Riders With A Purpose
Buffalo Soldiers
Motorcycle Club ready
to ride
On May 13, 2017, the New Mexico Buffalo Soldiers
Motorcycle Club (NMBSMC) held their 5th Annual “Ride
To Honor.” The NMBSMC is one of over 100 chapters of
the National Association of Buffalo Soldiers and Troopers
Motorcycle Clubs. The clubs honor the legacy of the
nearly 200,000 men and one woman, most of whom were
former slaves, known as the Buffalo Soldiers. Despite
profound mistreatment, the Buffalo Soldiers of the U.S.
Army’s 9th and 10th Cavalries served this country from
1866 to 1944.
The “Ride to Honor” recognized three Buffalo
Soldiers whose remains were reinterred from Fort Craig
Cemetery in Socorro County to the Santa Fe National
Cemetery in 2009. Also recognized were 64 men, women
and children, all residents of Fort Craig, whose remains
were reinterred at the same time. Finally, all veterans,
living and deceased, were honored.
Looting of the forgotten, unmarked graves of the
Fort Craig Cemetery was revealed in 2005 after a tipster
told federal authorities the mummified corpse of a Black
soldier was among the artifacts in the estate of collector
Dee Brecheisen. Federal agents found a skull. In 2007,
upon the conclusion of a criminal investigation, the
Bureau of Reclamation coordinated the effort to exhume
the entire cemetery. The only remains identified were
those of Pvt. David Ford, Pvt. Levi Morris, and Pvt.
Thomas Smith.
Nicknamed by their adversaries for their fierce
determination and wooly hair, the Buffalo Soldiers played
a crucial role in the settlement of the Southwest.
For more information, visit www.nmbsmc.net.
www.oaaa.state.nm.us
Scholarship Awarded
This is the 4th year the New Mexico Buffalo
Soldiers Motorcycle Club has presented a scholarship
to a graduating senior.
Scholarship recipient, Mankirt “Nikki” Grewal is
a 2017 Graduate of Cleveland High School.
Mankirt will be attending the University of New
Mexico and will be majoring in (Pre Med) Radiology.
Her career goal is to become an Oncologist. Mankirt
has a 3.7 GPA and was the National Honor Society
President from 2015 to 2017. Nikki wants to help
cancer patients in rural NM, being that NM is severely
understaffed with medical professionals.
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