James and Regina Hess of Richmond Hill, Ga. are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Dr. Theresa Marie Hess, to Captain Matthew Charles Hays Freeman, son of Lisa and Gary Freeman of Richmond Hill, and Mark and Paula Hays of Evanston, Ill.

The bride-elect is the granddaughter of the late Frances and Valeria Beck and the late James and Catherine Hess, all of Philadelphia, Penn. She is a 1998 graduate of Richmond Hill High School, a 2002 graduate of the University of Georgia and a 2007 graduate of Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine and School of Public Health. She completed a general surgery internship at the University of California-Davis before beginning her current job as a flight surgeon at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan.

The groom-elect is the grandson of Commander Jim and Betty Baumgardner, Charlie and Yvonne Hays and Rear Admiral Dewitt and Mary Freeman. He is a 1998 graduate of Richmond Hill High School and a 2002 graduate of the United States Naval Academy. He is currently a Marine Corps pilot at Futenma Air Station in Okinawa, Japan with the "SUMO’s" of VMGR-152.

The couple was engaged in September at Hiji Falls in Okinawa, Japan. After both deploying in support of Operation Enduring Freedom they will be wed in Spring 2010 at St. Anne’s Catholic Church in Richmond Hill with the reception to follow at the Freeman residence.