South Carolina’s Last Buffalo Soldier Laid to Rest
“He tended soldiers on the beaches of Normandy”
One of the last of the Buffalo soldiers was laid to rest on Friday; Private Tomie Louis Gaines was 93 years old.
The last of South Carolina’s Buffalo soldiers, Gaines was a remarkable man.
Private Tomie Louis Gaines, 93, one of the last of the Buffalo Soldiers, the black Army men who helped settle the West on horseback and fought in two world wars, was laid to rest Friday at M.J. Dolly Cooper Cemetery in Anderson.
A medic during World War II, Gaines served in the 2nd Calvary and spent time in Italy, Japan and the Philippines. He tended soldiers on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, patched wounds in a field hospital in Italy and was injured by German bombers in the aftermath of a raid.
“He was a good soldier,” said State Sen. Karl Allen, who spoke at Gaines’ funeral in Greenville Friday.
And he was also more. A longtime Nicholtown resident, Gaines was married to his wife, Clara, for 51 years. He was a dedicated member of VFW Post #6734, a former truck driver, a retired painter.
According to Greenville online,
Others said Gaines was a living piece of history, the last of the Buffalo Soldiers, a regiment of African-American soldiers commissioned the year after the Civil War ended.
Watch:
I wonder what Gaines made of Bob Marley’s song about buffalo soldiers.
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Comments
Rest in peace Tomie.
Defenders of our nation deserve our highest respect.
Heroes are becoming extinct.
I bet this guy could have explained a thing or two about trigger warnings to the SWJ crowd.
The man is a goddamn hero. These are the people the black community, hell everyone, need to be looking up to. Not rappers, thugs, and wannabe cop killers.
Absolutely! Anyone who served deserves our utmost respect and those who served in combat, no matter what their ethnicity, are heroes who should be not only respected, but honored; they were willing to put their lives on the line for
here’s the rest; no idea why it got cut off)
ALL citizens without regard to color.
I note in passing that the two ladies (??) who founded Black Lives Matter spoke at Mizzou lsgt week and advised students there that the Constitution is racist, and that their movement started after George Zimmerman got away with murdering Trayvon Martin! (Apparently Andrew Branca needs to throw a few more pearls … )
Rest In Peace, Soldier. Your deeds are done and may your reunion on the other side fill you with joy and rest.
The Buffalo Soldiers were at one time charged with overseeing Yosemite National Park. Since then, few nation parks, forests or BLM lands have seen many Black faces among visitors. Last time I toured a few, I counted 4 Black faces out of some 4000 visitors.
Not only are Blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans mostly missing from public lands that are part of their own patrimony, they are also not to be seen in most any documentary about public lands, whether those of Nova, NatGeo, Discovery, Nature or Ken Burns.
This country is still about as racist as it can be.
“This country is still about as racist as it can be.”
Of course it is. There are armed gaurds standing in front of the entrance to Yosemite stopping blacks, hispanics, and native Americans from entering. Americans refused to vote for a black man as president. Why, just yesterday I saw a black man and a hispanic man working. I’m sure it was forced labor.
Yep, racist all right.
I’d respond with a witty retort, but I’m a racist white male who needs to find Jesus.
Seriously, I need to find Jesus. He’s my Guatemalan gardener, and I don’t know where he is at the moment…
I hope for your sake you’re being sarcastic.
Otherwise, hey, it’s not even the first of March and you’ve got the “Dumbest Comment of 2016” prize locked up.
My friend, that is weapons grade idiocy right there.
Linked this over on my own blog at http://triggerwarningblog.blogspot.com/2016/02/a-great-american-hero-has-died.html
I figure the best way for us to honor Pvt. Gaines’ memory is to make sure as many people as possible know who he was.
Yes, Black lives matter…This black life mattered, not so sure about the thugs of today.
We owe this gentleman a great deal…