Delaware - Local motorcycle club keeps soldiers’ memories alive

OFF THE WIRE
Middletown, Del. —
They can often be found revving their engines through Delaware parade routes or just enjoying a ride on a nice day while decked out in their yellow and black uniforms. Since 1997, the Delaware Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club has been paying tribute to the 9th and 10th Calvary Regiments of the United States Army and providing charitable services to people in need.
Jerome “Skip” Hudson, the club’s vice president, said the group’s main purpose is to share the legacy of the all African-American Army regiments and their significance in American history.
“What a lot of people don’t realize is that these soldiers played an extremely important role in building this country,” he said.
Hudson said the Buffalo Soldiers, which were given their name by the Native American tribes they were fighting, were charged with being a peacekeeping force in the west during the Westward Expansion in 1866. Aside from fighting, the men built telegraph poles, found watering holes, guarded railroads, mapped land and escorted wagon trains filled with settlers moving out west.
Hudson, who’s been into motorcycles since the 1980s, said riding is a perfect way to honor the soldiers.
“In some ways, it’s a natural mesh,” he said. “Motorcycles are often called iron horses or iron ponies, so I think it’s just natural that the horses they rode on are now symbolized by motorcycles.”
The club, which currently consists of approximately 60 members, including a few from the Middletown-Odessa-Townsend area, travels throughout the state and across country to take part in parades, rides and charity events. Many members of the group also visit schools, churches and retirement facilities to educate the public about the Buffalo Soldiers.
Hudson said the club does everything it can to give back to the community, as well. It operates a food bank and self-sponsored scholarship program, participates in the State’s Adopt-A-Highway Program and contributes funds to local charity groups and individuals in need.
“We’re an example of the positive aspects of motorcycle clubs,” he said. “I think motorcycle clubs sometimes get a bad name from the examples set from just a few. We’re by no means the only positive club out there, but we want to be apart of that and show others that motorcycling is a very positive, giving and charitable pastime.”