Photo By Arit Essien | Original members of the Tuskegee Airmen will be honored during Memorial Day...... read more read more
MARIETTA Ga. - Members of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen and the Atlanta Chapter Tuskegee Airmen Inc. will be honored during the the 69th annual National Memorial Day Association of Georgia (NMDAGA) Memorial Day program, noon, today, at the Marietta National Military Cemetery, 500 Washington Ave., Marietta, Ga., 30060.
Several surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen--whose valiant WWII service critically assisted American war efforts, and later helped to forge desegregation within Unites States military units--will be presented Patriotic Tribute Medals during the program. Special recognition will also be paid to members of the Atlanta Chapter Tuskegee Airmen Inc. (ACTAI) for the organization's 37-year commitment to education, mentoring, and preserving the legacy of the nation's first African-American military aviators.
National TAI President, Brig. Gen. Leon A Johnson, will deliver the Memorial Day Address.
Johnson served 33 years with the U.S. Air Force prior to retiring in 2004. While enlisted, he commanded a fighter group, acted as Vice-Commander of the 10th Air Force at the Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth, TX., and served as a Mobilization Assistant.
A highly experienced pilot, with 7,000 combined hours of military and civilian flying time; Johnson flew in Bosnia during Operation Deny Flight, directed the Air Force Crisis Action Team in the Pentagon, established after 9/11; and maintained a 20-year career with the United Parcel Service (UPS) in roles ranging from Flight Operations Employment Manager to Administrative Chief Pilot. In 2011, Johnson was awarded a Doctorate degree in Humane Letters by Tuskegee University.
The NMDAGA observance will feature "Taps," various honor guards, a 21-gun salute, selections by “Sacre Voci” chorus, a patriotic band, and inspirational words from Adj. Gen. Jim Butterworth of the Georgia National Guard.
Preparations commenced Saturday with a solemn placement of over 3,000 American flags on the gravesite of every veteran laid to rest within the National Cemetery, by local Cub and Boy Scouts.
The Marietta National Cemetery began in 1866, as a goodwill effort to soothe bittered emotions between the North and the South following the Civil War, through a sacred burial place for both Union and Confederate casualties. Marietta resident Henry Cole donated 23.2 acres to the government with such hopes, but the South could not fathom the unification yet, and a separate Confederate Cemetery was established just adjacent to the National Cemetery.
The uniform wave of Scouts placing flags at each grave was a moving tribute to all fallen heroes; and a vivid reminder to the challenges of division that the Tuskegee Airmen also had to serve against, patriotically endure, and eventually demand change to decades later.
For further information visit: www.nmdaga.org, atlantatai.org and www.af.mil/information/bios/bio.asp?bioID=10949
| Date Taken: | 05.26.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 05.26.2013 19:05 |
| Story ID: | 107608 |
| Location: | MARIETTA, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 392 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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