MAY 29, 2026 — Members of the Presidio of Monterey military community participated in the Bureau of Land Management’s Freedom 250 commemorative event at Fort Ord National Monument on May 23. The event honored retired Sgt. 1st Class Allan MacDonald, a decorated cavalry veteran whose lifelong devotion to Fort Ord’s mounted Army heritage left a lasting mark on the Monterey Peninsula.
Hosted by the Bureau of Land Management near the gravesite of MacDonald’s horse, Comanche, the ceremony served as California’s featured BLM Freedom 250 event, part of a nationwide initiative recognizing the nation’s 250th anniversary. Held during Memorial Day weekend, the event brought together community members, military representatives and MacDonald’s family to reflect on service, sacrifice and the Army’s enduring connection to the region.
“Former bombing ranges and military training grounds now support one of the largest remaining expanses of coastal maritime chaparral on this stretch of California’s coast,” said Zach Ormsby, BLM central coast field manager. “What once prepared Americans for war now welcomes Americans in peace.”
The event included support from the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center Joint Service Color Guard and historical remarks from command historian Cameron Binkley, who connected MacDonald’s story to Fort Ord’s cavalry heritage and the Army’s transition from horse-powered to mechanized warfare.
Binkley described MacDonald as a bridge between two eras of Army history. MacDonald enlisted in the Army in 1938 at age 17 and served with the 11th Cavalry Blackhorse Regiment during a career that spanned World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He earned two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star and remained devoted to cavalry traditions long after horses disappeared from military service.
“Keeping the tradition alive,” Binkley said, referencing the motto of the 11th Cavalry Regiment. “Today, we do exactly that.”
Following his retirement from military service, MacDonald became a familiar figure at ceremonies, parades and community events throughout the Monterey Bay region. Often dressed in his cavalry uniform and riding his white Mustang, Comanche, he helped preserve the memory of Fort Ord’s mounted Army heritage for new generations until his death in 2016.
Following the ceremony, officials unveiled a new interpretive marquee honoring MacDonald’s life and legacy near Comanche’s gravesite. The display helps visitors understand the connection between the gravesite, nearby historic landmarks and the cavalry traditions that once shaped military life on the Monterey Peninsula.
Members of MacDonald’s family attended the unveiling, including his daughter, Jane Minglana, who accepted commemorative gifts presented in her father’s memory.
“My dad would really be proud of this,” Minglana said. “He wanted to live to be 100 and couldn’t make it.”
The ceremony served as a reminder that the Army’s legacy on the Monterey Peninsula lives on not only through history and memorials, but through the continued partnership between the military community and the region it serves.
By Jennifer Leggett