We were pleased to see that the three soldiers we did meet were very polite.Years ago, when we were crossing the border from Bavaria to Austria, we had a very different experience with German soldiers. I thought that the German border guard had told us to proceed, and I started to drive into Austria when I heard a loud "HALT." Having heard and seen German border guards yell "halt" in numerous movies, I slammed on my brakes and threw my arms in the air. Whatever the issue was, he let us proceed.
We wanted to see one of several museums on the base, either the one devoted to the Big Red One or the one devoted to the history of the cavalry. We drove all over the place until a jogging soldier pointed us in the direction of the cavalry museum. There was a statue of a rider-less horse in front of the place, and I told Carole that it must be Comanche, the most famous cavalry horse in American history.
I was surprised to see that the statue was of an anonymous horse. The only place in the entire museum where Comanche was given even token recognition was by a small statue in the bottom row of an exhibit.
After the battle of Little Big Horn, Comanche, Miles Keogh's horse, was found alive and wounded among Custer's dead cavalry men. Comanche became a national hero during the remaining years of his life, and when he died he was stuffed and displayed at the Columbian Exhibition in Chicago. Today, his stuffed remains are on display at the University of Kansas' Natural History Museum.
Apart from the slight against Comanche, the small museum was interesting, tracing the U.S. Cavalry from its beginnings to its end in the 1930s. Thankfully, we did not have to listen a recording of Garry Owen, the official theme song of Custer's 7th Cavalry.
We drove as far as Kansas City, Missouri, a town noted for its ribs. I had a full slab at a place by our motel and was not impressed. Admittedly, I did not go to one of the famous rib joints in Kansas City. Maybe we will try some ribs at one of the more famous restaurants tomorrow. To be sure, we will have to find Carole a fort.
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