THOMASVILLE — As Lloyd Austin said, the tale of Henry O. Flipper is the story of a great man, a great community and a lot of firsts.

Austin, who grew up in Thomasville and a retired four-star general, and the city paid tribute to Flipper and rededicated his grave and the resting places of Flipper’s parents Friday afternoon. 

“If the Flipper family could see this today, they would be awfully proud and grateful,” Austin said.

Flipper was born in Thomasville to parents who were slaves, yet he eventually became the first African-American student and graduate at the U.S. Military Academy. 

Like Flipper, Austin graduated from West Point, becoming the second African-American from Thomasville to make it through the U.S. Military Academy.

“Henry Flipper made it possible for me and countless others,” Austin said, adding the names of Gen. Colin Powell, Gen. Benjamin O. Davis, the first African-American general in the military, Gen. Fred Gordon, Lt. Gen. Nadia West, the first female African-American three-star general, and the Tuskegee Airmen. “The Henry Flippers made it possible for me and others to reach even greater heights. For that, we owe them a debt of gratitude we can never fully repay.”

Austin, who served as the vice chief of staff, the Army’s second-highest post, kept a print of Flipper on his Pentagon office wall. So too did Austin’s mentor, Gen. Powell, the first African-American chief of staff of the Army, Austin noted.

Friday’s ceremony corrected what had been a mistake on the bronze burial marker. Flipper, the first African-American to command African-American troops, had been credited with serving in the 10th Oklahoma Cavalry, rather than the 10th U.S. Cavalry. The marker now reflects the correct assignment of the 10th U.S. Cavalry, which was one of the “Buffalo Soldiers” outfits. Those units, made up of black troopers, fought against Indians in the West. 

Flipper was ostracized at West Point, Austin said, with most of his fellow cadets refusing to speak to him.

“West Point is not an easy place for cadets,” he said. “The key to success is teamwork. There is a well known expression, cooperate and graduate. And yet Henry Ossian Flipper was denied that support. He endured tremendous prejudice. But through it all, Henry persevered.”

Upon graduation, Flipper was the only cadet cheered for by his fellow cadets and the crowd, Austin added. 

“The same people who silenced him, the same people who shunned him, acknowledged the enormity of his achievement,” Austin said. “He set an example for them and for us in the way he conducted his life.”

At a 1999 White House ceremony granting Flipper a presidential pardon for his Army court martial conviction, Flipper’s grand-nephew said “Pioneers are those with arrows in their backs. Henry paid the price for being a pioneer,” Austin quoted from a story about the event.

Now, West Point honors a graduating cadet with the Henry O. Flipper Award for exhibiting leadership, self-discipline and persevering in the face of unusual difficulty.

David Rich, a West Point grad and former secretary of the West Point Society of Tallahassee, Florida said he visited Flipper’s grave not long after moving to Tallahassee. 

“Like every West Point graduate, I am Henry Flipper’s brother,” Rich said. “Henry and I met in 2004 in this cemetery, sparking a friendship and a bond that endures.”

But upon that first visit, Rich was taken aback at the condition of Flipper’s grave.

“This cemetery was in disrepair and overgrown,” he said. “I sat on the wall and I don’t mind telling you I cried. I could almost hear (Flipper) whispering that this place was not proper, was not just, was not fit.”

Rich said he had no plan and did not know who to ask for permission.

“I just knew something had to be done,” he said. 

Members of the West Point Society of Tallahassee joined Rich in his efforts in 2009, turning it into an annual project each May.

“Improvement was painfully slow. But it was discernible,” he said.

In 2015, Rich met Thomasville Assistant City Manager Kha McDonald, whom Rich called “a true force of nature.”

“By late summer 2016, we could see the end,” he said. “Kha was the force that got us across the goal line. Today, I tip my cap to her in respect, extending my heartfelt thanks and the thanks of West Point grads, an unbroken line all the way back to 1802.”

Austin, who served in Iraq as a brigadier general with the 3rd Infantry Division, commanded the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan as a major general and led the XVIII Airborne Corps as a three-star general, paid tribute to his and Flipper’s hometown for giving him a great foundation. Austin also led the U.S. Forces-Iraq and the U.S. Central Command.

“We were very fortunate to grow up here in Thomasville,” Austin said of he and his family. “We had wonderful role models. It is a story of firsts and of a small town in southwest Georgia that has continued to produce remarkable people over time.”

Flipper graduated from West Point in 1877, and Austin is a member of the class of 1975. 

“While it took a century, one of the things I am sure he would absolutely be proud of was that he was not the last,” Austin said. ‘I challenge you to create more men and women of the character and caliber of Henry Ossian Flipper.”

Editor Pat Donahue can be reached at (229) 226-2400 ext. 1806.