History
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base occupies over 3,300 acres (13 km²) in the southeast section of Goldsboro. Seymour Johnson Field was opened in April 1942 as Headquarters, Technical School, Army Air Forces Technical Training Command. In June 1943, a secondary mission was added which included preparation of officers and men for overseas duty. The unit was known as the Provisional Overseas Replacement Training Center. Seymour Johnson Field received a third mission in September 1943: to provide basic military training for cadets preparing to become technical officers in the Army Air Corps. The 75th Training Wing was established to conduct the program through its Aviation Cadet Pre-Training School.
Interestingly, the namesake of the base, Seymour Johnson, was never part of the Air Force (or the Army, of which the Air Force was initially a branch). He was a local man who became a Navy test pilot and died in a plane crash in 1940, just before the US entered World War II. There is a historical plaque honoring him at the main gate entrance of the base.
Read more about this topic: Seymour Johnson Air Force Base
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“American time has stretched around the world. It has become the dominant tempo of modern history, especially of the history of Europe.”
—Harold Rosenberg (1906–1978)
“To a surprising extent the war-lords in shining armour, the apostles of the martial virtues, tend not to die fighting when the time comes. History is full of ignominious getaways by the great and famous.”
—George Orwell (1903–1950)
“Look through the whole history of countries professing the Romish religion, and you will uniformly find the leaven of this besetting and accursed principle of action—that the end will sanction any means.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834)