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I’ve seen on several websites that only Comanche and Black Jack are the only horses to be buried with full military honors. The horse Chief, the last horse on army rosters, was supposedly buried with full military honors. Which is correct? Are there 2 or 3 horses that received the honors?

Joe Swanson

 

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Dear Mr. Swanson,

The museum at Fort Riley, Kansas, confirms that Chief, who died in May 1968, was buried there, standing up, with full military honors in a ceremony attended by the commander-in-chief of the U.S. Army. As far as Fort Riley is concerned, Chief enjoys the same status in U.S. military history as Comanche (whose stuffed body can still be seen at the natural history museum in Lawrence, Kansas) and Black Jack, interred at Fort Myer, Va.

Sincerely,

 

Jon Guttman

Research Director

World History

www.historynet.com

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