Dabney N. Montgomery (April 18, 1923 – September 3, 2016) was an American pilot and bodyguard. Born in

Selma, Alabama Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama and extending to the west. Located on the banks of the Alabama River, the city has a population of 17,971 as of the 2020 census. Abou ...

, Montgomery went to Lutheran Academy and the Selma University High School. He joined the armed forces in 1943, serving in the

U.S. Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

. Montgomery graduated from

Livingstone College Livingstone College is a private historically black Christian college in Salisbury, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Livingstone College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges ...

in 1949 and studied music at the

Boston Conservatory Boston Conservatory at Berklee (formerly The Boston Conservatory) is a private performing arts conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in dance, music, and theater. Boston Conservatory was founded o ...

. He was a bodyguard for

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

during the 1965

Selma to Montgomery marches The Selma to Montgomery marches were three Demonstration (protest), protest marches, held in 1965, along the highway from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery. The marches were organized by Nonviolence, nonvi ...

, in

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. Montgomery was awarded the

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is the oldest and highest civilian award in the United States, alongside the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is bestowed by vote of the United States Congress, signed into law by the president. The Gold Medal exp ...

in 2007. He died on September 3, 2016, of natural causes.The History Makers-Dabney N. Montgomery
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, Dabney 1923 births 2016 deaths People from Selma, Alabama Boston Conservatory at Berklee alumni Livingstone College alumni United States Army Air Forces soldiers 21st-century African-American people Tuskegee Airmen