Chief (1932–1968) was a horse owned by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. He has been credited as the Army's last living operational cavalry mount. Mustered into service in 1940 in

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, Chief was posted to

Fort Riley Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Ge ...

and served with the 9th and

10th Cavalry Regiment The 10th Cavalry Regiment is a unit of the United States Army. Formed as a segregated African-American unit, the 10th Cavalry was one of the original " Buffalo Soldier" regiments in the post–Civil War Regular Army. It served in combat during ...

s before being sent to the U.S. Army Cavalry School. In 1949–1950, he was retired and put out to pasture; he died in 1968.

Early life and military service

Chief was foaled in 1932 and added to the cavalry muster roll in 1940 at

Fort Robinson Fort Robinson is a former United States Army, U.S. Army fort and now a major feature of Fort Robinson State Park, a public recreation and historic preservation area located west of Crawford, Nebraska, Crawford on U.S. Route 20 in the Pine Ri ...

, having been purchased that year from L. A. Robinson of

Scottsbluff, Nebraska Scottsbluff is a city in Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska, United States, in the Great Plains region. The population was 14,436 at the 2020 census. Scottsbluff is the largest city in the Nebraska Panhandle, and the 13th-most-populous city in N ...

, for $163. He was

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

with white markings, standing 15.1 hands (155 cm) high and weighing . Chief was described as an "all around good cavalry horse" who was especially skilled at jumping, and was popular and well-liked among cavalry troopers. Pass in review

In 1941, Chief was posted to

and assigned to the

, though was later transferred to the

9th Cavalry Regiment The 9th Cavalry Regiment is a parent cavalry regiment of the United States Army. Historically, it was one of the Army's four segregated African-American regiments and was part of what was known as the Buffalo Soldiers. The regiment saw combat d ...

. In June 1942 he was transferred, again, to the U.S. Army Cavalry School and promoted to Advanced Cavalry Charger.

Retirement

At the conclusion of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the United States Army terminated its main equestrian training program; between 1949 and 1950, horses under age 16 were sold at auction while older horses, numbering around 100 and including Chief, were put to pasture. Chief lived the rest of his life at the Fort Riley Riding Club where he was given a double box stall and private corral. Chief achieved an advanced age, outliving all of the Army's other surplus cavalry chargers; he was preceded in death by

Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed "the Brown Bomber", Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He r ...

and Gambler. By 1962, planning had begun for his eventual funeral, though his keeper, Sergeant First Class Robert Parker, reported that year that the horse remained athletic and that many visitors guessed he was significantly younger than his actual age. His last caretaker was Texas A&M alumnus Ron Haley.

Death and funeral

Chief died on May 24, 1968, and was interred in an upright position at the base of Fort Riley's ''Old Trooper'' statue. The following week, on June 1, he was given a

military funeral A military funeral is a memorial or burial rite given by a country's military for a soldier, sailor, marine or airman who died in battle, a veteran, or other prominent military figures or heads of state. A military funeral may feature guards ...

with full honors, the ceremony attended by approximately 500 mourners. He is one of four horses in

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history to be buried with military honors, the others being Black Jack, Reckless and

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Legacy

Chief has been credited as the last living operational cavalry mount owned by the U.S. Army. Since Chief's death, the United States Army has continued to field horse-mounted units for non-combat, ceremonial purposes. However, the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

's "Task Force Dagger" has engaged in horse-mounted combat, and the

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

resumed equestrian combat training in the 2010s.

References

External links