By Gary Raynaldo / DIPLOMATIC NEWS
New York – Dabney Montgomery, who was a ground crewman with the all-black Tuskegee Airman during World War II, died in 2016 at the grand old age of 93. He was stationed in southern Italy during the war. A little known fact about Montgomery is that he also served as a bodyguard for the late Martin Luther King Jr., guarding the civil rights leader during the march from Selma, Ala.-his hometown. Recently, a Harlem street was renamed in honor of Montgomery. The street is at West 136th St. at the northwest corner of Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard.
Montgomery was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007. The medal, along with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, is one of the highest civilian awards in the United States. Montgomery grew up in Selma and was drafted in 1943. He had attended Selma University for a year and was trained in clerical duties. He joined the Tuskegee Airmen as part of their ground support.
“When I saw guys who looked like me flying airplanes, I was filled with hope that segregation would soon end,” Montgomery told The Wall Street Journal in 2015.
Photo by Gary Raynaldo / Amelia Montgomery, Dabney Montgomery’s widow in Harlem.
“I cannot even begin to tell you, there aren’t enough adjectives to tell you what I think of this day,” said Amelia Montgomery, overwhelmed after Harlem street is officially re-named in honor of her late husband.
Photo by Gary Raynaldo / Amelia Montgomery with other members of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. in Harlem.
