You can't smell the sweat or see the blood. Melanie LaBorwit, director of the Las Vegas Museum and keeper of the Rough Rider collection, said the largest contingent of Rough Riders was from New Mexico. Langdon, who joined the Rough Riders when he was 16, was the last surviving member of the famous regiment and the only one to attend the final two reunions in 1967 and 1968. He died in 1975. Brito, of Las Cruces, died in 1973.
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The museum and collection are operated on a slim budget by the city of Las Vegas. An organization called the Friends of the Museum is trying to raise money to improve the facility and expand the exhibits. She said the regiment's first reunion in 1899 was held in Las Vegas, as was its 50th reunion in 1949 and every reunion from 1951 through the final one in 1968. That connection, LaBorwit says, makes New Mexico in general and Las Vegas in particular a fitting home for the Rough Rider material, a collection she believes fills a void in American history. The Spanish-American War was fought from April to August 1898 to liberate Cuba from Spain.