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As we reflect on the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., it is important to ask yourself how you are living ‘The Dream’ and recognizing others that are doing so.
Amid our vast US population of approximately 319 million people today, we have a finite number of veterans that gave their lives to protect and serve our country during times of war. Even a smaller number of modern day heroes that battled to protect US citizens in war times and fought under the banner of civil rights, while not being afforded the constitutional rights to freedom and liberties promised to all.
One particular servant of freedom and civil rights is Dabney N. Montgomery. He uniquely fits both of these categories of service to all mankind in American history. Mr. Montgomery is a World War II (WWII) veteran, a distinguished Tuskegee Airman and a civil right freedom fighter.
Mr. Montgomery recently dedicated the heels of his shoes and necktie that he wore during the march from Selma to Montgomery along with his address book that depicts the contact information for Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
How did Mr. Montgomery begin his service to his country?
After graduating from high school in 1942, he attended Selma University in Selma, Alabama. One year later he was drafted into the US Armed Forces. He believes since he had one year of college under his belt he was assigned to the 1051st Quartermaster of the 96th Air Service Group that supported the 332nd Fighter Group.
At that time, it was illegal to train Black soldiers to be combat pilots, but First Lady Roosevelt purposefully flew in a plane operated by a Black pilot and later convinced her husband, President Franklin D. Roosevelt to allow Black soldiers to train to become combat pilots.
Through the Army, Bro. Montgomery was able to do a tour in Southern Italy and he vividly recalls Mt. Vesuvius had erupted during World War II. It spewed tons of ash into the air. He and others had to shovel and clear the ash from the supply tents, while the Germans continued their attack. During times like this he recalls a familiar Tuskegee Airmen chant — a fellow solider would shout out the word, “Despite!” (and nearby soldiers would shout back), “We will fight!.” He was a proud quartermaster solider ensuring that through food, clothing and other supplies, the pilots and ground crew personnel were in war fighting condition.
On a humorous note, when asked why were the tails of the P-51 Mustangs painted red, Montgomery would always chuckle and say, “We had an excess of red paint”; hence, the Tuskegee Airmen were affectionately called, ‘Red Tails’.
So, how did Dabney N. Montgomery become involved with the civil rights movement?
After Montgomery’s WWII service, the 23 year old war veteran took advantage of the G.I. Bill and headed to Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina. While attending this historical Black college, he was initiated into the first intercollegiate Black Greek fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha and earned a Bachelor’s of Arts in religious studies in 1949.
Before graduation in 1949, he heard a voice telling him, “When the laws of the state conflicts with the conscious of man, then the laws of the state must be peaceably broken.”
In 1951, he moved to Boston to study ballet at the Boston Conservatory of Music. There he taught Sunday school and through the church he met a woman who embraced him as her godson. One Sunday, she invited him over to dinner to meet her other godson and his fiancé. When he showed up, he met a fellow fraternity member, Bro. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and his fiancé, Coretta Scott.
Over the next few years, he would be back and forth between Alabama, Michigan and New York. In 1965, he was drawn back to Selma, Alabama where he became one of the bodyguards for the young man he had met in Boston, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was actively involved in many civil rights initiatives, and was a man of faith and freedom.
Mr. Montgomery has lived in Harlem for the past 62 years. Until retirement, he worked for NYC Housing Authority, but spent much of his time at the Harlem YMCA and his place of worship Mother AME Zion Church to mentor and develop boys and girls into leaders.
In 2007, President Bush and US congress bestowed The Congressional Gold Medal of Honor upon the Tuskegee Airmen. Additionally, Mr. Montgomery has received a myriad of awards and recognition from federal and state elected officials, as well as community and national organizations.
Dabney N. Montgomery is a hero in so many ways and at the ripe age of 92, he embodies a person that is still, living ‘The Dream’ of American freedom and civil rights for all.
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