The Four Peaks Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) welcomed ASDAR Regent Sallie Béraud Lovorn and several members of her leadership team to its meeting on Saturday, April 8. It was an official visit by the state regent who presented details of her efforts to support the preservation of the Mountain View Club of Arizona’s historic Ft. Huachuca near Sierra Vista, Ariz.

From 1892 through the post-World War II years, Ft. Huachuca hosted more Black soldiers and officers (including female units) than any other Army fort across the country. Located approximately 15 miles north of the Arizona-Mexico border, It was from Ft. Huachuca that the last four official U.S. Army Indian scouts were discharged in August 1947.

The Mountain View Club building is one of more than 1400 structures quickly built during WWII and intended to be semi-temporary. Designed by Del Webb, it was built as an entertainment and morale venue for Black officers and now is one of the very few remaining structures from the era on the Army post.

During the war years and afterward, the building hosted top entertainers including Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Dinah Shore. In later years, it was an integrated non-commissioned officer club and served as a theatre.

An ongoing project now seeks to preserve and renovate the Mountain View Club building as a museum of Black military history, with ASDAR as one of the partners involved. Called “A Walk Through History,” Arizona DAR’s project includes the support of research and several signs along a one-mile pathway around the facility. Full funding and initial panel designs for the signs are due by the summer of 2023.

As part of the Four Peaks Chapter meeting, Chapter Regent Viree Byrne was happy to present a check to State Regent Lovorn in support of her project. Byrne also provided an overview of the chapter’s many activities during the past year.

Four Peaks is one of 42 NSDAR chapters in Arizona. DAR’s efforts support goals of historic preservation, education and patriotism. For more information or membership inquiries, contact Viree Byrne at sissy78982@aol.com.