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, 1941. 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. ___________________________________________________________________ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Guy Potts ___________________________________________________________________