Alfred D. Dunn

Alfred D. Dunn, 93, of Columbus, Georgia, died on August 13, 2014.

A graveside service will be held at 11:00 AM on August 18, 2014 at the Fort Benning Main Post Cemetery. Elder Timothy K. Long of Mt. Moriah Primitive Baptist Church in Columbus will officiate. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Striffler-Hamby Mortuary.

Mr. Dunn was born in Henderson, Tennessee on October 8, 1920, the seventh of 13 children born to Harrison Dunn and Sarah Jane (Tull) Dunn of Bethel Springs, Tennessee. As the son of a farmer in rural Tennessee during the great depression, Mr. Dunn spent much of his youth working on the family farm. It was there that his father taught him to hunt and shoot and he became quite proficient with a .22 and a shotgun at a very young age. He attended high school in McNairy County, Tennessee, and later attended college.

Only June 21, 1940, like his contemporaries who came to be known as The Greatest Generation, Mr. Dunn joined the U.S. Army at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. In November 1942, then Staff Sergeant Dunn was accepted to the newly established Armored Force Officer Candidate School. On February 6, 1943, he was appointed 2nd Lieutenant at the headquarters of The Armored Force School at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

During World War II he served in Europe with the 11th Armored Division. He also served with the 45th Infantry Division in Korea. A highly decorated war veteran, Major Dunn returned to Georgia in 1954. He served the remainder of his military career at Fort Benning, retiring in August 1960.

While stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Mr. Dunn found the time to court and wed the one true love of his life, the former Mozelle Cook of Fayetteville, North Carolina, on January 5, 1946. They were married for 63 years until her death in April 2009.

Mr. Dunn is best known in Columbus for his many active years in real estate as a partner in Pennell & Dunn Realty. He was a long-time member of the Columbus Board of REALTORS® and various civic organizations. His passion for bird hunting continued into adulthood. His spirited hunting dogs were among his prized possessions. In addition to hunting, he enjoyed baseball and golf. He and his wife were well known among the retirees on the Fort Benning Golf Course. He was a member of the VFW, post 665 in Columbus, the Retired Officers Association and a member in perpetuity of The Military Order of the World Wars. In his later years, he enjoyed visiting the National Infantry Museum and recounting his years of service to our country.

Mr. Dunn is survived by his two sons, Gregory J. Dunn, of Columbus, and Keith A. Dunn, of Cocoa Beach, Florida; and one brother, Joe Edward Dunn, of Chicago, Illinois. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife and eleven of his siblings.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the charity of your choice, or to the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center, 1775 Legacy Way, Columbus, GA 31903 - www.NationalInfantryMuseum.org.