Fort Huachuca's Myer Elementary School Principal Connie Johnson talks with Lee N. Coffee Jr., the guest speaker at Saturday's Third Annual Gala Fund-raiser held by the Southwest Association of Buffalo Soliders. Coffee, an author, talked about the history of black patriots from pre-Revolutionary War days to the present at the event to raise funds to save the post's World War II Mountain View Colored Officers Club. (By Bill Hess-Herald/Review)

Pascua Yaqui Tribe gives $50,000 to help save historic building

By Bill Hess

Herald/Review

FORT HUACHUCA — For years members of the Southwest Association of Buffalo Soldiers have been working to save the World War II Mountain View Colored Officers Club on this southeastern Army Post.

Saturday night the group received its first major donation from the Pascua Yaqui Tribe when the tribal chairwoman announced a $50,000 gift.

In February Association President Tom Stoney Sr., made a pitch to the tribe and Wednesday he was called back to answer more questions from the tribal council’s 11 members.

Stoney had no idea the tribe would make a decision so fast.

Tribal Chairwoman Herminia Frias made the surprise announcement after Arizona Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano spoke.

“We are helping preserve history,” Frias said of the donation, which will officially be given to the Sierra Vista city government to manage. The formal presentation will be soon.

And, deciding to provide some of the tribe’s revenue sharing funds to help save the club was easy, she said.

“He (Stoney) captured the tribal council’s heart,” Frias said.

When she announced the tribal council’s unanimous approval, the nearly 300 people at the Third Annual Gala Fund-raiser to save the World War II Mountain View Colored Officers Club, were on their feet giving the chairwoman and the tribe a standing ovation.

Napolitano, who had spent Saturday traveling around Cochise County as part of her reelection campaign, stayed away from partisan politics during her comments at the gala.

In the audience were Republicans and Democrats who are seeking election. Both parties have been supporting the effort to keep part of the post history involving black soldiers alive.

Saying she was honored to be at the gala — although she had to leave early to attend another event — Napolitano wanted to personally thank the men and women “who serve and train here to serve our country.”

Saving the old club is part of the ensuring the history of black soldiers who served during World War II will be recognized, the governor said.

During that war, more than 40,000 soldiers were trained to be part of the Army’s two black infantry divisions, the 92nd and the 93rd, both of which saw combat, one in Europe and the other in the Pacific, she said.

Black WACs were also trained at the post, Napolitano added.

Since the days after the Civil War, black soldiers have provided settler protection and that included those assigned to the post, she said.

Ten percent of Arizona’s population of 6 million are veterans, with many returning to the state “because it is a great place to live,” Napolitano said.

The state owes veterans a debt, she said, and that is being paid off by the construction of another home for veterans in Tucson and the construction of a third state-operated cemetery in northern Arizona. The state and the U.S. government entered into an agreement, which led to federal funds being used to build a veterans’ cemetery in Sierra Vista, which will be operated and maintained by the state.

Another thing that is important is the important economic base Fort Huachuca provides, the governor said.

With the support of the local people and others in the state, Arizona was able to come up with a joint vision and advocacy to ensure the state’s military installations were not impacted by the last Base Realignment and Closure Commission round, she said.

Fort Huachuca’s legacy in the state is one that cannot be allowed to disappear, Napolitano said, as she promised continued support for the post and the Southwest Association of Buffalo Soldiers drive to save the old officers’ club.

Looking at Stoney, Napolitano said she expects she will be soon receiving another letter asking for her support.

Stoney silently responded in the affirmative by nodding his head up and down.

The association’s president said the Army Corps of Engineers has approved a lease, which the group intends to sign soon, and that work on establishing a foundation to go forward with a major fund-raising effort is in process.

Building 66050, which was the only structure built during the war specifically as a club for black officers, and which has been used for many other functions has been boarded up for years and nearly went down to a wrecking ball in 2002.

Harlan Bradford Sr., chairman of the association’s board of directors, said there is too much history to allow the structure to be demolished.

The gala’s theme this year was “Open My Doors Once Again,” and it will be a multi-million dollar effort.

During World War II, the club was the scene of shows put on by many entertainers — Lena Horne, Duke Ellington, Dinah Shore and Louis Armstrong. The post also was where boxer Joe Louis demonstrated his skills.

Entertainment Saturday night was provided by Joe Anton and his Desert Swing, a musical group that played the sounds of the big band era of World War II.

The Sierra Vista Community Chorus also performed a number of songs made popular by Horne.

One of them — “Stormy Weather,” Horne’s signature song — was sung by chorus member Phyllis Andrews.

The club needs to be saved as a national treasure, not just one important to the black community, guest speaker and author Lee Coffee Jr., told the audience.

“It’s worthy cause,’” said the retired medical first sergeant.

When he first enlisted in the Army, he said he did not know that much about the history of what black soldiers have done for the United States.

But when he was assigned to Fort Sill, Okla., he visited a post museum that was dedicated to the history of America’s western movement after the Civil War.

It was in that museum he saw a display of a Buffalo Soldier of the 10th Cavalry, the unit so named after the sacred animal by Native Americans.

After leaving the museum he went to the post library and checked out six books about black soldiers.

When he left the museum, “I stood an inch taller,” he said of the budding knowledge of the history of blacks who have served in America’s armed forces.

It makes no difference what blacks have been called throughout America’s history — colored, Negro, Afro-American, African-American — what is important is how they have responded to the call when the nation was in need, Coffee said.

Throughout the nation’s history, and even before the 4th of July in 1776, blacks have been patriotic, he said.

To blacks, “duty, honor and courage” is more than a motto; it is part of their being, as it is for all who serve in the nation’s military, Coffee said.

In a speech with some humorous personal asides, he went through the trial and tribulations of those who served in every war the nation has fought.

Most of the time, the blacks were in segregated units and recognition for their valor never came, or when it did, it was decades after their brave acts, he said.

But, still they soldiered on, Coffee added.

“There are some wrongs that were done yesterday that we can’t correct today,” Coffee said.

What is important is knowing those wrongs will not be repeated, he added

However, perhaps some wrongs will be corrected with the saving of Building 66050, the noted author Buffalo Soldier historian said.

Although the former Mountain View Colored Officers Club is only a shell, a shadow of what it once was, its history is tied to the nation, especially during those early and dark days of World War II, Coffee said.

There is only one black officers club from that period that can live on, the author said.

Many people do not know that the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, almost was demolished, said Coffee, who calls San Antonio home.

From its beginnings in the early 1700s , it served as a mission, a fort, warehouse and grocery store and it was only through willpower of people with a vision that the important part of Texas history was saved, Coffee said.

The same can be what will happen for Building 66050, he added.

The history of the club is directly tied to Arizona and Dec. 7, 1941, the speaker remarked.

The nation lost a battleship named after the state when the Japanese attacked that fateful Sunday more than 60 years ago.

“The history of the USS Arizona is directly tied to Fort Huachuca and tied to the officers club,” Coffee said.

The club’s history is part of the fort, and although Sierra Vista didn’t exist in those days, it is part of Sierra Vista today, Coffee said.

What needs to be done to save the fort is “to combine jubilation, exhilaration, motivation and determination,” he said

Coffee said the question that only each individual can answer when it comes to ensuring the club is saved is: “What can I do?”

herald/Review senior reporter Bill Hess can be reached at 515-4615 or by e-mail at bill.hess@svherald.com.