For those of you who have never been to North Carolina, it is a wonderful, gorgeous state to live in. From our Great Smokey and Blue Ridge Mountains, to the white beaches of the Outer Banks, there is something for everybody. North Carolina is also noted for being one of the most friendly state to the military in the United States. N.C. is home to Camp Lejeune Marine Corps base, Cherry Point MCAS, Seymour Johnson AFB and Ft. Bragg as well as other smaller bases. Having little else to think about for the past week or so, I wondered why we were lucky enough to end up with so many bases. I ran across this story which may explain it.
In 1941 Frankin D. Roosevelt started preparing the country for war and was looking into places to build military bases. At the time North Carolina's governor was Joseph Melville Broughton who Roosevelt owed more than a few political favors to. F.D.R. came to NC and asked Broughton if he would like a military base here and Broughton told Roosevelt to "bring 'em all, he would take them." When Roosevelt asked Broughton if there would be any problems with getting them built, Broughton was alleged to have said, "Mr. President, I can't think of any place where falling shrapnel would have less of a effect than in eastern North Carolina"
Or so it's said.........
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2 comments:
Great post, messmate! I have very strong connections to many of these fine military installations. I was born in the old Naval Hospital at Camp Lejeune. My current residence is less than a mile from Montford Point, the training ground for the first African-American Marines. MCAS New River is just across the river from us so I hear the vocal cadences each morning as the Marines go for their pre-dawn run. I can also hear artillery and machine gun fire from the ranges while sitting on my back porch. My mom's house is just across the highway from a helicopter landing area, so she regularly has all kinds of Marine Corps aircraft flying very low over her house. But it's the sound of freedom and I love it! I've also shot Civil War era artillery live on ranges at both Camp Lejeune and Fort Bragg. Pretty awesome!
You gotta luv good ole boy politics!
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