Dabney N. Montgomery

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 of Honor;’ it was awarded on Thursday, March 29, 2007, under the Capitol Dome in Washington, D.C.

In December 2006, he was selected by the Livingstone College National Alumni Association to receive the Prestigious Outstanding Alumni Award; it was presented on February 2, 2007 by the National Alumni Council of the United Negro College Fund in Nashville, Tennessee. On February 4, 2010, he was inducted into the United Negro College Fund “Share Your Love” and Service in Celebration of Livingstone College Leaders Hall of Fame. These distinguished awards recognize Alumni who have made significant contributions to their alma mater, community, and the UNCF.

Mr. Montgomery is involved in the Harlem community and is a member of Manhattan Community Board No. 10, where he serves on two sub-committees: Parks and Recreation, and the Executive Committee. As a member of the Parks and Recreation Committee, he wrote a base letter to the Parks Department of the City of New York, as a proposal to recognize Central Park West (at 85th and 86th Streets) as the historical site of African American settlers in the early 1820s, which was then Seneca Village. Mother Zion was, for a short time, located there. The settlers were evicted in 1857 under the City’s ‘eminent domain’ project. A permanent sign now stands marking the site. He is chaplain of the West 136th Street [200th] Block Association.

Mr. Montgomery has received numerous awards for his community involvement and activism: namely, Proclamations from the Presidents of the Borough of Manhattan C. Virginia Fields [April 18, 1998], Scott M. Stringer [September 6, 2006], The Council, City of New York [February 13, 2008]. On Thursday, April 2, 2009, the National Action Network bestowed the Social Action Award for his civil rights activism. On Thursday, June 4, 2009, in Washington, DC, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney of New York entered into the Congressional Record (Proceedings and Debates of the 111th Congress) a sequence of his military and civil rights experience, declaring him an ‘American Hero;’ on Friday, June 5, 2009, at the Annual Founders’ Day Luncheon of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Union, Local 237, Gregory Floyd, president, presented to him their Trailblazer Award; a Declaration of Honor acknowledging Saturday, January 28, 2012 as “Dabney N. Montgomery Day” in Queens, presented by Helen M. Marshall, President of the Borough of Queens, followed by The Learning Tree Multi-Cultural School’s ‘Tuskegee Airmen Legacy Award’ for heroic and dedicated service, a Proclamation from Julissa Ferreras, Council Member, 21st District, Queens, New York and, a ‘Commendation’ from The City of New York, Office of the Comptroller, presented by John C. Liu, Comptroller. On Saturday, February 25, 2012, Council Member Larry Seabrook presented the City Council Citation for Extraordinary Service to Our Nation and Sacrifices in the Civil Rights Movement; and, on Thursday, April 19, 2012 received the Simon Wiesenthal Center Award for ‘Valor.’

Mr. Montgomery is married to Amelia A. [nee: Neely] Montgomery.