Just when 19-year-old Walter Dowdy thought he had escaped danger during a battle in the Korean War, a shell exploded and the sharp metal hit his eye, cutting off his eyelid and lodging in the other side of his head.

“You talk about somebody scared. I was a scared little boy,” Mr. Dowdy said.

The injury sent him home from the Korean War after just 21 days of combat, but that was enough time for him to earn a Purple Heart and make history as a member of the legendary Buffalo Soldiers, the all-black 24th Infantry regiment.

Mr. Dowdy, now 77, is one of 200 24th Infantry members expected to gather in Chattanooga today for the group’s 22nd annual reunion. The regiment has about 500 members nationwide, according to its newsletter.

Leroy Smith, of Chattanooga, and Clyde Jones, of Harriman, Tenn., are other area Buffalo Soldiers expected to attend the four-day event at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo. Chrystal Jones, the daughter of Mr. Jones, is the organizer. Most of the men attending the reunion are in their 70s and 80s, she said.

“They want people to know that they exist,” Ms. Jones said. “They welcome the community to come and visit with them and learn about their history.”

Mr. Smith, 81, who is chairman of the reunion, said he hopes to “keep the memory of the Buffalo Soldiers alive.”

“A bunch of people don’t know about the soldiers and the things that they’ve done,” he said.

The men made their mark in history by proving their patriotism and fighting ability in the midst of segregation and inequality, said Capt. Paul J. Matthews, founder and executive director of the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum in Houston. When the Buffalo Soldiers returned to the United States from various wars, they still faced signs that barred blacks from entering some public places, he said.

After Mr. Dowdy was injured in Korea, he still had to ride home in the back of a train, he said.

Mr. Matthews said Chattanoogans should be honored to host the Buffalo Soldiers.

“Here is a living piece of American history,” he said. “How often do you have an opportunity to communicate with individuals who were a part of a movement?”

The story of the Buffalo Soldiers began in 1866 when the Army established peacetime units to settle the western United States following the Civil War, Mr. Matthews said.

In 1866, Congress created six all-black Army units: the 9th and 10th cavalry and the 38th, 39th, 40th and 41st infantry regiments, according to the museum’s Web site. The four infantry regiments later were reorganized to form the 24th and 25th infantry regiments. The regiments initially were made up of former slaves, freemen and Civil War veterans.

American Indian warriors first used the nickname Buffalo Soldiers in 1867, according to the museum’s Web site. The actual Cheyenne translation was “wild buffalo.”

“The nickname was given out of respect and the fierce fighting ability of the 10th cavalry,” the Web site states. “Over time, Buffalo Soldiers became a generic term for all African American soldiers.”

Without the Buffalo Soldiers, the westward movement would have been delayed 50 years, Mr. Matthews said.

“They built camps, forts, railroads, delivered the mail, chased down outlaws,” he said.

The 24th Infantry also was the vanguard for the Civil Rights movement, Mr. Matthews said. Victory during World War II signified victory for those in the United States fighting for equality, he said.

Mr. Dowdy said he wants to reminisce with other Buffalo Soldiers at the reunion.

“We were in the war together, and we survived,” he said. “Some of us got banged up, but we survived.”

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