Marietta Army Airfield was the name of the big air base northwest of Atlanta when George Kneen, then a lieutenant colonel, took command of it in 1950.
He was given a list of worthy candidates for whom he could rename the base, said his son, Lt. Col. Terry Kneen (USAF, retired), and he picked Capt. Charles Dobbins of Marietta, who was killed during World War II when the C-47 troop carrier he co-piloted was shot down near the coast of Sicily.
Now, Dobbins Air Reserve Base is the largest air reserve base in the world.
George Kneen returned to Dobbins as a full colonel two decades later and was chief of staff of the 3rd Air Reserve Region, his last assignment in a distinguished 30-year Air Force career. Afterward, he and his wife Harriet settled in Marietta for a long retirement.
Part of Col. Kneen's aviation career was spent in the skies over North Africa, Italy and France during World War II, piloting a B-26 Marauder bomber in 38 combat missions.
In one notable flight on Sept. 18, 1943, he earned a Distinguished Flying Cross, leading a formation of 86 planes in an attack on a German airfield near the Italian town of Pratica di Mara. The citation for his award stated he courageously flew through intense enemy fire that severely damaged his plane. By staying on course, the citation continued, he enabled bombardiers who followed him to drop devastatingly accurate loads, destroying 43 German aircraft on the ground and rendering the airfield useless.
He also was awarded a Bronze Star for developing a bombing technique that resulted in "extremely effective" results against enemy targets by the 42nd Bombardment Wing.
After war broke out in Korea, he was back in combat again, this time flying 37 missions in a twin-engine, propeller-driven B-26.
George H. Kneen, 96, died of pneumonia Thursday at Tranquility at Kennesaw Mountain hospice. Plans for a memorial service are not yet complete. Mayes Ward-Dobbins Funeral Home & Crematory in Marietta is in charge of arrangements.
In retirement he became the first executive director of the Cobb County Youth Museum, which offers interactive educational instruction in history for elementary and middle school pupils.
"George was instrumental in setting up the museum's organizational structure," said his successor as executive director, Anita Barton of Marietta. "Given his military background, it was no surprise that he valued orderliness."
She said Col. Kneen organized student tours — which now average 12,000 visitors a year — and he oversaw exhibits and the training of guides.
His principal diversion was golf. Well into his 80s, Col. Kneen impressed fellow Marietta Country Club members by lugging his own clubs around the 18-hole course.
Said a friend, Ann Fowler of Marietta, "It could be a sweltering day in the 90s, and there'd be George working hard at improving his game. Later in the day, he and Harriet would show up for dinner at the club, and George would look remarkably fresh and impeccably dressed."
Besides his son and his wife of 66 years, additional survivors include a daughter, Wendy Williams of Powder Springs; a brother, Rodman Kneen of Shelton, Conn.; three grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
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