A WWII Veteran and member of the ‘Buffalo Soldiers’, an all-black cavalry regiment, has died Wednesday in Florida. His name was Steve Lewis, and he was 99 years old.
President of the NAACP chapter in Manatee County, Robert Powell, said Lewis was hospitalized before his death, though the cause of death is unknown.
“We lost a legend, a great guy,” Powell said in an interview. “I used to love listening to his stories.”
According to the Bradenton Herald, after Lewis joined the US Army in 1943, he was assigned to the 9th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Clark, Texas. He was told to corral and get a horse; he then was issued a saddle, bridle, horse blankets, and stirrups.
The Army halted the 9th Cavalry Regiment in 1944. They reassigned Lewis to the US Army Transportation Corps in Casablanca, supplying war materials to the fronts in Italy, France, and Germany.
After his service, Lewis earned a degree in agriculture and taught for 30 years in Florida. According to the Bradenton Herald, Lewis is survived by his daughter.
Member Of The ‘Buffalo Soldiers’
Buffalo Soldiers originally were members of the 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
This nickname was given to the Colored Cavalry by Native American tribes who fought in the Indian Wars. After the Civil War, the unit had gained fame by patrolling the American frontier.
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