Lived Through This
SEAL Team Six Were My Neighbors
Just down the road from where I grew up, they trained to kill Osama Bin Laden
On the ambling coast of northeastern North Carolina lies an innocuous little town of 2.7 square miles and some 2,000 residents. Lore would have it that “Carolina Moon” was penned for its pleasantness, that lyricist Benny Davis even sat on its signature S-bridge as the melody came to him in half-notes and harmonies. On its outer bands lies a large retirement community of Yankees and old-timers, comforted by the serenity Connie Francis sang of. And yet — not far from the genteel and pastoral lure that makes it a sleeper hit for retirees — a secret lies in wait at the bottom of a nondescript road: Harvey Point Defense Testing Facility, aka where SEAL Team Six was trained to kill Osama Bin Laden.
This is my hometown of Hertford, North Carolina — 150 miles to Raleigh and an hour outside of Virginia. A picturesque interpretation of Bible Belt purity, you can blink and miss the humble beauty of Spanish moss and longleaf pines that sprout from the Perquimans River. The residents are shining examples of Southern hospitality, acknowledging the Sabbath and barbecue with equal zeal. And they also know that little secret down at the base of my childhood road. They’ve heard the stories, passed…
