Ohio senators want park service to preserve black colonel’s home
The Columbus Dispatch – WASHINGTON—A Senate committee took a major step today toward designating the Xenia home of one of the earliest African-American graduates of West Point as part of the National Park Service.
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved a bill sponsored by Sens. George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio, and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, that would honor Col. Charles Young, the first African-American to achieve the rank of colonel in the U.S. Army.
In a statement, Voinovich said Young's "life and legacy should continue to live on, so future generations can visit his Ohio childhood home to learn about his exemplary life and leadership."
Young, who died in 1922 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, served in the 10th U.S. Cavalry, an all-African-American regiment. He saw action in Cuba during the Spanish-American War and in 1916 in Mexico in pursuit of Mexican rebel Pancho Villa.
