He was a hero twice-over, and a symposium in his name honors other heroes.
While the 11th annual Jimmie Dyess Symposium will be a virtual event on Jan. 14, its purpose remains the same, according to Nancy Glaser, executive director of the Augusta Museum of History.
“Eleven years ago, we wanted to honor the legacy of Jimmie Dyess,” she said.
Born in 1909, Aquila J. “Jimmie” Dyess grew up in Augusta and became a hero for the first time in his teens when he saved two women from drowning during a storm off the coast of South Carolina. An Eagle Scout, Dyess jumped into the surf and brought them to safety. His bravery earned him the Carnegie Medal.
He joined the Marines in 1936 and served during World War II. In February 1944, he was the battalion commander for the 4th Marine Division and went behind enemy lines to save four wounded Marines. He was killed the next day and received the Medal of Honor posthumously.
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His daughter, Connor, was eight at the time. She lives in Augusta with her husband retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Perry Smith, who is the driving force behind the symposium, according to Glaser.
In addition to honoring Dyess’s legacy, the symposium will honor three people with the Jimmie Dyess Distinguished American Award. It is given at the symposium to individuals who “over a lifetime have made major contributions to their nation, their community and their fellow citizens,” according to a news release from the museum.
This year’s recipients include Gary Michael Rose, who received the Medal of Honor in October 2017, 47 years after his heroism in Vietnam. He joined the Army in 1967 and went through his Advanced Individual Training at Fort Gordon. He served as a medic with the Army’s Special Forces. He received the Medal of Honor because of a four-day mission in September 1970 when he was wounded several times but continued treating wounded soldiers despite his own injuries.
Local heroes receiving the award are Doug Hastings and Dr. Terry Elam.
In 2004, Hastings was inspired to take a group of World War II veterans to tour the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. He only planned to take that first group, but in the years since, he has taken 84 trips with veterans to Washington,. as well as the World War II Museum in New Orleans. Trips scheduled for 2020 were postponed due to COVID-19, said Glaser.
Elam spent 36 years at the Augusta Technical College; 22 of them were as the college’s president. During his tenure, he grew the college’s programs from 38 to 130 and expanded campuses into Columbia, McDuffie and Burke Counties, the news release said.
Glaser said the Medal of Honor winner and local awardees would be present at the symposium in typical years. For this year, Smith interviewed them, and those interviews will be part of the video presentation.
The other component to the symposium is that it serves as a fundraiser for the museum. The event will be streamed free, but donations will be accepted, Glaser said. To watch the livestream at 5 p.m., Jan. 14, visit the museum’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/AugustaMuseumofHistory or on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/Augustamuseum1.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com
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