Black soldiers wrongly executed for 1917 riot get new headstones – By Leo Shane III (Military Times) / Feb 22, 2024
Veterans Affairs officials on Thursday dedicated 17 new gravestones at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in Texas to honor Black soldiers unjustly convicted and executed following the 1917 Houston racial riots, calling it part of an effort to “right the wrongs of the past.”
The move comes three months after Army officials set aside courts-martial convictions of 110 Black soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment — also known as the Buffalo Soldiers — involved in the violence. Service officials found that the men were not given fair trials and ordered that their military records be revised to reflect their honorable service.
In a ceremony attended by descendants of the men and local civil rights activists, VA and Defense Department officials unveiled the new headstones and pledged to continue to try to make amends for past racial injustices.
