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If you have passed through the main gate of Dobbins Air Reserve
Base off of Cobb Parkway in Marietta, Georgia, you have driven past
a magnolia tree that has stood as a sentinel for more than a half
century. While not obvious to the casual observer, the tree has a
link to December, President John F. Kennedy, the history of Dobbins
ARB and the Georgia Air National Guard.
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The JFK magnolia tree at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta,
Georgia on December 5, 2015 (left) 52 years after it was planted on
December 7, 1943 (right) by representatives of the Georgia Air
National Guard, Air Force Reserve, U.S. Navy and Marine Corps in honor of the late President John F.
Kennedy. Image created by USA Patriotism! from Georgia Army National
Guard photo by Capt. William Carraway (left) and courtesy
photo from Georgia National Guard Archives (right).
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On Nov. 22, 1963, President Kennedy was felled by an
assassin's bullet in Dallas. The untimely death of the young
president plunged the country into mourning. Grieving
members of the Dobbins community and surrounding Cobb County
pondered how they could honor the memory of Kennedy's life
of service. Ultimately, representatives of the military
services and civilian workers present at Dobbins agreed to
honor President Kennedy with the planting of a tree to serve
as a living memorial to the principles for which the
President lived.
On Dec. 7, 1963, Air Force Reserve
personnel and Airmen of the Georgia Air National Guard's
116th Air Transport Wing stood in formation with members of
the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and civilian personnel to
witness the tree planting ceremony. Brigadier General George
H. Wilson, commander of Dobbins Air Force Base opened the
ceremony by calling the formation to attention. Following
the presentation of the colors, Georgia Air National Guard
Chaplain (Major) Robert Pooley Jr. of the 116th ATW gave the
opening prayer. He was followed by Brig. Gen. Wilbur W.
Airing, commander of the Third Air Force Reserve Region.
“We can pay no better tribute to the memory of our late
President than to ‘carry on' and rededicate ourselves to the
continuing tasks that lay before us,” said Airing. “As this
tree grows and becomes stronger and more beautiful so will
our dedication to the ideals and principles for which
President Kennedy fought so hard.” Airing quoted Abraham
Lincoln in closing.
“If, as a result of this tragic
event, all of us become a little more tolerant, a little
more patriotic, a little more American, in the words of
Lincoln at Gettysburg, ‘he will not have died in vain,'”
said Airing.
Chief Master Sergeant Emmett N. Donald
of the 116th ATW was chosen to represent the Georgia Air
National Guard during the tree planting ceremony. Donald was
one of four men who served on the tree planting detail.
Chaplain (Lt. Cdr.) Robert E. Osman, of Naval Air Station
Atlanta, offered the dedicatory prayer after which the
Georgia Air National Guard's 530th Air Force Band led by 1st
Lt. Russell Moore played the National Anthem. Following a
benediction by Chaplain (Capt.) Gordon V. Wood of the 445th
Troop Carrier Wing, a twenty-one gun salute echoed over the
rolling hills of Dobbins. The solemn strain of a lone
trumpeter playing taps concluded the memorial services.
In the 52 years since its planting, the magnolia has
seen many changes. Dobbins was redesignated as an Air
Reserve Base, and units came and went. A 2005 Base
Realignment and Closing decision closed Naval Air Station
Atlanta. Subsequently, the Georgia National Guard
established its Joint Force Headquarters on the former Navy
site. Even the Dobbins Chapel, which once fronted the
Magnolia is gone, through it lives on at the Clay National
Guard Center after a valiant effort to save it from
demolition.
Next time you find yourself at the
Dobbins gate, look to your left as you enter. You will see a
grand magnolia standing at the edge of the fence surrounded
by a ring of shrubbery. A plaque at the base of the tree
reveals that the tree was “dedicated in memory of John F.
Kennedy, President of the United States by Officers and Men,
Air Force, Navy, Marine, Dobbins Air Force Base Georgia 7
December 1963.”
By Capt. William Carraway, Georgia Army National Guard
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2015
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