[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 104 (Tuesday, July 15, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1482]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     CENTENNIAL OF THE SUPER-INTENDENCY OF COLONEL CHARLES YOUNG--
             REDEDICATION OF THE BOOKER T. WASHINGTON TREE

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                            HON. DEVIN NUNES

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 15, 2003

  Mr. NUNES. Mr. Speaker, I stand before you today to observe two very 
special events taking place in the Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park 
on August 23, 2003. The first is the centennial of the superintendency 
of Colonel Charles Young and secondly, the rededication of the Booker 
T. Washington Tree.
  Born in Kentucky during the Civil War to the parents of former slaves 
in 1864, Charles Young became only the third African-American to 
graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1889. 
Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and 
assigned to the 1Oth U.S. Cavalry.
  In the year 1903, then Captain Charles Young was in charge of the 9th 
U.S. Cavalry and had been assigned the duty of ``Acting 
Superintendent'' of the Sequoia and General Grant National Parks, he 
was to be responsible for the supervision of payroll accounts and 
directing activities of rangers. That early summer Captain Young led 
his ``Buffalo Soldiers'' out of the cold and fog shrouded Presidio in 
San Francisco en route to the high sierras of Central California. 
Captain Young and his troopers arrived 16 days later amongst some of 
the largest and oldest living things on Earth and they began their 
historic summer working in the second national park ever created in the 
United States.
  With this assignment, Captain Young not only became the first 
African-American superintendent in the U.S. Park Service history but 
also became the driving force in forging what would become today one of 
the most visited and highly recognized parks in the world.
  During his tenure as superintendent, Colonel Young discovered and 
named a majestic Giant Sequoia after an individual that inspired and 
influenced his life, Booker T. Washington. After nearly 100 years, this 
tree has been rediscovered and stands as a monument to both Colonel 
Charles Young and Booker T. Washington.
  Again, I ask you to join with me today in recognizing Colonel Charles 
Young and the rededication of the Booker T. Washington Tree in the 
Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park.

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