[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 104 (Wednesday, July 29, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9253-S9254]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CLELAND:
  S. 2370. A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at Tall Timbers Village Square, Untied States Highway 
19 South, in Thomasville, Georgia, as the ``Lieutenant Henry O. Flipper 
Station''; to the Committee on Governmental Affairs.


                  lieutenant henry o. flipper station

  Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, today I am introducing a bill in honor of 
an American patriot, Lieutenant Henry Ossian Flipper, on whose behalf I 
offer this legislation for the designation of the Lieutenant Henry O. 
Flipper Station, a postal station being constructed in Thomasville, 
Georgia.
  It is an honor for me to highlight the contributions of this 
courageous American. Born in 1856, in Thomasville, Georgia, Lieutenant 
Flipper was the first African-American to graduate from the United 
States Military Academy at West Point in 1877.
  Lieutenant Flipper had a distinguished career as an Army officer. His 
first assignment to frontier duty was with the Tenth Cavalry at Fort 
Sill, Oklahoma. The Tenth, along with its sister unit, the Ninth 
Cavalry unit, were responsible for facilitating the movement of 
pioneers wishing to settle in the Western frontier. The African-
American members of these two units became known as ``Buffalo 
Soldiers.'' During his tenure at Fort Sill, Lieutenant Flipper 
ingeniously engineered a drainage system to eliminate stagnant malarial 
ponds and swamps created during the rainy season. This effort made a 
significant contribution to improving the health of the Post, and the 
ditch, christened ``Flipper's Ditch,'' is now a historic landmark.
  Lieutenant Flipper was instrumental in the successful 1880 campaign 
against Mescalero Apache Chief Victorio, an escapee from the military 
authorities in New Mexico. Facing a judicial sentence for murder in 
1879, Victorio was able to escape, gather his forces and begin a 
rampage throughout New Mexico and Texas. Through tough terrain and 
logistical challenges, the soldiers of the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry were 
able to push Victorio into Mexico where he was killed by the Mexican 
Army.
  It is very timely that we commemorate Lieutenant Flipper since this 
year is the fiftieth anniversary of the racial integration of the 
military. This action marked a historic change which has led to 
significant progress in eliminating racial barriers. Lieutenant 
Flipper's legacy is that of a pioneer in confronting the challenges of 
racial strife who paved the way for this evolution. Although Lieutenant 
Flipper left the military in 1882, he was able to prove to America that 
African-Americans possessed the quality of military leadership.
  After the end of his military service in 1882, Lieutenant Flipper 
continued a very distinguished career, applying his surveying and 
engineering skills as a civil and mining engineer on the frontiers of 
the Southwest and Mexico. He became the first African-American to gain 
prominence in the engineering profession.
  Historical accounts depict the solid perseverance of Lieutenant 
Flipper. He confronted racial bias demonstrating unflinchingly strong 
character and intellect. In a book entitled ``An Officer and a 
Gentlemen,'' historian Steve Wilson is credited with compiling a list 
of ``firsts'' for an African-American which were achieved by Lieutenant 
Flipper: Military Academy graduate, cavalry officer, surveyor, 
cartographer, civil and mining engineer, translator, interpreter, 
inventor, editor, author, special agent for the Justice Department, 
personal confident and advisor to a Senator, and pioneer in the oil 
industry.
  In a ceremony in 1977, Lieutenant General Sidney B. Berry, the United 
States Military Academy's Superintendent, praised Lieutenant Flipper's 
memory, stating that, ``there was a strength and gentleness that 
transcended any bad treatment Flipper received. He was a strong and 
gentle man.'' Lieutenant Flipper was a pioneer for civil rights in the 
military and in the civilian community. Although he had a very 
successful civilian life, Lieutenant Flipper always considered himself 
first and foremost an Army officer.
  I join the residents of Thomasville in this quest of the post office 
designation in honor of Lieutenant Flipper. Not only is this hero one 
of Georgia's own, Lieutenant Flipper has earned the respect of a 
grateful Nation. The measure I am submitting today will give him this 
well-deserved recognition.
  Mr. President, I request unanimous consent that the full text of the 
bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2370

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF LIEUTENANT HENRY O. FLIPPER 
                   STATION.

       (a) In General.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at Tall Timbers Village Square, United States 
     Highway 19 South, in Thomasville, Georgia, shall be known and 
     designated as the ``Lieutenant Henry O. Flipper Station''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     facility of the United States Postal Service referred to in 
     subsection (a) shall be deemed to be a reference to the 
     ``Lieutenant Henry O. Flipper Station''.

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