George Pettigrew, who was recognized last December as a new Freedom Corps Member, will be our speaker at the 22 February dinner meeting. Mr. Pettigrew is the Executive Vice President and Life Member of the Alexander/Madison Chapter of KC Buffalo Soldiers, a Life Member and Co-Chairman of the Fort Leavenworth Museum Project Committee with the 9th & 10th Horse Cavalry Association, and Chairman of the Frontier Museum of the United States Army Foundation. He is a U.S. Navy veteran living in Kansas City, Missouri with his wife Dana. They have two grown children.
Following his retirement from Ford Motor Company, the time to earnestly research information passed on by his late mother finally became available. This research enabled George to grow in his understanding of how Isaac Johnson, his great grandfather, went from being enslaved to being an Original Buffalo Soldier, and what all that meant.
Following this story, George has become a Certified Oral Storyteller, a Certified Written Storyteller, a presenting member of the Missouri Humanities Speaker's Bureau, Instructor for Oral Storyteller Certification and a newly installed member of the Missouri Humanities Board of Directors.
Come and join us to learn more about how the Buffalo Soldiers came to be and how they got their iconic name. Over the 150-year historic tale of an Original Buffalo Soldier according to oral family history and military records as told by his great grandson.
