Veteran 9 22 2016

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35 cents

VOL. 4/ISSUE 47

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

FDVA announces Copas Home progress at Florida Veterans Council meeting Patrick McCallister FOR VETERAN VOICE

pmccallister@veteranvoiceweekly.com

The Florida Department of Veterans Affairs originally figured it’d break ground on the Ardie R. Copas State Veterans’ Nursing Home in Port St. Lucie about this time last year. Then there were frustrating delays. Steve Murray, communications director at the state veterans department, told the Florida Veterans Council that the delays are close to ended and construction is on the horizon. “We hope to break ground in February 2017,” he said at the council’s last meeting. That was on Thursday, Sept. 15. The council has strongly advocated for the construction of more state veteran nursing homes for several years. The last home the FDVA built was the Clyde E. Lassen State Veterans’ Nursing Home in St. Augustine. The groundbreaking was in 2008, and it opened in 2010. In addition to getting construction stated on the Copas Home, the Florida Department of Veteran Affairs, FDVA, hopes in 2017 to start renovating the Department of Veterans Affairs’ 120-bed nursing center at the Lake Baldwin Medical Center in Orlando to make it a state veterans nursing home. “It’s going to require millions of dollars of funding,” Murray said at the council meeting. In March the VA ceremonially handed the Lake Baldwin nursing facility over to state veterans department. Congressman John Mica introduced the legislation for that trans-

See COPAS page 8

Source: U.S. Army

This photograph was taken in 1889 at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, of non-commissioned officers from the United States Army’s 9th Cavalry Regiment, also known as Buffalo Soldiers. Standing, left to right: Sgt. James Wilson, I Troop; First Sgt. David Badie, B Troop; Sgt. Thomas Shaw, K Troop; First Sgt. Nathan Fletcher, F Troop. Seated, left to right: Chief Trumpeter Stephen Taylor; Sgt. Edward McKenzie, I Troop; Sgt. Robert Burley, D Troop; Sgt. Zekiel Sykes, B Troop.

Buffalo Soldiers deserve respect Mary Kemper STAFF WRITER

mkemper@veteranvoiceweekly.com

On Sept. 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, making slavery illegal in the United States. Shrewdly, he made sure that the Southern states could no longer use states’ rights as the main cause of warfare, and forced them to defend an ugly practice. In just four short years — during which black soldiers helped win back the United States for the union — the 10th Cavalry Regiment was formed, staffed exclusively by black soldiers. The 10th was followed by the 9th Cavalry Regiment, and the 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments. From 1866 to official disbandment in 1951, the Buffalo Soldiers contributed a long, rich and brave history to the nation.

Cheyenne warriors are credited with giving them their unique moniker. It was partly because of their dark, curly hair, and partly because of their bravery and stamina in battle. From Wikipedia: “In September 1867, Private John Randall of Troop G of the 10th Cavalry Regiment was assigned to escort two civilians on a hunting trip. The hunters suddenly became the hunted when a band of 70 Cheyenne warriors swept down on them. The two civilians quickly fell in the initial attack and Randall’s horse was shot out from beneath him. “Randall managed to scramble to safety behind a washout under the railroad tracks, where he fended off the attack with only his pistol and 17 rounds of ammunition until help from the nearby camp arrived. The Cheyenne beat a hasty retreat, leaving behind 13 fallen warriors. Private

See BUFFALO page 9


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