{"id":28440,"date":"2024-04-22T13:58:58","date_gmt":"2024-04-22T13:58:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saj.pachecostudios.com?p=28440"},"modified":"2024-04-22T13:59:01","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T13:59:01","slug":"charles-mcgee-selected-as-2024-paul-e-garber-shrine-honoree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/state-news\/north-carolina\/charles-mcgee-selected-as-2024-paul-e-garber-shrine-honoree\/%20","title":{"rendered":"Charles McGee Selected as 2024 Paul E Garber Shrine Honoree"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The First Flight Society<\/a> has announced that Brigadier General Charles McGee has been named the 2024 Honoree to be inducted into the Dr. Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine located in the Museum and Visitors Center at the Wright Brothers National Memorial, Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, USA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Charles McGee<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This honor is selected annually by a high-level panel\nappointed by the First Flight Society, from among numerous nominations\nsubmitted from around the world as well as compiled lists of qualified\ncandidates. The induction ceremony will be held on Wright Brothers Day,\nDecember 17, 2024, with a celebration banquet held on December 16, 2024, in\nKitty Hawk. A portrait of McGee will be unveiled and presented at the ceremony\non December 17th, 2024, celebrating the 121st Anniversary of the Wright\nBrothers First Flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charles Edward McGee (December 7, 1919 – January 16, 2022)\nwas a member of the 332nd Fighter Group in World War II, also known as the\nTuskegee Airmen. His military service was 30 years from 1942-1973 with over 409\ncombat missions in WWII, the Korean war, and the Vietnam war. McGee was highly\ndecorated with awards including Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross,\nBronze Star Medal, and Air Medal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Charles McGee at AirVenture in 2015. Photo by Kim Stevens.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In 2020 Charles McGee was inducted as an Honorary Lifetime\nMember of the First Flight Society. That same year he participated in the coin\ntoss for Super Bowl LIV and was promoted from colonel to brigadier general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McGee was married to his wife Frances for over 50 years\nuntil her death. McGee lived until the age of 102 and is buried in Arlington\nCemetery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

William Douglas, Chairman of the First Flight Society\u2019s\nNational Advisory Committee, served as Chair of the Dr. Paul E. Garber Shrine\nSelection Panel and managed the selection process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honorees for the Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine<\/a> are selected annually by a National Advisory Committee from a list of nominees submitted to the First Flight Society and public that is passed to the Committee for consideration. For 2025 the committee accepts a letter of nomination accompanied by supporting documentation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The nominee(s) may but does not have to be a \u201cfirst\u201d but\nrather \u201c\u201c\u2026a person, living or dead, who since December 17, 1903, either\npersonally or with the assistance of others, have made such outstanding\naccomplishments in support of flight operations that they are generally\nrecognized nationally and internationally for their achievements and\ncontributions to aerospace activities.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The First Flight Society created the Paul E Garber Shrine in\n1966 to honor individuals and groups for achieving significant\n“firsts” in aviation development since 1903. Charles Lindbergh, Mary\nFeik, John Glenn, Katherine Johnson (Hidden Figures), Gail Halvorsen, Sally K.\nRide and most recently Walter and Olive Ann Beech, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First Flight Society\u2019s vision is: One day people everywhere\nwill be inspired by the dauntless resolution and tireless work of the Wright\nBrothers. Their mission is to tell the story of the Wright Brothers through\ncommunity events, education, and the commemoration of the world\u2019s very first\npowered flight, in Kitty Hawk, NC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The First Flight Society has announced that Brigadier General Charles McGee has been named the 2024 Honoree to be inducted into the Dr. Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine located in the Museum and Visitors Center at the Wright Brothers National Memorial, Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, USA. This honor is selected annually by a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-north-carolina"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28440"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28443,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28440\/revisions\/28443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}