Buffalo Soldiers in Washington State

With the end of WWII in the Pacific, over 16,000 servicemen and women were brought to Tacoma during December of 1945 on troop ships. Each ship was met by Red Cross volunteers handing out milk, doughnuts and other items to the troops. Three hardy volunteers wrapped against the weather greet the arriving troops returning from overseas. 

May 20, 1950 was the first Armed Forces Day celebrated. It was a day in tribute to the men and women who served and Tacoma got into the swing of things with a PARADE! 

The 41st Division Band was an all-African American group led by Guard warrant officer Robert "Bumps" Blackwell. Seattle-born Blackwell was an American bandleader, songwriter, arranger and record producer. Some of the band members, to include Quincy Jones, went on to become music legends - first in the Seattle club scene then nationwide.

On October 5, 1909, 900 men of the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Regiment are transferred to Fort Lawton from the Philippines. Seattle's Fort Lawton is on Magnolia Bluff overlooking Puget Sound in what is now Discovery Park. The 25th is one of four regiments of African American soldiers in the Army, called Buffalo Soldiers by Plains Indians in the 1870s and 1880s.