From Kings Mountain to Kandahar: North Carolina’s Enduring Legacy of Service

Good morning, and thank you for joining us this Saturday.

Earlier this year, we brought you a look at how North Carolina earned and kept its reputation as one of the most military-friendly states in the country. As Veterans Day approaches, we take another look at this legacy to honor the men and women who served, especially with the upcoming celebrations of America’s semiquincentennial. 

Those who served our country, or who have friends or family who served, know firsthand the countless stories of service and sacrifice. One of particular interest dates back to World War II, when UNC-Chapel Hill became home to the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School, ultimately preparing nearly 20,000 servicemembers for wartime duty, including pilots and three future presidents. 

Presidents George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, and Gerald Ford all spent time at UNC-Chapel Hill during their service in World War II. President Bush went on to become one of the U.S. Navy’s youngest aviators. President Ford served as an instructor. And President Reagan, who was disqualified from combat service due to poor eyesight, entertained cadets stationed at the school for training. 

The Navy Pre-Flight school also hosted some all-time greats in the sports world, including baseball hall-of-famer Ted Williams and renowned football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, who coached the Navy’s wartime football team at the school and later gained fame as head coach at the University of Alabama. 

This strong connection between North Carolinians and the armed forces underlies our place as one of the most military-friendly states in the country. Nearly one in ten North Carolinians are active servicemembers or veterans. We’re home to six major military bases and installations. Because of this, our state is full of rich historical narratives – like the story above – and countless more personal stories of families and their loved ones who served our country. 

Throughout 2025, in the lead-up to the United States’ upcoming 250th anniversary (or “A250”), the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps will be celebrating their own 250th birthdays. The three branches trace their founding back to 1775 when the Continental Congress raised men and material to fight the Revolutionary War. 

The Continental Army was established on June 14, 1775, to organize the colonial militias into a unified fighting force, and the Congress appointed General George Washington its commander the following day. On October 13 of that year, the Continental Congress authorized the purchase of armed vessels to intercept British supply ships, marking the beginning of the U.S. Navy. And the next month, the Congress authorized two battalions of Marines, which would become the founding of the U.S. Marine Corps. 

As these three branches mark their 250th anniversaries, the focus of America’s semiquincentennial celebrations extends beyond the institutions themselves and on to the men and women who have answered the call to wear their uniforms. In recognition of this, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, in partnership with A250, is commemorating these milestones by honoring one distinguished veteran each day leading up to July 4, 2026 – a fitting tribute to those whose service has defined every chapter of our nation’s history. 

Several of those veterans honored so far have strong North Carolina ties:

• U.S. Army Captain Linda Bray, a Western Carolina University graduate in criminal justice, made history in 1989 as the first woman to lead American troops into combat during Operation Just Cause in Panama. Commanding the 988th Military Police Company, Bray led her soldiers through a three-hour firefight to capture a Panamanian Defense Forces compound. Bray earned the Army Commendation Medal with Valor for her actions. After her Army service, she settled in Winston-Salem and later became an advocate for expanding combat roles for women in the armed forces.
• U.S. Army Command Sergeant Major Robert Patterson, born in Carpenter and raised near Fort Bragg, volunteered for service at 17 and deployed to Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division. During a 1968 firefight near La Chu, the then-19-year-old paratrooper charged through heavy fire to destroy multiple enemy bunkers, actions that turned the tide of the battle and earned him the Medal of Honor. Patterson went on to serve 26 years in uniform, including in the Persian Gulf War, before retiring as a command sergeant major.
• U.S. Army Major General Sidney Shachnow survived three years in a concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Lithuania before escaping with his family and immigrating to the United States in 1950. Rising from private to Green Beret, he served two tours in Vietnam, earning multiple Silver and Bronze Stars for valor, and later commanded U.S. Special Forces units during the Cold War. At Fort Bragg, he led the 1st Special Operations Command and the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center, where he shaped modern Special Forces training. Shachnow retired as a major general and was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.

The VA’s efforts to shine a light on these stories are only the beginning of the connections that will define A250 celebrations over the next nine months. 

In our state, the North Carolina Semiquincentennial Committee, cochaired by Sen. Ted Alexander and Rep. Hugh Blackwell, leads state-based planning and commemorations, in partnership with the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, to organize exhibits, historical markers, and community events that highlight the state’s military heritage from the Revolution forward.

The American Battlefield Trust is working to establish a Revolutionary War-themed kiosk in the State Legislative Building to educate visitors on North Carolina’s role in the war for independence, and to serve as another permanent reminder of our long line of servicemembers. 

As we prepare to mark America’s 250th year, North Carolina’s stories remind us all that the strength of our nation has always rested on the courage of those willing to serve. From Kings Mountain to Kandahar and beyond, men and women of North Carolina have always been willing to serve and sacrifice in defense of freedom. May we always remember their service, which continues to define our nation’s story.