Lieutenant pops question in national magazine Published April 9, 2007 By Tech. Sgt. Rebecca Danet Air Force Office of Public Affairs National Media Outreach MCGUIRE AIR FORCE BASE, N.J. -- A McGuire lieutenant will be taking his new bride on a dream honeymoon in South Africa after their 2008 nuptials; a trip which the couple won following an extreme marriage proposal in Essence Magazine's February love issue. First Lt. Kerry Mackey, Jr., 305th Comptroller Squadron budget officer, proposed to his longtime friend Diedra Chism of Memphis, Tenn., after beating out hundreds of other applicants for the opportunity to do so in the magazine. Lieutenant Mackey and five other hopeful bachelors wrote love letters of proposal to their girlfriends, which the magazine published in early February. Each gentleman then received advance copies of the magazine and set the stage for their ladies to read their letters. After meeting at church six years ago, then college freshman Kerry Mackey waited three years for the opportunity to date Miss Chism. "I patiently waited for you, holding fast to the belief that if we were meant to be, things would work out for us," the lieutenant wrote in his proposal. To pop the question, Lieutenant Mackey took a surprise trip from McGuire to Miss Chism's home in Memphis right before Christmas. He presented her with the magazine then dropped on bended knee to tell her what was in his heart. "This is you," Diedra said looking at the magazine's cover in confusion. "I think she was really shocked by the whole thing, from my being there, to the magazine and the whole proposal," he said. Her answer was a resounding, "Yes," followed by emotional tears of joy. As all six ladies said yes, the magazine set up an Internet poll on its Web site and asked readers to vote for their favorite couple to win the dream honeymoon. The six couples made a guest appearance on ABC Television's Good Morning America show Valentine's Day where Essence Magazine's Editor-in-Chief, Angela Burt-Murray, was expected to announce the winning couple. "We had millions log on," Ms. Burt-Murray said. "I think they were really excited about all these wonderful stories and these heartfelt expressions of love." The magazine and South African Tourism Board were so overwhelmed by the reader response and by the couples themselves, Ms. Burt-Murray said, that they decided to award the trip to all six couples. Lieutenant Mackey and Miss Chism are planning their wedding for spring 2008 and will take off for two days in Cape Town, two days in Johannesburg and a two-day African safari shortly thereafter.