Wayne County, NC - Military Lt. Seymour A. Johnson Seymour A. Johnston was born February 15, 1904 in Goldsboro, son of Dr John Norborn Johnson, who was born in Louisa Co, VA and Lilly Belle Newbury, who was born in NC. Seymour graduated from Goldsboro High School in 1920. He attended UNC-Chapel Hill for three years, then he received an appointment to the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. Following his graduation from the Academy in 1927, he entered naval pilots training in Pensacola, FL where he received his pilots wings in 1929. In 1929, he married Alice Kelly. Their wedding took place in the Panama Canal Zone. After completing flight training, Johnson served as a pilot on battleships and aircraft carriers. In 1936, he became a test pilot for Graumman Aircraft Corp. This was normaly a two year duty assignment; however, Johnson remained on test pilot status until March 5, 1941. On that day, he was killed while testing a plane near Norbeck, MD, while on a flight from Anacostia Air Station. He was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery, outside Washington, DC on March 7, 1914. In addition to his wife, Alice and daughter, Suzanne, he was survived by his father; his step-mother, Ruth J Johnson; sisters, Virginia J Britt (Mrs Sam) of Goldsboro; Florence Brinkley McMillian (Mrs Allen) of Fayetteville, NC; Mrs Redmond Dortch of Manopla, Cuba and Miss Lillian Chase Johnson of Goldsboro, NC. At the time of his death, Lt Johnson had been selected for promotion to the rank of lieutenant commander. When war was delcared with Japan, following their attack on Pearl Harbor, Goldsboro Airport became the site of an Army Air Corps Training Center in April of 1942. On November 3, 1942, the new base was named in honor of Lt Seymour Johnson. Formal dedication took place December 3, 1944 at which time a portrait of Lt Seymour Johnson was unveiled. The portrait hangs in the Officer's Open Mess Club at the base. Source: Birth records of Wayne Co, newspaper accounts and military records of Seymour Johnson AFB. This file is posted with the permission of Mrs Charlotte R Carrere, author. ============================================================= USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Guy Potts ==============================================================