N.C. Freedom Fest is another opportunity for Wayne County to show Team Seymour we have its back. Page 10
2024 NC FREEDOM FEST
SEPTEMBER 1, 202 4 Volume 2, Issue 3 NEWOLDNORTH.COM
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CONTENTS
4 Taylor takes on crime hotspot
Goldsboro City Councilwoman Jamie Taylor says she is tired of waiting for action to be taken against a business she says is a known criminal hotspot — a convenience store that was, a week ago, the scene of a shooting that resulted in two men being airlifted to Greenville for treatment.
8 Our take
In our view, it is time to stand behind those who are brave enough to call out certain neighborhoods and businesses that are turning a blind eye to the gang, drug, and gun violence epidemics plaguing their communities.
10 Special Section: N.C. Freedom Fest
N.C. Freedom Fest will see thousands of local residents — and out-of-towners — converge on downtown Goldsboro Sept. 7. This year's event will honor those from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base's 4th Fighter Wing who are currently deployed.
11 Mayor: You, too, can fight for SJAFB
Goldsboro Mayor Charles Gaylor believes that by attending N.C. Freedom Fest, Wayne County residents have an opportunity to join the fight against measures that would see local F-15Es divested and the 4th Fighter Wing's mission changed.
20 Spectator
The United Way of Wayne County is gearing up for its annual Taste of Wayne, an event that has, for the last two years, been a part of the city's Freedom Fest celebration.
COVER PHOTO BY CASEY MOZINGO
COVER DESIGN BY SHAN STUMPF
NEWS + VIEWS
Taylor on crime ‘hotspot’: ‘Shut it down.’
The scene of an Aug. 24 shooting was a business city officials say has been suspected of turning a blind eye to criminal activity for years.
BY KEN FINE
At just after 10 p.m. on a crisp Saturday evening, gunshots rang out at the corner of Elm and Slocumb streets.
But as Goldsboro police converged on the scene, several local residents acted as though nothing had taken place.
Watching them, you never would have known that two men had just taken bullets to their “lower extremities” — that both would be airlifted to Greenville where one remains, more than a week later, in critical condition.
Councilwoman Jamie Taylor is not surprised. Behavior that seems inconsistent with the gravity of what has been transpiring outside Donel Express Mart for years, she said, has become a troubling norm.
Two days after the shooting, Taylor drove by the store.
A group of young men was standing outside. Some were openly smoking blunts and flashing cash.
Others were, in broad daylight, engaged in what appeared to be blatant drug dealing.
Watching them, you never would have known that several weeks earlier, a letter was sent to the owner of the establishment — a warning from City Hall that Donel’s, as it is known in the neighborhood, could face closure if crime continues to be committed on the property.
“My constituents are coming to me with legitimate concerns, and I see it. I ride by there
four or five times a day just to look, and it’s always full of people,” Taylor said. “And it’s every day. It’s every single day.”
So, she is done being quiet as she waits for what seems like obvious opportunities for arrests to be made.
She is tired of being patient and waiting for the formal abatement process to play out.
Because in Taylor’s view, every minute that passes without action being taken at Donel’s results in another young life thrown away.
“Every time I go by there, the parking lot is full. If they refuse to take responsibility, we have no choice but to shut it down to protect our neighborhood and the people in it,” the councilwoman said. “It’s a serious
problem in our community. It’s a hotspot for criminal activity and it’s putting our safety at risk. And despite the efforts from the city, nothing substantial has been done to stop the crime or even slow it down. I think it’s time for the authorities to act.”
GPD Chief Mike West is no stranger to complaints about Donel’s.
And he is well-aware that drug dealing and other crimes are taking place out front — seemingly all day, every day.
But getting rid of the problem is not as simple as locking up the young men manning posts in the parking lot, he said.
It’s a process. One that takes time.
And deciding where and when to make arrests is about priorities.
“I guess what people need to be reminded of is we are still short-staffed. And yes, we got a pay increase, and everything is lovely there, but I’ve still got no more officers on the street now than I did six months ago,” West said.
So, tying up his officers with the hourslong process required each time an arrest is made means taking them off the streets.
“I’ve said it before. I don’t have enough people on the street to sustain doing violent crimes over here and work on prostitution over here and the homeless over here. I’ve got to pick and choose my battles,” West said. “And right now, shootings and violent crime are at the top of my list. So, it’s a give and take. Because now, (if I arrest the people outside Donel’s) I’ve taken those officers off the street to go after those low-level drug dealers and I’ve left us exposed to more violent crime in other areas with even less officers on the street for that amount of time.”
And as for the abatement process, that, too, requires patience.
“The letter says they are to reach out to the chief of police or the Inspections Department for us to assist them. I haven’t heard anything. So, my next step now is to collect historical data on Donel’s — a call history for the last months — to show either that there is a lot of crime going on or a lot of calls of service to the police,” West said. “Now that we’ve got a shooting, I don’t have to have as many calls for service because it kicks over to the severity of the calls for service. So, right now, we’re working the process, but it takes time.”
Continued on page 6
Donel Express Mart at the corner of Elm and Slocumb Streets in Goldsboro.
GOOGLE MAPS
Like Taylor, Mayor Charles Gaylor is getting impatient.
But he understands that West and his officers are doing the best they can — and that in order to ensure places like Donel’s are cleaned up, and, more importantly, remain cleaned up, the situation has to be resolved the right way.
“What I want to emphasize is that in order for a problem to be resolved, you have to have a case that is well-assembled, can be addressed through the court system, and can win,” he said. “We’re going to resolve it, but we have to resolve it step by step in a way that once it gets handed off to whichever prosecutorial team it gets handed off to, it can win, it can hold up, and, ultimately, we can support the neighbors over there that want to live a normal, quiet, prosperous life.”
Still, he feels Taylor’s frustration.
“I certainly hate to ask folks for patience because I’m tired of patience as well, to the point where I decided to run for mayor to go after some of this stuff,” Gaylor said. “But you have to make the right decision in every step of the way to finally yield results that are of the magnitude that we are going to need to get this problem under control permanently. I don’t like it any more than anybody else. I’ll be
I will personally be the one who stands up on the record and says we need to shut them down.
very blunt. Unfortunately, there’s not a magic wand to fix these large problems overnight.”
• • •
A few days ago, a group of young men who were suspected of criminal activity outside a convenience store on Slocumb Street fled when Goldsboro police officers attempted to arrest them.
Ultimately, the GPD took them to jail. For West, it is proof that the men and wom-
en under his command are doing the best they can to thwart crime in the area.
“We got into a foot chase and ended up taking a gun off the streets,” he said. “So, my guys, they’re doing it, but we’re doing it on a small scale. It’s gonna take us a little while to get up to the staffing level that I need to be able to do this on a more consistent basis.”
Taylor, a bail bondswoman by trade, talked to those young men at the jail.
“They don’t understand. They say, ‘The police are harassing me.’ No, they’re not.
They are doing their job. They are doing what they’re supposed to do,” the councilwoman said. “I told them, ‘The stuff that’s been happening … we’re not having it anymore.’”
But she fears that until there is consistent enforcement outside places like Donel’s, the seemingly “small” crimes will lead to more funerals in a part of the city that has been plagued by them in recent years.
“No more excuses. Arrest them. Arrest them every day if we have to. They’re gonna get tired of going to jail. They’re gonna get tired of spending all that money to get out of jail,” Taylor said. “So, yes, we need to keep arresting them until they change their behavior. And I really do believe they’re gonna get tired of being locked up because they’re standing outside that store doing what they’re doing.”
And as for establishments she says are broad daylight hotspots for drug- and gang-related crimes?
“I will personally be the one who stands up on the record and says we need to shut them down,” Taylor said. “Donel’s? We need to shut it down. Because if we’re being honest, those people who run that store are doing absolutely nothing to stop what everybody who drives down Elm Street can see with their own eyes. And if we keep letting them get away with it, that sends a message we shouldn’t want to be sending.” n
{ our TAKE }
COURAGE FROM A COUNCILWOMAN
Go ldsboro City Councilwoman Jamie Taylor isn’t just going to sit back and shake her head anymore.
And she isn’t going to fall for the same, tired excuses either.
And neither should we.
Anyone who tries to pretend that there are not places in Goldsboro where criminals “hang” because they know they can is living in a fantasy world.
And there are certain places where drugs, underage drinking, gun violence, and a myriad of less-than-appropriate behaviors occur.
And you have heard the old phrase — where there is smoke, there is fire.
Well, when there is a group of young men with gang insignia on their clothing, clustered at a place with a well-known reputation for illegal activity — well, you guessed it — those are suspects in potential criminal activity themselves.
But we have ignored that smoke and now
we really have the fire, because there is a whole generation of teens and young adults who think that they can behave in a manner that invites suspicion, and then yell “profiling” and “discrimination” when they are asked to provide identification or to disperse.
Jamie Taylor has heard it.
You see, she is a bail bondswoman, so she is the one who encounters these young men — all innocent of course.
“The police are harassing me,” they say. Indeed, they are — and they should be.
But before we go there, let’s talk about what really needs to be said about hangouts and known criminal hotspots in the city of Goldsboro — and the young people who frequent them.
We let this happen.
Some of it is because no one wants to be accused of being a racist as they report potential hoodlums, gang members, or criminals.
Some of it is that we did not want to get involved.
We did not see the violence in our neighborhoods, so it did not matter.
Well, you can see where that got us.
Now, the shots fired incidents are out of control.
But still, we looked the other way.
We figured, heck, these poor young men are misunderstood.
And we allowed the narrative to flow that police, well they are just on a power trip.
We elected prosecutors who did not lay down the law and hold criminals accountable, and watched suspects in significant cases get out without any or minimal bail or saw plea bargain after plea bargain because “the climate wasn’t right for a prosecution.”
And now, we have a police force that is undermanned and, until recently, underpaid, trying to pick up the pieces of the lawlessness we created.
Well, it is time to stop.
Criminals and those who have the potential
to be criminals better get the message. If you do the crime in Wayne County, you better be prepared to face arrest and jail time.
No more excuses.
No more coddling.
And, if you are one of the people who operates criminal enterprises in our community — or someone who sits back and watches while it goes on in your parking lot — well, you better know that accountability is coming for you, too.
We don’t know the whole story about Donel’s. Not yet.
Perhaps there is a defense, or maybe the owner really doesn’t know about the illegal activity that law enforcement says occurs in the parking lot nearly every second of every day.
But Jamie Taylor is right about one thing — and a brave person to say it: If we want a better Goldsboro, we had better set some new standards.
If we have known hotspots for criminal
activity, we need to find a way to shut them down — through zoning, through permits, or whatever else we need to do to send the message: We don’t want you here. Find somewhere else.
Our children are too important — and our community is too important to be afraid to stand up to those who have no respect for decency or what’s right.
The message will get around. And those who prey on our community and those children will move on to another spot where it is a little easier to do business.
And on the street is not the only place we need those standards.
Juvenile crime is up — way up.
And gangs and drugs, well they are active in this city — unabashedly so.
We have already seen in the last few weeks a group of teenage girls who shamelessly announced to the world on social media the torture they put a fellow teenager through, and the gun that they allegedly used to kill her.
Does that not say something about how important it is to get this one right?
say something.
That’s how you take back a community.
And we need to reintroduce another word back into our lexicon — consequences.
There are generations of people who have come from less-than-optimal homes, where money was tight and the neighborhood was full of people making bad choices.
Some of the best people come from circumstances just like that.
They have overcome because they had standards and drive, not excuses.
They found a better way because they believed in possibilities.
We are like so many other places across this country where criminals have gotten the message that they can get away with it, that they can play on our innate need to see justice and fairness and use it to get away with, in some cases, murder.
But even though we have plenty of company in the national crime wave, we can make a difference here.
We can set a standard.
It starts by letting our young men and women know that there is an expectation of behavior and it begins in the halls of our schools.
No more hesitation.
No more manipulation.
No more being ruled by a group of race baiters with no interest in this community’s future or its children.
We can teach responsibility and accountability the old way — as a community, as a neighborhood, and as a school district.
We can stop expecting teachers and principals to undo decades of bad upbringing and parenting in an eight-hour school day, or that our police force — even at full staff — can make the arrests and the changes we need all by itself.
There should not be one more life lost that is followed by silence.
If we see something, we need to
And, in some cases, behind them was a parent, pastor, teacher, mentor, guardian, or grandparent who introduced them to that word — consequences.
Actions have consequences.
Choices have consequences.
Maybe there should be a little more of that, too.
We tell people how we want to be treated — in life and as a community.
We send a message here that in this community, it is going to get a whole lot harder to run a criminal enterprise — that we are not going to stand for it anymore.
And that also means holding those who are supposed to uphold the law to the same standard.
We should make darn sure that we never find ourselves in the same quagmire that has tarnished the reputation of the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office.
We want prosecutors, elected officials, and law enforcement personnel who are about living up to the oath of office they took and who understand the difference between justice and injustice.
We have every right to make sure that every one of those people who have sworn to take care of their community lives up to that standard.
And once the message gets out, that we won’t tolerate criminal activity or corruption — or even worse, lack of moral courage to do what is right — it won’t take long.
The criminals and those who thrive on creating barriers to justice will find somewhere else to do business.
We have sat back and waited for the miracle that will change our trajectory for too long.
And now, one brave woman has sounded the alarm.
How many of us are now ready to fall in line behind Jamie Taylor and be part of the solution? n
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Jamie Taylor
There are times when just saying you support something is not enough. To really show you are committed — that you know what really matters — you have to show up. There are a lot of people who talk about supporting the military. They wave flags.
They mouth the words. They wear the T-shirts. They put the bumper stickers on their cars.
But that’s as far as it goes. They might mean well, but they don’t really know how deeply important it is, how much that support and the understanding of what it takes to protect freedom — or to be the family supporting those who serve — matters.
But here in Wayne County, we do. And we do because we have been the adopted hometown of thousands of airmen and their families for decades.
We have built “families” in our neighborhoods — as neighbors who rally around a mom or dad who is trying to manage a deployment. We have mowed lawns, picked up groceries, run errands, or just invited a young airman who is away from home for the first time to dinner. We have been among the cheering crowds when Seymour Johnson Air Force Base’s squadrons return home and taken our children to watch the jets take off and land — often with a tear in our eye and a swell of pride in our hearts.
And we have been the ones who have worried, and sometimes become emotional, as we wondered about “our men and women down range.”
That’s why, right now, it is important to show up — Sept. 7 — at N.C. Freedom Fest. The event, which will unfold in downtown Goldsboro, is about so much more than just a fun time with the family.
It provides us with yet another opportunity to let the maintainers, the pilots, and the air crews — and their families — know that this is the same community that has been there for them and generations before them, and that we understand the seriousness of the mission they carry out and the precious cargo they have left behind.
Bottom line?
When our family is away, we worry. And we take care of our own.
There is something that generations of Wayne County leaders have known — some of the most important leaders to have served —
that so many today seem to have forgotten.
The late Goldsboro Mayor Chuck Allen and titans of the Seymour Support Council and Military Affairs Committee like Troy Pate Jr. and Hal Tanner Jr. knew that they could hire all the lobbyists they wanted, spend all kinds of money wining and dining generals in Washington, and issue all kinds of promilitary pronouncements, but that when push came to shove it would not be any of that that kept Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro.
That’s why they invited young airmen and new leaders over for a barbecue or made sure that they had access to some time at the beach.
They knew they were leaving an impression on young men and women whom they just might meet again someday.
They stayed in contact.
They formed relationships.
And they watched as the young people they met early in their careers rose through the ranks.
So, when it came time for decisions to be made in Washington, the people doing the recommendations had a soft spot for the little town in North Carolina that was so welcoming — where they still had contacts who sent them family updates and Christmas cards.
In other words, people like Allen, Pate, and Tanner had friends in high places.
And it worked, wonderfully, for decades.
But there was, of course, more to it.
The truth is, you also have to work on your community. Connections don’t matter if the airmen and their families
Let's make sure the streets are full, and the flags are flying. After all, it is what we do. It is what families do.
But we are showing up for Freedom Fest for the same reason we are there on Veterans Day, on Memorial Day, for deployments, and when the jets come home.
Because we are friends and neighbors first.
The rest is just a side benefit.
So come out this weekend, say hello, and shake a few hands. Enjoy some music, support some local organizations, and make a friend or two.
But more than anything, let the men and women of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base know that you not only value freedom, but that you understand the courage and the sacrifice that are required to protect it.
It is time to be there for our “family” both down range and at home.
It is why Wayne County has been one of the nation’s most military-friendly cities for decades — and why so many of those who have left the service decide to make it their home.
We don’t just fly flags here.
We stand up for the principles and the country they represent.
do not feel safe, or if there are not good places to live at a reasonable cost and access to amenities that families want and expect these days.
We are not telling you this — or changing our format this week to promote Freedom Fest — because we are concerned about the future of the base in our community.
Yes, it is important.
Yes, it is critical to our local economy.
And Mayor Charles Gaylor was right when he told us that there are very few places where so many understand and embrace the men and women who serve — no matter where they come from and where they have been.
That is why this community is special.
So, we’ll see you at Freedom Fest.
Let’s make sure the streets are full, and the flags are flying.
After all, it is what we do.
It is what families do. n
GAYLOR: FREEDOM FEST IS YOUR CHANCE TO JOIN THE FIGHT
Back in February, he did not avoid the tough questions — or pass on an opportunity to call out those who had fallen asleep on protecting Seymour Johnson Air Force and the storied 4th Fighter Wing.
In fact, when news broke that SJAFB F-15Es would soon be on the chopping block and the 4th FW’s mission would change, Mayor Charles Gaylor called for swift action — even if that meant parting ways with the lobbying firm hired to ensure Goldsboro, and the airmen and F-15Es that call it home, were on the minds of military advocates in Washington.
But paying a new group to guard the installation and fight for growth inside its gates is not the only way to ensure Seymour has a promising future.
Every Wayne County resident has a role to play, Gaylor said.
And Sept. 7, that means traveling to downtown Goldsboro to attend N.C. Freedom Fest.
“What I’m asking for is everybody from every walk of life to come downtown,” Gay-
lor said. “I don’t care if you just come for a cheesesteak from a vendor.”
Because the mayor knows what his predecessors have been preaching for decades — that Washington is always watching.
“You know, we’re labeled as a ‘Great American Defense Community’ for a reason. I hear (military leaders) consistently say that Goldsboro and Seymour Johnson are different,” Gaylor said. “You know, when you see a billboard that says, ‘We love jet noise,’ they kind of thought it was kind of a tongue-and-cheek thing until they got into Goldsboro and realized. Well, Freedom Fest is another manifestation of that reality — that what Goldsboro brings is a true form of support for this base.”
And while he has not shied away from shooting straight about issues in the city that require attention to ensure Seymour Johnson remains a place the Air Force feels comfortable sending its airmen — from gun violence to the performance of county schools — he remains confident that the “little things” that showcase the positives unfolding in the community add up, too.
Freedom Fest is one of them.
“Having a big turnout and having people experience a fun, successful event and celebrating for the right reasons and posting on Instagram and X and everything else that they had a wonderful time and thank you to those down range, yeah, it will get noticed,”
Gaylor said. “I’m going to be in Washington D.C. twice in the next two months, and I will be speaking with members of our federal delegation on both trips. And the things that I am going to drop off are pictures of Freedom Fest, pictures of our crest, and business cards with the word Seymour on them. It’s part of our culture. So, it does (matter). And it’s truly unique.”
He knows it has impact because of conversations, but also because of gestures he has been on the receiving end of.
Like when a box showed up at City Hall
with his name on it — one from former 4th Commander Col. Lucas Teel that traveled across the world to get to Wayne County. Inside?
An American flag — one Teel put in the cockpit of his Strike Eagle “while he was out doing something protecting us down range in a way we’ll probably never know about.”
So, for the mayor of what one of his predecessors, the late Al King, dubbed the home of the “greatest fighter wing on planet Earth,” any chance to wrap his arms around those airmen and their families is an opportunity he will jump on.
Particularly now, as so many members of the 4th remain overseas to ensure the freedom they volunteered to defend endures around the globe.
“We value them. We show them our support. We want to celebrate them. And while their loved ones are away, we want to make sure we do what we can to support them in that endeavor, too,” Gaylor said. “That is unique and that warrants a festival. It’s going to be a beautiful time, so get out and show some support.” n
Mayor Charles Gaylor
2024 NC FREEDOM FEST
Why we fight: A history of the 4th Fighter Wing
The 4th Fighter Wing’s history was born in the hearts of the American volunteers who joined England’s Royal Air Force Eagle Squadrons in 1940. Until that time, England had stood alone against Nazi Germany, as Hitler unleashed his Luftwaffe against England.
World War II
Between September 1940 and August 1941, three RAF Eagle Squadrons were formed. Little did anyone realize these squadrons were the origin of what would become the greatest fighter wing the world has ever known.
On August 27, 1941, William Dunn of Number 71 Squadron shot down his fifth enemy aircraft to become the first American ace of World War II. In October and November 1941, 71 Squadron destroyed more German aircraft than any other RAF squadron.
America entered the war on December 7, 1941. In September 1942, the Eagle Squadrons became the American 4th Fighter Group and were renamed, the 334th, 335th and 336th Fighter Squadrons.
The Eagle Squadrons suffered a 45 percent casualty rate. These Americans, volunteers all, had fought for freedom against great odds.
The 4th Fighter Group was part of the 8th Air Force and was the first American fighter group established in Europe. The 4th flew Spitfires but soon switched to the huge P-47 Thunderbolt.
In January 1944, Col. Don Blakeslee took command of the group. Blakeslee wanted to convert the 4th to the P-51 Mustang and guaranteed Fighter Command that if given Mustangs, his group would make the transition in just 24 hours.
Blakeslee got his Mustangs, and kept his promise, with many pilots learning to fly the aircraft on the way to their first target.
In April alone, the 4th, flying Mustangs, destroyed 228 German planes.
The 4th was the first fighter group to escort bombers to Berlin. That day, Hermann Goering, head of the Luftwaffe, looked up at the red-nosed Mustangs of the 4th over Berlin and said, “The war is over. We’ve lost!”
Many pilots of the 4th Fighter Group became legends.
General Dwight D. Eisenhower called Don
Air operations during World War II.
Gentile, “a one-man Air Force.” Gentile teamed with John Godfrey to form the greatest pair of wingmen in history. Among the 81 aces of the 4th are such famous names as James Goodson, Steve Pisanos and Vermont Garrison.
By D-Day, June 6, 1944, the Luftwaffe had been largely swept from the skies over Europe. By the end of the war, the 4th had destroyed 1,016 aircraft — the most ever by an American group.
It is a record that will likely never be broken. In the fires of World War II, the legend of “Fourth But First” was born.
Korean War
The 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing led the air war in the Korean War.
May 20, 1951, 334th pilot Capt. James Jabara flew his F-86 Sabre into MiG Alley. Jabara had four kills when his flight sighted 50 MiGs and they dropped external tanks to engage the enemy. Jabara had a “hung tank” causing an unstable aircraft. Standing orders for this was to return to base, but Jabara fought the enemy and destroyed two more MiGs to become the world’s first all-jet ace.
On February 10, 1952, Maj. George Davis, against great odds, shot down two MiGs before he was fatally shot down. For his actions,
Davis was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the only member of the 4th to ever receive that award.
The 4th lost 32 pilots in the Korean War, but was responsible for more MiG kills than the entire rest of the Air Force combined.
Vietnam War
On December 8th, 1957, the 4th moved to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and in 1959 transitioned to the F-105 Thunderchief. In 1965, both the 334th and 335th deployed to Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base to support the war in Vietnam. In 1967 the wing transitioned to the F-4D Phantom II aircraft.
In 1972 and 1973, all three fighter squadrons deployed to Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base. In Vietnam, the 4th flew more than 8,700 combat sorties, including 1,300 sorties over North Vietnam. During the war, 11 aircraft were lost, 10 aircrew were POWs and three aircrew members were killed.
Operation Desert Shield and Storm
In 1987, the Air Force announced the 4th would receive the F-15E Strike Eagle.
In August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. One
week later, the 336th “Rocketeers” deployed in support of Operation DESERT SHIELD and in December, the 335th “Chiefs” joined them. These squadrons led the attacks against Iraq for Operation DESERT STORM, and in February 1991, the operation ended with the Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait. The 336th flew 1,088 combat missions and the 335th more than 1,200 combat missions.
In 1994, the 333rd fighter squadron “Lancers” joined the 4th serving with the 334th “Eagles” as the training squadrons for the wing.
Operation Anaconda and Operation Iraqi Freedom
In October 2001, the 4th supported Operation NOBLE EAGLE in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks against the United States. In January 2002, the 335th arrived in Kuwait flying missions over Iraq and Afghanistan, and in March 2002, Operation ANACONDA was launched with the 335th playing a pivotal role. In February 2003, the 335th and 336th deployed for what became Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. In March, these squadrons led the assault and in April, U.S. forces took control of Baghdad. Despite the initial victory, fighting continued and the squadrons alternately deployed in support of the war.
Operation Enduring Freedom
The heroes of the 4th shone in Operation ENDURING FREEDOM in Afghanistan. On October 2, 2009, Capts. Polidor and Dove, of the 335th, provided air support to our forces at COP Keating who were being overrun by Taliban troops. Their actions saved the lives of 80 coalition soldiers, and they were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
On May 18, 2010, Master Sgt. Van Hood, from the 4th Civil Engineer Squadron Explosive Ordnance Disposal, was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his actions in Afghanistan. This was his third Bronze Star.
Though the face of war and combat has changed drastically since those early days of the Eagle Squadrons, the Airmen who serve with the 4th Fighter Wing today, volunteers all, continue the legacy that will inspire generations to come.
The legacy of “Fourth, but First!” n - Dr. Roy Heidicker
2024 NC FREEDOM FEST
4th Fighter Wing timeline
Col. Don Blakeslee led his men into battle — flying more than 1,000 combat hours during World War II.
Sept. 1940 to August 1941
Three Royal Air Force Squadrons are formed to take on Adolf Hitler’s Luftwaffe. American volunteers join them.
August 1941
William Dunn shoots down his fifth enemy aircraft to become the first American “ace” of World War II.
Sept. 1942
The RAF Eagle Squadrons become the American 4th Fighter Group and are renamed the 334th, 335th and 336th Fighter Squadrons.
January 1944
Col. Don Blakeslee takes command of the 4th Fighter Group. Within 24 hours, the unit transitions to the P-51 Mustang.
April 1944
The 4th Fighter Group destroys 228 German planes.
May 1951
334th Fighter Squadron Capt. James Jabara flies his F-86 Sabre into MiG Alley. During that mission, he becomes the world’s first “all-jet ace.”
February 1952
Maj. George Davis shoots down two MiGs before he is shot down and killed. He is awarded the Medal of Honor, the only member of the 4th Fighter Wing to ever receive the honor.
December 1957
The 4th Fighter Wing moves to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.
1959
The wing transitions to the F-105 Thunderchief.
1959
The wing transitions to the F-105 Thunderchief.
1965
The 334th and 335th Fighter Squadrons deploy to Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base to support the Vietnam War.
1967
The 4th Fighter Wing transitions to the F-4D Phantom.
1972 to 1973
All three 4th Fighter Wing fighter squadrons deploy to Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base to support the Vietnam War. During the war, the wing flew more than 8,700 combat sorties, lost 11 aircraft and three crew members.
October 1973
The 4th executes Peace Echo operations, an almost instantaneous response to critical events in the Middle East, which helps restore a balance of power in that troubled part of the world.
1974
The wing mission is reverted back to training, with increases emphasis on short-term European contingency support. Elements of the wing deploy to Norway and two short-term deployments to Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, are conducted.
1976
The wing takes first place in the William Tell world-wide weapons competition at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida., becoming the first F-4 unit to win the Air Defense Command-sponsored event.
1981
The wing wins the prestigious Gunsmoke meet in the F-4 ARN-101 category at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.
1987
The Air Force announces the 4th Fighter Wing will transition to the F-15E Strike Eagle.
April 22, 1991
The wing becomes the Air Force’s first composite wing. The 4th Tactical Fighter.
1995
The F-15E formal training unit moves to Seymour Johnson. The 333rd Fighter Squadron returns to the base to accommodate the training mission.
February 2024
— The 4th Fighter Wing confirms that the 335th will transition to a Formal Training Unit in 2025.
April 2024
The 335th and 494th Fighter Squadrons engage and destroy more than 80 one-way attack unmanned aerial vehicles and at least six ballistic missiles fired at Israel by Iran and Houthi-controlled Yemen.
August 2024
4th Fighter Commander Col. Morgan Lohse, during the county’s annual “State of the Military” address, says the Air Force has put plans to divest SJAFB F-15Es on hold, as House and Senate leaders push their versions of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, both of which, in their current form, would protect the Goldsboro-stationed fleet.
4th Fighter Wing aircraft fly over Kuwaiti oil fires during Operation Desert Storm.
The Fouth Fighter group prepares fighter jets in during the Korean War.
2024 NC FREEDOM FEST
Why they fight: Wayne County's war dead
WORLD WAR I
. Jesse J. Baker
Joseph B. Bass
. Roscoe Benton
Andrew Best
. James H. Blalock
. Willie L. Blalock
Bruce L. Blevins
. Levi C. Branson
Irving Bryant
. Fred Lawton Casey
Carol B. Clinton
Eulas Lee Collins
. Roland Cox
John Creech
. Marion Lee Daniels
Daniel Davis
. Harvey D. Davis
Gaston L. Dortch
Mack Elliott
. James Irvin Fulford
William James Gardner
. Andrian H. Grantham
Moses Hadley
. Samuel Hadley
Herbert Lee Handley
. George R. Hardesty
Faison Harris
Sears Herring
. James Hill
Sidney W. Hinson
. Wyatt Hinson
James Herbert Hogan
Harry B. Hood
. James H. Hogans
Sam G. Hummell
. Cleon Ray Jones
Ezra A. Mayo
. Ezra Moore
William O. Mozingo
Charles Raynor
. Fred Reed
Mortimer Roscower
. Jesse Ruffin
Herman P. Shackleford
. Charlie Dixon Shaver
Leslie Jurney Short
King David Simmons
. Willie Simmons
Foster B. Stevens
Isaac Stevens
. Elam Summerlin
James G. Summerlin
Ben Ira Taylor
. Jasper Thomason
Nathaniel K. Thornton
. Arthur Turner
William Walston
. R.H. Westbrook
Grover Cleveland Wiggins
Major Williams
. Danzie Winn
Guy S. Winstead
. Shade Wooten
WORLD WAR II
Robert E. Abel
Albert J. Adams
. Henry W. Allen Jr.
Bruce Anderson
. Raymond R. Anderson
Cleveland Balkcum
George W. Barber
. William A. Barwick
Jerry H. Beamon
. Benjamin F. Bell
. William H. Bell
Robert O. Benton
. J.R. Best
Norman E. Best
. James Horace Blackman
James Lee Blackman
Paul L. Borden Jr.
. William Louis Britt
Ben R. Brock
. Glennie M. Brock
James L. Byrd
. Raeford L. Campbell
Archie B. Carter
Carl C. Casey
. Earl Chestnut
Linwood Ray Coombs
. Harold Crawford
Lawton Crumpler Jr.
. Wayne Garland Crumpler
. Woodard W. Crumpler
Edward Carlyle Daily
. Jake Davis
I.D. Dickerson
James Edmundson
. Clarence M. Edwards
Wayne Roland Edwards
Albert L. Ellington
. William H. Ellis
Richard Elmore
. Gene J. Elzas
Ray E. Eubanks
. Marvin L. Faircloth
. Stephen P. Faircloth
Joseph Farah
. Louis H. Faulk
Reulien R. Floyd
. Thurston D. Fogleman
Alleyne Foster
Carl E. Franklin
. Ralph Giddens
George E. Grantham
. Robert Greenfield
Clifton Hamm
. Thomas P. Harrison
Robert R. Hatch
Henry Edward Herring
. Cecil Hertford
May S. Higgins
David R. Hill
. Ray Hill
Liston Levi Hines
Wilbert O. Hodge
. John Hollingsworth
Horace Horton
. Roland W. Horton Jr.
Charles M. Howell
. Ernest C. Howell
George F. Howell
James L. Howell
. W.A. Harry Hundley
Alton Jarmon
. Louis J. Jernigan
Douglas T. Johnson
. Wayne Lee Johnson
. Jack Jones
J.C. Jones
. Melvin B. Jones
Roy Wayne Jones
. Charles C. Keller
Roscoe Kelly
Charles S. Killette
. Ben R. King
Continued on page 18
A Memorial at Utah Beach in Normandy, France. June 6, 2024, marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
If you have been with Wayne Week since the beginning — or signed up within our first few weeks — you are nearing the end of your 1-year subscription period.
2024 NC FREEDOM FEST
Continued from page 16
Willie Lane
. Harvey J. Langston
Raymond J. Langston
Charles C. Lassiter
. Henry H. Lee
Rayford S. Lynch
. Hugh D. Marshburn
James T. Marshburn
. Carl O. Martin
. Wilbert C. Massey
Margus I. McCarty
. Gary L. MacDonald
James P. McLamb
. Tyson Hardy Mewborn
James Allen Mozingo
Earnest Newsome
. Melville W. Odom
James L. Parker
. William F. Parker
Tryphon D. Peacock
. Willis G. Peele Jr.
Boddie Perry
William J. Pierce
. Charlie E. Pike
Donald N. Pope
. Dudley A. Powell Jr.
James A. Powell
. Charles Malcom Price
Leon Price
Royal Puckett
. Roscoe Quinn
Blanton E. Reaves
. Joe Renfrow
Bryant Roberts
. Willie Rogers
. John C. Rose Jr.
John G. Rowe
. John Sauls
Leonard O. Savage
. Charles Marcus Scott
. Ira S. Smith
L.L. Smith
. Earl C. Smith
Lavert L. Smith Jr.
Harold H. Smothers
. Emmett Spicer
Kermit Stallings
. Alvin T. Strickland
Richard Summerlin
. Daniel C. Sutton
Edd Leddell Sutton
Herbert A. Sutton
. Benjamin W. Taylor
Henry A. Taylor
. James L. Taylor
Robert L. Taylor
. James A. Thomas
. James Richard Troutman
Johnnie Joseph Turnage
. Ira Wade
Charles Warren
. Henry Edwin Weeks
Gordon Whitaker Jr.
Charles E. Wiegand
. Cecil H. Wiggs
Robert E. Williams
. William C. Wilson Jr.
Joseph D. Winchester
. George B. Womble Jr.
Donza Wood
Bernice R. Wynn
. Ray Edwin York
KOREAN WAR
James Elias Bass
. Daniel Joseph Carter
William Lloyd Howell
John Henry King
. James Lee Kornegay
John W. Lamm . I.L Littleton
James Merritt
. Forrest L. Price
VIETNAM WAR
. Emmett E. Ballree
. Murray L. Borden Jr.
. Dan Bullock
James R. Coates
. William D. Crawford
Donald E. Daniels
. Edgar F. Davis
. James P. DeVaney
Robert A. Govan
. Joseph M. Grantham III
William W. Hail
. Phillip D. Hardy
Joseph N. Hargrove
. Casco D. Howell
. Ernest R. Howell
Ralph Howell
. Robert H. Irwin
Dan L. Jenkins
. Stokely J. Jones
. Wilbert E. Jones
. Bobby R. Lane
. Billy W. McKeel
Rudolph S. Parrish
. Hubert Pearsall Jr.
Phillip W. Pigford
. George P. Power
. James L. Ratliff
Richard V. Riggs
. William C. Sutton
Edmund R. Toler
. Paul G. Underwood
Kenneth E. Vanhoy
. Albert Vick Jr.
. Richard W. Watson
Arlington National Cemetery
the SPECTATOR
A taste of home
The Taste of Wayne County will return to The Hub in downtown Goldsboro Sept. 5 at 5 p.m. as part of “Freedom Week,” and the United Way wants local eateries to know that there is still time to register to participate — and compete for top honors in dessert, entrée, side, and beverage categories.
The following are those who, as of press time, had committed to sharing their offerings with those who attend the event:
• R&R Brewing
• Gents’ Bounty BBQ
• Hydrant Church
• LaTrelle’s Sweet Treats
• Zaxby’s
• Legacy Cakes & Courtesies
• Culligan
• Great Harvest Bread Co.
• Los Olivos Hot Food and Market
• beanSweet
• sweetFrog
• Texas Roadhouse
• Cry Freedom Missions
• Stromberg Foods
• Popeyes
• Krispy Kreme
• Taylor’s Farmstead
For more information on how to participate or purchase tickets for the event, contact the United Way of Wayne County at 919-735-3591
EASTERN NC’S PREMIERE WHOLESALE GROWER
OFFERING A WIDE VARIETY OF TREES AND SHRUBS
3 GALLON - 25 GALLON