Tuskegee Airman Dabney N. Montgomery signs a movie poster before the public showing of the movie Red Tails on the flight deck of the Intrepid during Air Force Week 2012, in New York City, Aug. 20, 2012. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Jeremy Lock)
From N.Y. State Senator Bill Perkins’ web site:
Dabney N. Montgomery was born in Selma, Alabama on April 18, 1923, to Dred and Lula Anderson Montgomery.
Mr. Montgomery was drafted into the Army Air Corps (now the United States Air Force), during World War II and served in the 1051st Quartermaster Company of the 96th Air Service Group, attached to the 332nd Air Fighter Group, as a ground crewman with the Tuskegee Airmen in Southern Italy, from 1943 to 1945; he was awarded a Good Conduct Medal; the WWII Victory Medal; the European African Middle Eastern Service Medal with two Bronze Stars; a Service Award; the Honorable Service Medal; and, a Basic Driver and Mechanic Medal. In 1946, [to continue his education] he enrolled into Livingstone College, Salisbury, North Carolina, and received a B.A. degree in Religious Education, in May 1949. He is a Charter Member of the Sphinx Club and was one of the first to be admitted into the Gamma Mu Chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha [AØA] Fraternity.
Mr. Montgomery was an activist in the course of the Civil Rights Movement and marched with the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. throughout the [50+ mile] March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, March 21-25, 1965. He served as one of Dr. King’s bodyguards.
On April 11, 2006, President George W. Bush signed a Bill into law to award all Documented Original Tuskegee Airmen the ‘United States Congressional Gold Medal;’ it was awarded on Thursday, March 29, 2007, under the Capitol Dome in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Montgomery is married to Amelia A. [nee: Neely] Montgomery.
CODA: I had the privilege of meeting one of these Tuskegee Airmen a few months ago and I hope to be able to pay tribute to these men in the near future. In the meantime, if you have the chance to see the movie “Red Tails,” please do.
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.