Travis County Commissioners Court
Tuesday, June 14, 2011 (Agenda)
Item 4
Number 4, approve proclamation recognizing mr. Horace williams for providing educational programs recording the contributions of the renowned buffalo soldiers and their impact on shaping our county.
and should I read this, ms. Brown?
>> yes, please.
>> and which one is mr. Williams?
the one in the middle.
it reads: whereas all of us are born for a reason, but all of us do not discover why.
success in life has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself.
what matters is what you do for others.
whereas the Travis County Commissioners court is proud to recognize, honor and express heartfelt appreciation to a man who has distinguished himself by exhibiting extra portions of caring and devotion.
whereas mr. Horace p.
williams served two tours in vietnam, was wounded on February 10, 1996, while serving in company c, first battalion, 27th infantry wolf hounds 245th infantry drugs and received divd the purple art.
served in the united states army 22 years.
mr. Williams now serves his Travis County community and surrounding areas as an historical educator and educates the public on the history of the african-american buffalo soldier.
whereas black soldiers were give ten name buffalo soldier by the native americans because of their short and curly hair and comparison to the buffalo's strength and tenacity, the buffalo soldiers settled railroad disputes, built telephone lines, built and repaired forts, helped settlers find a place to live and protected settlers from indian attack.
whereas mr. Williams is president and co-founder of the officially designated group which was founded in 1994 and presents a living history of the frontier black calvary troopers.
whereas on any given weekend mr. Williams dresses in the authentic uniform of a 1870s calvary man, loads his horses in his trailer, hooks it up to his pickup truck and is off with other members of the reenactment group.
whereas the calvary perform in parades, trail rides, rodeos, historical commemorations, make appearances at public schools and annually participate in the Texas, Travis County, city of Austin Juneteenth celebrations and whereas mr. Williams is valued treasurer and we are pleased to salute him.
now therefore be it resolved we the members of the Travis County Commissioners court do hereby proclaim Tuesday, June 14, 2011, as horace p.
williams day in Travis County and urge all residents to join us in extending special thanks and best wishes to mr. Williams for his tireless and dedicated service and we also salute all the other buffalo soldiers in our community, and I move approval.
>> second.
>> good morning.
>> good morning.
>> you all like to be seated and give comments so we can get out the microphone?
>> [applause]
>> just get the names.
>> especially mr. Williams so we can recognize him.
22 years in the military, tours in vietnam, recipient of the purple heart.
good morning.
thank you for your patience this morning.
>> my indian friends say oha.
good morning.
amen, it all depend on the way you say it.
>> [laughter] I come here, I would like to start with the president of the Texas buffalo soldiers association.
>> good morning, judge, members of the commission.
in short, I would like to share with you about 90 seconds of what it means to many of us as part of traveling across the state and actually across the nation with what we're doing with regard to african-american history.
it's as simple as this.
_ we were once captured slaves, now we are black men to came to be.
_ we are hard riding heroes of the 9th calvary.
_ there were many other soldiers, they wanted to dessert, yes, they did.
_ they were tired of the hatred, some were tired of the hurt.
_ some of them were tired of the killing and oh, yes the misery.
_ but we had to keep on fighting for the one day we will all be free.
tell me how did we survive in this new land.
the buffalo soldiers, mm, mm.
thank you.
>> thank you.
>> [applause]
>> this is mr. Nathan, retired from the air force and school teacher in Travis County.
>> any comments?
>> history is very important and I think we need to study it more and make it as accurate as possible.
>> thank you.
>> thank you for coming.
>> lester williams, jr.
I served two tours in vietnam also.
home christmas day 1971.
but I served proudly and I'm a proud server of the buffalo soldiers.
>> mr. Barton.
9th calvary company.
having dealt with horses when I was younger and talked to mr. Williams and we don't do -- we do living history so I'm glad to be a part of the business entrepreneur and just proud to be part of the 9th calvary of the buffalo soldiers.
>> thank you all so much.
>> one thing on that, judge, I was wounded February 10, 1966.
my oldest son was 14 months old before I got to see my son.
right now they bring people home so they could see their son being born from iraq and afghanistan.
but my oldest son was 14 months old when I got to see him.
>> appreciate your service to the country and also your service to Travis County.
>> [one moment, please, for change in captioners]
>> we'll see y'all on Friday.
get a picture down here.
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