Junction City is home to two Buffalo Soldiers who served at Fort Riley during WWII, and they were recognized Monday morning during the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration at the C.L. Hoover Opera House.

MSG ( Ret. ) Nolan Self and 1SG ( Ret. ) Albert Curley were both in attendance Monday.

Col. Andrew Cole, Fort Riley Garrison Commander was the guest speaker and spoke about the Buffalo Soldiers. He told a story about when Self was at Fort Riley at the same time as legendary boxer, Joe Louis, who completed basic training at Fort Riley.

“As the story goes, Joe Louis realized there wasn’t much for the Buffalo Soldiers to do at Fort Riley. So he called his friend, then jazz pianist, Count Basie, to see if he would perform a concert in Topeka,” said Cole. “He agreed and Louis rented buses to give a couple hundred girls free transportation to the show so the soldiers would have someone to dance with. That’s when Mr. Self met the girl he danced with for the next 70 plus, and I believe we just heard the last 73 years, his wife Wilma.”

This year marked the 31st year of the annual MLK Celebration in Junction City. The theme was “Making the Dream a Reality.”