RALEIGH, N.C. — The state will induct its first class of military heroes into the North Carolina Military Hall of Firsts on Saturday.

A display of the inductees will be unveiled at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh.


What You Need To Know

  • The state's first class of military heroes will be inducted into the North Carolina Military Hall of Firsts this weekend

  • General Brigadier Norman Gaddis is the oldest inductee at 98 years old

  • He was a POW in Vietnam

  • The Hall of Firsts will be Saturday, June 4 at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh

General Brigadier Norman Gaddis, 98, served 30 years in the Air Force. He lives in Raleigh with his son, Tony Gaddis.

“We have people who are willing to do unusual things in order to move us on as a country, so I am really pleased that I was able to do the 30 years and three months of duty for my country,” Norman Gaddis said with a chuckle.

His aircraft was shot down during the Vietnam War. He became a POW and was kept in solitary confinement and tortured. 

“Dad’s arms were dislocated at the shoulder," Tony Gaddis said. "He wasn’t able to use them for about six months. He has done amazingly well since he has been home. I think the only thing that bothers him is getting too cold. But an amazingly resilient individual.”

Before his release, the general was allowed to write one letter home to say he was alive. It had been three years since the family had heard from him. 

“It was pretty emotional," Tony Gaddis said. "Yeah, it was only a few lines long, but it was the fact we knew he was still alive and seemed to be doing OK.”

Norman Gaddis says his faith in God and his family carried him through those terrible years, and he still reflects on that faith today. 

“It kept ourselves together over there as we tried to do as prisoners and helped one another, and realized that you are going to have some problems, some of them are mental, some of them are very, very dangerous and it is just another opportunity for us to serve our country," Norman Gaddis said.

The Hall of Firsts ceremony will take place Saturday, June 4 at the Museum of History in Raleigh.