me'' during 
     dangerous anti-guerrilla operations in the Philippines? A man 
     who is a born leader.
       What kind of man can write a biography of Haiti's 
     liberator, a handbook on Creole French as spoken in Haiti, 
     and prepare maps of both Haiti and the Dominican Republic? A 
     scholarly man who strived to learn about his world.
       What kind of man can serve as a military attache to 
     Liberia, lead a 100-man expedition to save an American 
     officer from hostile native tribesmen, suffer a bullet wound 
     in the process, then negotiate the groundwork for improved 
     relations between the tribesmen and the government of 
     Liberia? A man of courage and diplomacy.
       What kind of man could earn the respect of American 
     Military Icon, General Blackjack Pershing, who promoted him 
     to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel? A world-class soldier, 
     both technically and tactically proficient.
       What kind of man would challenge a spurious medical 
     discharge from the Army with a 500-mile march from Ohio to 
     Washington, earning the respect and support of white and 
     black Americans alike? A man of tenacity.
       And what kind of man would die an ocean away from home, 
     working to help the government of Liberia, a nation of former 
     American slaves? A man who, in his own words, ``was willing 
     to aid in any work for the good of the country in general and 
     our race in particular, whether the race be found in Africa 
     or the United States.''
       Soldier, scholar, teacher, author, cartographer, diplomat, 
     Colonel Charles Young was a man of extraordinary talent.
       A born leader, filled with courage, fortitude and 
     conviction. Patriotic, principled and proud. Intelligent and 
     scholarly. Determined and diplomatic. Caring and humane. A 
     tenacious, tactically and technically proficient soldier, 
     with an abiding love for his nation and his people. Colonel 
     Charles Young was a man of extraordinary character.
       No tombstone can hold the weight of these accomplishments, 
     no tomb can hold his soaring spirit.
       In a day in which we strive to find role models for our 
     children, Colonel Charles Young is an example that should be 
     trumpeted throughout the land. A man who embodies the 
     American ideals.
       Sir Isaac Newton, the great English scientist, was often 
     complimented for his great scientific accomplishments and 
     discoveries. One day he responded to his admirers ``If I have 
     seen further than other men, it is because I have stood upon 
     the shoulders of giants.''
       I stand here before you today--a black American--a 
     surgeon--a major general in the Army of the United States.
       If I have gone further than other black officers who 
     preceded me in the USAR, it is because I too have stood upon 
     the shoulders of giants. Giants like Crispus Attucks who 
     stood with other colonists one cold morning in Boston, 
     challenging the British soldiers as foreign occupiers. Before 
     the day was over, shots rang out and Crispus Attucks lay 
     dead, the first to lay down his life in the struggle for 
     American independence.
       Giants like Peter Salem, a black patriot who fought in our 
     Nation's War for Independence in historic battles such as 
     Lexington, Concord and at Bunker Hill where he slew the 
     commander of British forces.
       And those whose names we do not know--slient, anonymous 
     giants--like the hundreds of brave black men of the 54th 
     Massachusetts Infantry who gave their lives on behalf on the 
     Union in the attack upon the Confederacy's Fort Wagner, 
     settling once and for all the question ``Would the black man 
     fight?''
       And of course, giants like Colonel Charles Young, who 
     blazed a trail of freedom, democracy and opportunity for all 
     Americans.
       Upon his retirement, another great soldier, General Douglas 
     MacArthur said, ``Old soldiers never die, they just fade 
     away.''
       If this is true, then it is fitting that Colonel Charles 
     Young never became an old soldier, dying instead in service 
     to his country at the age of 56. For a man like Colonel 
     Charles Young was determined to never just ``fade away,'' and 
     today we do him justice by not letting him fade away into the 
     history book--just another American pioneer entombed in the 
     musty pages of some forgotten tomb. It is good that we bring 
     new life to his memory.
       Thank you, Colonel Young. Yours is a legacy from which all 
     Americans can draw inspiration. Those of us who now hold the 
     batons of leadership in our hands must continue the struggle 
     for equality, justice and freedom and say, ``Follow me.''
       At his funeral, Navy Secretary Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. said 
     of Colonel Young: ``No man ever more truly deserved the high 
     repute in which he was held, for by sheer force of character, 
     he overcame prejudice which would have discouraged a lesser 
     man.''
       Truer words were never spoken.
       ``Follow me'' was his nickname. Follow him we have; follow 
     him we shall.
       Thank you and God bless.

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