The Kansas National Guard has inducted four new members to its Hall of Fame. Kansas Adjutant General Tod Bunting called the November 8 ceremony “the most special day of the year” for guardsmen.

Inducted were: Col. (ret) Charles R. Rayl, Viet Nam veteran. Rayl held various command positions in Armored Cavalry Regiments and later was commissioned in the Air National Guard; and Command Sergeant Major (ret.) Warren J. “Bud” Smith.

Inducted posthumously were Cpl. James W. Ross, born into slavery and a soldier in the 1st Kansas Colored (the first black regiment in the Union Army) and Pvt. William F. Cody.

It took a long time to get Buffalo Bill in the Guard’s Hall of Fame. Those  folks not in Bill’s fan club only knew of Bill’s career as a showman.  It took some convincing, but when presented with the hard evidence, the selection committee was won over.

Bill was only 18 when he enlisted in 1864. He mustered out of Company H, 7th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry and later served as a civilian scout for the 9th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. He was handpicked by General Phil Sheridan to be the chief scout of the 5th U. S. Cavalry when only 22 years old.

For “gallantry in action” on April 26, 1872, Bill was awarded the Medal of Honor.

I was honored to be the historian interviewed on film to describe Bill’s exploits and explain to the great unwashed why he deserved to be included in this prestigious group. His value is so far beyond his actual experiences. Bill is the most reprensentative American of his era. Born into the days of horse and buggy, he lived to see man take flight. Through his Wild West Show, he took  America to the world. (He is THE reason Europe is still enamored with cowboys and Indians.) During his lifetime, he was arguably the most famous man in the world. Also arguably, Bill likely spent more hours of his life in Kansas than anywhere else. Kansas shaped him and his values, as it shapes the values of our Guardsmen serving all over the earth today. His determination, sense of duty, perserverence, generosity–his qualities were America’s qualities.  In many ways, he was ahead of his time. He believed in equal pay for equal work, employed women and minorities, and promoted the first animal wildlife conversation practices in the U.S.

Bill Cody embodied the principles of Manifest Destiny that defined the 19th Century. He helped conquer the Plains, and rued the demise of both the buffalo and the Native American.

It is high time to recognize his singular role in American history.

debgood General History