There is a lot of excitement about the new Smithsonian Museum in Washington, which focuses on African American history. Many of the priceless artifacts were donated by ordinary people, like a family in Harlem. NY1's Cheryl Wills pays them a visit and explains why the historic occasion is bittersweet.
The sound of happy students was music to the ears of World War II veteran Dabney Montgomery.
He loved nothing more than talking about his military service as a Tuskegee airman and a Civil Rights Activist. And he enjoyed showing off the heels of his shoes that he wore as a bodyguard for Dr. Martin Luther King when they marched side by side during the famous Selma to Montgomery march in 1965.
His wife, Amelia, was so proud of his legacy that when she got word of the Smithsonian's new National Museum of African American History and Culture, she wrote them and explained that her husband saved the tie and the heels of his shoes that he wore during the Selma March.
"He said something said to him, 'Take the heel off your shoes, just to keep them, save them as a memento of this march," Amelia Montgomery said.
Montgomery also saved a little black book which had the address and phone number of his old friend, Martin King.
The Smithsonian quickly accepted the donation and invited the couple to see President Obama cut the ribbon during official grand opening Saturday.
But Dabney Montgomery fell ill this summer and died of natural causes Sept. 3. He was 93.
Family and friends in Harlem are devastated.
"He most certainly would have been there — if not only for himself, but for his family," said Yvonne Singleton Davis, a family friend.
For nearly 40 years, Dabney Montgomery called home a quiet tree-lined block in central Harlem.
His pride and joy was a Congressional gold medal that he received from President Bush in 2007.
So, his widow is soldiering on without him, in a home filled with tributes to her husband's service.
"It's sad, but I remember him saying to someone the week before he went into hospice, that if he didn't make it, he would be there in spirit," Amelia said. "That's all I needed to hear. That's all I needed to hear."