Thousands of motorcyclists are converging on the Lehigh Valley to honor famed Black soldiers

When John Pitts discovered an Easton playground had been built over the graves of possibly two dozen Black men, women and children , including some who may have served in the U.S. military, he was determined never to let them be forgotten.

Now, the last weekend in July is being dedicated to remember those Buffalo Soldiers and other forgotten soldiers in the Lehigh Valley, with ceremonies planned for Bethlehem and Easton.

At least 2,500 visitors, many of whom are expected to navigate the Valley on motorcycles for the Easton event, will arrive beginning Friday, according to Pitts, post commander of the Bethlehem Buffalo Soldiers chapter.

The local chapter, which is part of a national association and motorcycle club, represents the history of the minority cavalry and infantry regiments that served in U.S. battles from 1866 to the end of the Korean War.

“It will be a history lesson that the Valley has not heard about,” said Pitts, who has researched Buffalo Soldiers’ ties to the area.

The group plans a small ceremony about 6:30 p.m. Friday at Bethlehem’s Rose Garden, at a replica monument to the soldiers, according to Pitts and city officials.

Group motorcycle members will then rendezvous Saturday morning at the parking lot outside Allentown’s Coca-Cola Park and take part in a “Forgotten Soldiers Ride” from Route 22 to the 25th Street exit outside Easton. The motorcyclists will ride to South Side Easton for an event scheduled to start about noon to remember the soldiers who were buried under the playground and basketball court in the 300 block of West Nesquehoning Street.

Pitts had hoped plans to transform the neglected Easton playground into a memorial park would have been completed in time for Saturday’s event. But as work continues, the group is proceeding with a ceremony, he said. Among the invitees are Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, who is the first Black lieutenant governor in state history.

Pitts said the ceremony at the future memorial park will include a wreath-hanging; playing of taps, which is sounded at military funerals; and a rifle salute. Renderings of both the Bethlehem monument and Easton cemetery will also be shown.

The local Buffalo Soldiers hope that by next year, they will commemorate the opening of Nesquehoning Memorial Park on the Easton site and the placement of a permanent, $280,000 memorial along the West Union Boulevard side of the Rose Garden in Bethlehem.

Some 26 people, including several soldiers, were known to have been buried in Easton, according to Pitts and Easton officials, who only in recent years learned the park was once a burial ground. The site was paved over years ago and had been a basketball court.

The Buffalo Soldiers helped shape the West for 20 years, patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border, plus escorting settlers, cattle drivers and railroad crews through hostile territories. After the Indian wars, they fought along side Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, among many conflicts.

Though their regiments were ended when President Harry Truman desegregated the military in 1948, many Black communities formed organizations dedicated to the soldiers. The local Buffalo Soldiers group rides motorcycles and wears uniforms with Union cavalry hats and buffalo belt buckles.

The Buffalo Soldier name originated with the legendary Black soldiers, some of them Civil War veterans, who fought on the western frontier. Historians say Native Americans gave that name to the troops as a sign of respect.

In August, Easton formed a committee, chaired by Council member Ken Brown, which through research determined the burial plots at the park. It holds historical distinction, particularly among the city’s Black community, as well as to Pitts and the Buffalo Soldiers.

The memorial park will have elements including a concrete wall, decorative fencing and 26 granite stones in a grassy area. Each stone will honor those who are buried. There will also be benches with a canopy over them, plus a walking path with flowers along the side.

City officials have applied for a $250,000 state grant to fund the project, according to Public Services Director David Hopkins, who told Council last month that officials hope to hear about the money in the fall. The goal is to complete the design during 2025; Hopkins said a more specific date would depend on obtaining the grant and proceeding with bids for the project.

The project’s total cost is estimated around $300,000.

“One way or another, it will be done,” Brown said, adding the city will try to hold down the cost by providing some of the labor from its staff.

Morning Call reporter Anthony Salamone can be reached at asalamone@mcall.com .