Normally, the articles on this site have some kind of connection to aviation. This aricle will be a notable exception.
Calvin Curtis, father of AirSafe.com creator Dr. Todd Curtis, will be presented with a Congressional Gold Medal, which is the highest civilian honor bestowed by the US Congress for distinguished achievement.
The medal was awarded to the Montford Point Marines in recognition of "their personal sacrifice and service to their country" as the first African-American Marines. Past recipients of the Congressional Gold Medal have included the Tuskegee Airmen; Dr. Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King; the Navaho Code Talkers, Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela, and Gen. Colin Powell.
There were originally over 20,000 Montford Point Marines, and perhaps fewer than 500 remain alive today. Many of the surviving Montford Point Marines were honored in a group ceremony last summer in Washington, DC. Other Montford Point veterans have been honored by Marine units in local ceremonies around the country.
The ceremony for Calvin Curtis will be held at 11 am on December 11, 2012, at the Naval Operational Support Center, located at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. The public is invited to attend, and AirSafe.com encourages anyone in the San Antonio area to do so. The links below provide directions to the event, as well as details about the ceremony.
Directions to the event and parking instructions
Additional Information
More on the life of Calvin Curtis
USMC History of the Montford Point Marines
Leave a Message for Calvin Curtis
If you are unable to attend, but would like to leave a message for Calvin Curtis, please feel free to leave your comments below:
Congratulations to your dad — that's a very impressive honor!
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