In honor of Lt. Col. Jimmie Dyess, a North Augusta native, the Augusta Museum of History hosted the 13th annual Jimmie Dyess Symposium on Thursday evening, Jan. 12.
After spending much of his youth in Augusta, Dyess joined the Marine Corps Reserve in 1936 and eventually assumed command of the first battalion of the 24th Marine Regiment in the 4th Marine Division. In February 1944, he led 800 man battalion into combat against the Japanese on Roi Namur Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
Dyess was the only man to receive the Eagle Scout Award, the Carnegie Medal and the Medal of Honor; to celebrate his memory and accomplishments, the Augusta Museum of History holds a symposium awarding and honoring those who have served their community above and beyond expectations, similarly to Dyess.
With friends, family members and retired Marines in the audience, the museum’s President Emeritus and retired Maj. Gen. of the U.S. Air Force Perry M. Smith presented two community leaders with the Jimmie Dyess Distinguished American Award.
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“We need to have role models for young people, and Jimmie Dyess was a perfect role model. He did so many things with his life before he went to combat, and when he was in combat,” said Smith. “In fact, a lot of people join the Marine Corp because of Jimmie Dyess.”
According to the event’s program, these honoraries were chosen for their “outstanding record of service to their fellow citizens, their communities and their country.”
Pat Knox Hudson and Edward Malcolm Gillespie were each given the Dyess Award and had their names permanently placed at the base of the museum’s Crystal Memorial, which is on display on the second floor. Each chosen recipient is given a silver Medal of Honor coin mounted in a bronze stand. These coins are 90 percent pure silver and are no longer made in production; one side depicts the three existing Medals of Honor for Army, Air Force and Navy, while the other shows a soldier carrying a wounded soldier.
Hudson has served on a number of local boards for various organizations including: the Bethlehem Community Center’s first Head Start Program, the Episcopal Day School, the Augusta Symphony, Saint Paul’s Tuesday Music Live, the Augusta Choral Society and the Family Counseling Center. Presently, she still serves as an emeritus member on the board of the Sacred Heart Cultural Center and the Jessye Norman School of the Arts.
At first finding out about the award, Hudson said she felt “overwhelmed, unworthy and grateful.” For her, she hopes the symposium encourages others to continue working towards a better and brighter future in Augusta.
During her acknowledgment speech, Hudson thanked several family members and emphasized how multiple institutions, such as the Morris Museum of Arts and the Lucy Laney Craft Museum of Black History, greatly improved the area’s quality of life.
“It takes a lot of effort to keep the good things in a city going, but if all of us are working together we get a lot done,” she said. “Aren’t we lucky that we can call Augusta home.”
Serving as an administrator and later president of University Hospital, one of the largest facilities in the Southeast, Gillespie was chosen for his instrumental involvement in developing Health Central Wellness, Brandon Wilde Senior Center, Walton Rehabilitation and the University Health Care Foundation. He also led a significant effort to restructure the Georgia Authority Hospitals. Additionally, he was also part of the American College of Hospital Administrators, the Welfare Certification Council, the Georgia Hospital Association, the Walton Rehabilitation Hospital and many other organizations.
“It feels great; it feels wonderful,” he said after being recognized. “This country is built on voluntary efforts, and it’s so important to recognize those leaders that volunteer their time. Now I was paid to do my job, but the people that really get things done are those individuals in the community who are willing to give their time and their dedication.”
Past recipient and recent Medal of Honor awardee Gary Michael Rose also attended the event and spoke on the importance of remembering hardworking and selfless Americans.
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“I’m very honored to stand here in front of you today,” he said. “Hard work – it’s an example you can point to … you got to educate our young people about what people have done for this country. A lot of people have done the right thing, because it was the right thing to do, and have suffered for it. And if you don’t believe me, we have 47 cemeteries scattered from North Africa to the Philippines full of those people that suffered for us.”
Rose, who was a part of the Army Special Forces in combat operation with training as a medic in 1970, was wounded several times as he treated injured soldiers in a four-day operation behind enemy lines. According to the Medal of Honor citation, after being thrown from a helicopter before it crashed due to the pilot being shot, while wounded and stunned, “crawled back into the wreckage to pull out wounded and unconscious soldiers, knowing that it could explode at any moment.” From his medical training and efforts, Rose was credited with treating between 60 to 70 injured and saving multiple lives.
Rose said the symposium is significant because it aids teaching local youth about the importance of being selfless and making one’s community a better place.
“We’re only a generation away from losing this country and the only thing we can do is to provide a sound education,” he said. “Not only in schools, academics and sports, but also by teaching them that they are right things to do, and you do them because it’s the right thing to do. Regardless of the consequences to yourself, it’s the right thing to do.”
The ceremony ended with a performance of “God Bless America” from Broadway veteran Russell Joel Brown, where he invited audiences to sing along with him in joyous celebration of those who sacrificed their time and actions to the city and the country.
Liz Wright is a staff writer covering education and general assignments for The Augusta Press. Reach her at liz@theaugustapress.com
