On the recordJuly 13, 2010
I rise in support of H.R. 4686, but also H.R. 4514, the Colonel Charles Young Home Study Act... Colonel Charles Young was a distinguished officer and Buffalo soldier and the third African American to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He served in the Army for 37 years, carrying out a variety of assignments throughout the U.S., Philippines, Haiti, Liberia, and Mexico. When forced into retirement--and this is very interesting--by the Army for medical reasons, Charles Young rode his horse 500 miles from his home in Wilberforce, Ohio, to Washington, DC, to prove he was fit for duty. And I can tell you I drove 8½ hours over the weekend--that same route. So that's a long way. After petitioning the Secretary of War, Young was reinstated and promoted to full colonel, becoming the first African American to reach his rank by World War II.
