2014 Buffalo Soldier Award Presented to Sparkill Resident

BY BARRY WARNER

On Tuesday, January 28 County Executive Ed Day presented the 2014 Buffalo Soldier Award to Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force Chaplaincy Rev. Louis E. Sanders. The award has been presented annually to an outstanding African-American veteran who resides in Rockland County.

Rev. Sanders served actively during Desert Storm and led a project in which he recorded religious music and sent over 1,000 tapes to troops. Since 1981, Rev. Sanders has served as the Senior Pastor of the St. Charles A.M.E. Zion Church in Sparkill. He is the chaplain for the Sparkill Fire Department and has served as a member of numerous boards and organizations in the county.

The award is named after the soldiers of the 10th Black Cavalry Regiment, who were nicknamed ‘Buffalo Soldiers,’ after Native Americans spread the legend of the soldiers’ combat prowess, bravery and tenaciousness on the Kansas Frontier battlefield in the Indian Wars, which lasted from 1867 to 1890. The 10th Cavalry also served in World War I, World War II and Vietnam.

“We are proud to honor Rev. Sanders with this year’s Buffalo Soldier Award,” said County Executive Ed Day. “We thank him for his brave and dedicated service to our country and for his continued service to our Rockland community.”