Johnson graduated from Goldsboro High School in 1920 and was enrolled at UNC from 1920 until 1923, when he transferred to the U.S. Naval Academy. After graduating from the academy, Johnson was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy and entered flight training. He received his pilot's wings in 1929 and went on to serve as a pilot in various U.S. ships. In 1937, he volunteered for duty as a test pilot, which was normally a two-year assignment. He was assigned to Anacostia Naval Air Station in Washington, D.C., in 1938 and was a test pilot there until March 5, 1941, when he was killed in the crash of the Grumman F4F-3 he was flying. He reported that he was at 43,000 feet altitude and was getting low on oxygen. The crash occurred near Norbeck, Md. Johnson had more than 4,000 hours in various naval and Grumman aircraft. He had been selected to be promoted to lieutenant commander in June 1941. On Oct. 20, 1942, the Army Air Forces Technical Training School at Goldsboro was renamed Seymour Johnson Field. The F4F-3 was the standard Navy/ Marine Corps fighter in the early days of World War Two. F4F-3s armed VMF-211 at Wake Island and Navy forces at the Battle of the Coral Sea. It was replaced for front-line duty in the Navy just before the Battle of Midway. The F4F-3 was aboard British and U.S. squadrons until the end of the war.
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.
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.
Johnson graduated from Goldsboro High School in 1920 and was enrolled at UNC from 1920 until 1923, when he transferred to the U.S. Naval Academy. After graduating from the academy, Johnson was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy and entered flight training. He received his pilot's wings in 1929 and went on to serve as a pilot in various U.S. ships. In 1937, he volunteered for duty as a test pilot, which was normally a two-year assignment. He was assigned to Anacostia Naval Air Station in Washington, D.C., in 1938 and was a test pilot there until March 5, 1941, when he was killed in the crash of the Grumman F4F-3 he was flying. He reported that he was at 43,000 feet altitude and was getting low on oxygen. The crash occurred near Norbeck, Md. Johnson had more than 4,000 hours in various naval and Grumman aircraft. He had been selected to be promoted to lieutenant commander in June 1941. On Oct. 20, 1942, the Army Air Forces Technical Training School at Goldsboro was renamed Seymour Johnson Field. The F4F-3 was the standard Navy/ Marine Corps fighter in the early days of World War Two. F4F-3s armed VMF-211 at Wake Island and Navy forces at the Battle of the Coral Sea. It was replaced for front-line duty in the Navy just before the Battle of Midway. The F4F-3 was aboard British and U.S. squadrons until the end of the war.
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.
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.
Gravesite Details
LT US NAVY
