Today in Dobbins History: Photographer ends 40 year career Published Aug. 22, 2014 By Tech. Sgt. Jason Paseur 94th Airlift Wing Historian Office DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga. -- He photographed presidents, politicians, Russian astronauts, and every military and civilian dignitary that came to Dobbins Air Force Base since 1962. He was the resident memory of Dobbins history and the base official photographer for 18 years. With 40 years of military government service to his record, Mark Keza retired Aug. 22, 1980. His Dobbins career included photographing famous figures like Robert Kennedy, who in 1964, dedicated a permanent plaque and magnolia tree to the base in memory of John F. Kennedy. Actor and retired Air Force General Jimmy Stewart, Senator Eugene McCarthy, President Gerald Ford, Commentator Paul Harvey, Air Force General "Chappie" James, Ethiopian Emporer Halie Selassie, Bob Hope, and many more "VIPs" landed at Dobbins, and were photographed by Mark. More fond of his own memories, however, are the photos taken of himself in 1936 as an Army private on horseback. Mark served in combat in the South Pacific from 1942 to 1945, and was a combat documentation photographer in the Korean War. His photos earned him awards and some were printed in the Atlanta Journal. Will he set aside his camera in retirement? "I'll probably get a part time job taking photos for some community organization," said Mark in parting. "I can't just sit around, I'll go nuts." Originally published in the August 1980 Minuteman
