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

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

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

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

, 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 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

and 10th Cavalry Regiments 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 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 on U.S. Route 20 in the Pine Ridge region of northwest Nebraska. The fo ...

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

Scottsbluff, Nebraska Scottsbluff is a city in Scotts Bluff County, in the western part of the state of Nebraska, in the Great Plains region of the United States. The population was 14,436 at the 2020 census. Scottsbluff is the largest city in the Nebraska Panhand ...

, for $163. He was bay with white markings, standing 15.25 hands (15.49 dm) 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 10th Cavalry Regiment, though was later transferred to the

9th Cavalry Regiment The 9th Cavalry Regiment is a parent cavalry regiment of the United States Army. It is not related to the 9th Kansas Cavalry Regiment of the Union Army. Historically, it was one of the Army's four segregated African-American regiments and was pa ...

. 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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, 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 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 o ...

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

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

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

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 Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

's "Task Force Dagger" has engaged in horse mounted combat and the U.S. Marine Corps resumed equestrian combat training in the 2010s.

References

External links