CityView Magazine

Publisher’s note A salute to our soldiers not suffered like so many other city magazines is the constant influx of millions, even billions, of dollars thanks to the military presence in Fayetteville. The military produces more than $1.7 billion of annual revenue for Cumberland County businesses and $7 billion for the greater Cape Fear region. This issue is dedicated to our T Please visit www.CityViewNC.com for a photo of Col. Al Alvarez. neighbors at Fort Bragg. Without them, Fayetteville would not exist as a thriving community in this state. We have several industries here but nothing compared to the payroll on post. Be thankful to our neighbors. The military had quite an influence on me growing up in Fayetteville. Fayetteville High School (now Terry Sanford) was the primary place military kids went to school thus giving us great sports teams over the years from an influx of athletes and bright students from all over the country. The people I knew in high school had me out to play golf at the officer’s club and enlisted men’s club, invited me to parties at the officer’s club and generally showed me how to get around Fort Bragg. Sometimes things were not so rosy when young soldiers (we called them “legs”) would come to our teen club and parties and try to crash them. But for the most part, it was peaceful between the soldiers and us townies. My most vivid memory of a person from Fort Bragg was Col. Richard C. Mallonee. He went to our church and became good friends with my parents. 12|February/March • 2009 here may be an economic slowdown, but thanks to loyal advertisers and continued popularity, CityView, I’m happy to report, is surviving. One of the primary reasons we have He was a World War I veteran who also survived the horrid Bataan Death March in the Philippine Islands during the Second World War. Mallonee spent all of World War II in a Japanese prisoner of war camp after the death march. He later served as Fort Bragg’s deputy post commander from 1946 through 1950. His explanation of those events had a lasting impression on my parents and me. I am sure I would not have the same appreciation for our soldiers in battle if I did not know those stories of the war. One night at a dinner party held at the Mallonee home that my parents attended, Col. Mallonee gave an eloquent toast to a friend, also a Bataan survivor, who was there that night. With tears in his eyes, Mallonee toasted that they would never go hungry again. We saluted several of our local World War II veterans in these pages in 2007. One of them, Col. Al Alvarez, recently received the Legion of Honor Medal, the highest award granted by the French to foreigners, quite an honor. Our culture in Fayetteville has greatly benefited from the influence of our friends at Fort Bragg. Last but not least are the many wives of our soldiers who have performed greatly in the employ of many a business in Fayetteville, including CityView and our printing company, William George Printing. We are blessed by the Lord with such a wonderful presence. We need to be more appreciative, and that is why we dedicated this issue to our fine friends at Fort Bragg. Thank you Fort Bragg!CV Marshall Waren, Publisher

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