High on a hill overlooking Fort Huachuca Army base in Sierra Vista sits a dilapidated building that once echoed with the sublime song stylings of Lena Horne during World War II. She came to entertain the black troops at the Mountain View Black Officers Club, built in 1942 by the then-segregated Army for its growing number of black soldiers. A plan to preserve that building and turn it into a black military research center is on the drawing board, but an estimated $3 million is needed to save and convert the club. Pictured is retired Army 1st Sgt. Tom Stoney Sr., combat veteran of Korea and member of the Southwest Association of Buffalo Soldiers. (Photo source: Barbara Alper, Parade Magazine.)November 2007 Update:
- "Preserving Black History in the Military, at the 'Colored Officers Club,'" New York Times, November 2, 2007.
- Good progress has been made in securing the property and raising funds for the site's restoration. For more information, contact Larry Soule, SWABS president, by e-mail.
