Dobbins chapel organist honored for years of service

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Elizabeth Gaston
  • 94th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga. --  In 1966, when Carol Pope's father deployed to Vietnam, her family had a tough choice to make. They could either stay on Kincheloe Air Force Base, Mich., near her father's unit, or move to Atlanta to be closer to family, specifically her grandparents.

Pope had already played piano at the military church she had attended while in Michigan. When she moved into the Atlanta area, she leaned on the church community as an outlet while her family was enduring the long separation.

She was not comfortable attending a civilian church, having never attended one before, she found Dobbins Air Reserve Base, then Dobbins Air Force Base. Her first Sunday here happened to be the last Sunday that the organ player at the time, an Airman, was going to be assigned to Dobbins. Luckily, Pope was there to volunteer to play the organ until they found someone else.

"They just never found anyone else," said Pope.

Carol Pope, organist for the Dobbins Air Reserve Base Chapel, is celebrating over forty years of service to the base and was recognized on May 6 by Col. Tim Tarchick, 94th Airlift Wing commander, at the quarterly wing commander's call.

"It's an honor to recognize you for your dedicated contribution and unending support to the members of the 94th Airlift Wing," said Tarchick.

Some of her more memorable moments involve some of the most somber and, in stark contrast, the most joyful of occasions, memorial services and weddings, sometimes playing up to three events in a single day.

"The Dobbins Chapel has a history," said Pope. "So many things have happened here."

Growing up in the 1960's, Pope was well aware of how unpopular the military was at the time. At the height of the Vietnam War, the military was being held accountable for operations in Southeast Asia by the American people. Over 500,000 people had been drafted for the war by 1966, and college attendance had reached a record high, for the time.

The military was not respected or appreciated, said Pope. Now, people recognize how much servicemembers sacrifice. There are people who believe that this country is important and will fight for it, and some will even die for it.

Just as the country has evolved, her music has evolved as well.

When Pope first arrived to play the organ at Dobbins, servicemembers were more likely to hear hymns and traditional chapel standards. Now, Pope primarily plays the keyboards at the Dobbins Chapel. She can generate a multitude of different sounds, which lends itself to playing more contemporary music.

For more than forty years, Pope has shown up to play music at the Dobbins chapel for one simple purpose.

"I can serve," said Pope. "I can help, and I can contribute something to the service. Being here and worshiping with people I feel very close to is important to me. Even if I didn't have a role to play, I would still be here. I'm very glad they continue to let me play."