A special memorial service took place on November 5, 2021 to pay tribute to retired U.S. Army General Colin Powell. Powell was honored at the national Buffalo Soldier monument he helped create at Fort Leavenworth. Lt. Gen. Theodore Martin, Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth commanding general, delivered remarks.
Trooper John Bruce, President of Alexander/Madison Chapter Buffalo Soldiers, 9th and 10th (Horse) Cavalry Association and Colonel Eric Hoggard, Director of Training at the Mission Command Center of Excellence, presented a wreath for Combined Arms Center.
“General Powell in one lifetime accomplished what would have made four men great,”
Trooper George Pettigrew, Vice President Alexander/Madison Chapter said. “Secretary of State, four-star general, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman and advisor to four presidents. Any one of those achievements would have made any one person great. But they are all four in one man who did it with dignity as an officer and a gentleman always.”
Pettigrew is a descendant of an original Buffalo Soldier who joined the ranks in 1867.