BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Members of the Buffalo Soldiers came together for a small ceremony at the Rose Garden in anticipation of a massive motorcycle-cade to the final resting place of Black soldiers interred at a park in Easton on Saturday.
A few members of the Buffalo Soldiers, alongside supporters, came together at the Bethlehem Rose Garden on Friday night to lay a wreath at the site of another proposed monument for that plot, serving as a preview of the massive ride set for Saturday.
Organizer Michael “Lawdog” Pitts explained the low-key moment at the Rose Garden was intended to pay homage quietly prior to the larger spectacle set for Saturday.
“The Buffalo Soldiers, we have a strong mantra: Leave No Soldier Behind. I don’t care what branch he was in, what his race is, we do not leave a soldier behind."Buffalo Soldier Michael "Lawdog" Pitts
Estimates for the ride from Coca-Cola Park include around 2,500 sign-ups to join the motorcade, though Pitts said Easton authorities have asked the Buffalo Soldiers to limit motorcycles in the city to just over 1,000.
“That's the big event over there tomorrow. We’ll be playing taps, having a 21-gun salute, be giving them some history on the Buffalo Soldiers, because nine of the people that are buried under the basketball court, all Buffalo Soldiers,” Pitts said, speaking of the graves under the basketball court on Nesquehoning Street where those soldiers’ bodies were left.
Last year, Pitts and the Buffalo Soldiers, alongside Easton City Councilmember Ken Brown, kicked off efforts to collect information about the site after South Side residents raised the issue with city hall.
After the city government obtained an outside consultant, that rumor was found to be true.
Originally, authorities believed there to be at least three Buffalo Soldiers — all-Black cavalry and infantry units which operated from 1866 until the end of the Korean War.
As it turns out, nine Buffalo Soldiers were discovered at the site, though the cost of excavating and reinterring the bodies to another area was deemed far too expensive to consider.
Instead, Pitts, the Buffalo Soldiers, and city councilmembers agreed a monument would be an appropriate memorial for the plot.
Brown said he was honored to play a part in the plan to recognize the service of those men who served their country and were seemingly forgotten over time.
“It was an opportunity for them to memorialize what we found out as a committee and to lay a wreath at the site until such time that we’re finished with it. And we are deeply moved by the community outpouring of support and help with this special occasion,” Brown said.
And while much work remains to be done — Brown has accepted an invitation from the Philadelphia Eagles’ training camp to pay a visit, during which time he plans to solicit donations to build a monument at the park in Easton — Pitts and his fellow Buffalo Soldiers are prepared for the ride.
“The Buffalo Soldiers, we have a strong mantra: Leave No Soldier Behind. I don’t care what branch he was in, what his race is, we do not leave a soldier behind,” Pitts said.
