FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — Henry O. Flipper stoically endured hate and harassment to become the first black graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, only to be drummed out of the Army after white officers accused him of embezzlement.

He didn't see his name cleared in his lifetime, but the Army took another step in honoring his legacy Friday with the dedication of a bust of him at the Buffalo Soldier Monument at Fort Leavenworth.

Because of rain, the ceremony was moved inside and only photographs of the bust were shown, although family member later went to view the memorial.

Lt. Gen. Hagen Beck, superintendent at West Point, said the academy has bestowed the Henry Flipper Award to graduates who overcome challenges for the past quarter-century.

Born a slave in Thomasville, Ga., in 1856, Flipper was not the first black at West Point, but he was the first to endure four years of hardship and hostility there. He graduated in 1877, just 12 years after the Civil War.

''Besides having a strong academic background, someone of obvious academic talents, he was a very stoic individual,'' historian Steve Grove said. ''He didn't hit back. Flipper would just bear it.''

Grove said Flipper wrote in his autobiography that he ''was above that kind of behavior.'' Despite public ridicule and harassment from white cadets, Flipper was known to tutor whites in private to help them with their studies.

''He was an amazing individual. It was amazing how mature he was,'' Grove said.

Flipper served at various Southwest posts as a scout, an engineer surveyor and construction supervisor, post adjutant, acting assistant and post quartermaster and commissary officer.

At Fort Davis, Texas, in 1881, Flipper's career took a dire turn when his commander accused him of embezzling $3,792 from commissary funds. Flipper initially discovered the funds missing from his custody and concealed their disappearance from superiors, hoping the money would return.