Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1079142
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM FEBRUARY 6-12, 2019 UCW 13 Our Day Begins When Your Shift Ends! MON - SAT: 0700 - 0200 | Sunday: 1000 - 0200 NOW SERVING A FULL MENU 3004 Bragg Blvd., Fayetteville • 910.758.9898 Thursday February 14th 2019 07:30 - 10:30PM Special Drinks Friday February 15th: Chris Munson Saturday February 16th: Lee Jean JR 08:00 - 11:00PM 02/08 M vs KNX 07:00PM 02/09 M vs KNX 06:00PM 02/15 M vs PEN 07:00PM 02/16 M vs PEN 06:00PM Naughty Bingo Live Music Marksmen Away Schedule Come watch!! One hundred years ago, the flying field at Camp Bragg was officially established by the War Department and renamed in honor of 1st Lt. Harley Hal- bert Pope, commander of the 276th Aero Squadron. On Jan. 7, 1919, Pope and Sgt. Walter Fleming were flying a JN-4 "Jenny" biplane from Camp Jackson, South Carolina, to Camp Bragg when they ran out of fuel and attempted a landing on the Cape Fear River near Fayetteville. Both Pope and Fleming were killed in the crash. e year Pope Field was established was a busy period for the new military post. In March 1919, Cumberland County and Camp Bragg made an agreement to fund and maintain a road between Fayetteville and the post. In May 1919, a Memorial Day Pageant was held to welcome home soldiers from the first World War and to celebrate the near completion of Camp Bragg. In November, Armistice Day was declared a legal holiday and celebrated in Fayetteville and at Camp Bragg. General of the Armies John J. Pershing, who served as the commander in chief of the American Expeditionary Forces, visited the newly established Camp Bragg and Pope Field in December 1919. By the end of 1919, Congress passed a bill appro- priating funds to ensure the development of Camp Bragg, to include construction of an airplane hangar at Pope Field. Initially, balloons and single- engine biplanes were sta- tioned at Pope. eir missions included terrain mapping and spotting for artillery and forest fires as well as carrying the mail. Pilots landing at Pope were required to buzz the area from low altitude to chase off grazing deer. e biplanes from Pope Field be- came a familiar sight in the skies over Fayetteville. e earliest known aerial photograph of Fayetteville was taken in 1919 over Market Square from the cockpit of a plane from Pope Field. When Pope Field was established in 1919, aviators were assigned to the U.S. Army Air Service. In 1920, the Air Service became a branch of the Army, and in 1926 it was renamed the Army Air Corps. From 1919 to 1927, Pope Field was used for ob- servation balloon training. In 1927, Maj. Carl Spaatz conducted bombing training there, and in 1929, the base was used for joint air-ground training. By 1940, the runways were paved. In 1941, the aviation branch was renamed the U.S. Army Air Forces. During World War II and afterward, Pope was used for training crews in airborne and resupply missions. It continued to exist as a branch of the Army until reorganization provisions of the Na- tional Security Act of 1947 created a separate Depart- ment of the Air Force and the United States Air Force. In 1947, Pope Field became a separate Air Force Base. e first fighter unit was stationed at Pope in 1954. In 1970, the base was modified to accept the heavy transport plane C-5A. Personnel and aircraft from Pope have been involved in humanitarian and directed combat actions. In 2011, Pope Air Force Base was absorbed into Fort Bragg, becoming an Army-operated facility supporting Air Force operations and merging the post's growing Army and joint force community. For more information on the history of Pope Field, visit the exhibits located at the Fayetteville Transportation and Local History Museum, 325 Franklin St., and the lobby of City Hall, 433 Hay St. e Transportation and Local History Museum features artifact and image-filled exhibits focused on Fayetteville and Cumberland County's history. Admission is free. e museum staff will present a program about the history of Pope Field ursday, July 1, at 6:30 p.m. in the State and Local History Room at the Headquar- ters Library on Maiden Lane. Pope Field celebrates its centennial by BRUCE DAWS HISTORY BRUCE DAWS, Fayetteville City Histo- rian. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcom- ingweekly.com 910-484-6200. 1st Lt. Harley Halbert Pope