The Silver Spring Library at 900 Wayne Ave. in downtown Silver Spring will be renamed after Brigadier General Charles McGee, a veteran of the famed all-black Tuskegee Airmen in World War II, flying 137 combat missions, officials announced today.
The renaming will be made official on Monday, Feb. 28, according to a county press release. County Executive Marc Elrich will be joined by Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando, Montgomery County Public Libraries Director Anita Vassallo, Montgomery County Department of General Services Director David Dise, the Montgomery County Commission on Veterans Affairs, family members of Brig. Gen. Charles E. McGee, and others in a ceremony to sign a bill that will enable the County to rename the Silver Spring Library to the “Brigadier General Charles E. McGee Library.”
The renaming of the Silver Spring Library was proposed earlier this month by Councilmember Will Jawando (D-At Large).
Jawando wrote to Elrich asking him to consider renaming the library after McGee, a long-time resident of Montgomery County, who passed away in January at his Bethesda home at age 102.
Jawando presented a proclamation to McGee on Feb. 25, 2020, recognizing his honorary promotion to brigadier general and noting that he was the oldest living member of the 332nd Fighter Group of the Tuskegee Airmen, nicknamed the “Red Tails.
Among his many honors, McGee was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Legion of Merit with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Bronze Star, Air Medal with 25 Oak Leaf Clusters, and others. He retired in January 1973.
“It was my honor to get to know Brig. Gen. McGee and his family over the years,” Jawando wrote. “He was a man of integrity, intelligence, and grace. His memory will live on for years to come and we must do our part to keep his memory alive. It would be fitting that one of our largest county libraries—a place where we learn about history and also seek to better ourselves—be named after a man of such great honor.”
Photo: “File:Silver Spring Library 9-23-16.jpg” by Abby Norling-Ruggles is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0