A Navy story for a Navy town
Jacksonville prides itself on being a Navy town. In addition to the thousands of personnel stationed at Naval Station Mayport and Naval Air Station Jacksonville, many people choose to return to Northeast Florida after they retire from military service, having enjoyed their time in the area and all it has to offer.
I’m sure members of our military community will enjoy the story of a Navy trailblazer featured in today’s edition. Sherman Byrd was the first Black Navy diver and the military’s first Black bomb disposal technician. He was recently honored by the Pentagon, and his daughter, Cynthia Byrd Conner, of Jacksonville, told Times-Union staff writer Matt Soergel all about her dad.
Elsewhere in today’s edition, head on over to the Jacksonville Now page for some ideas for things to do around town this week, including a personal favorite at the Baseball Grounds (which I will continue to call that stadium). Also on that page are some suggestions for taking in a romantic meal.
It’s almost like someone knew I have a wedding anniversary coming up in two weeks.
You can find encouragement in the good things happening in our community on the Inspiration page. Take a trip back in time and see some photos from Marineland through the years.
And of course, there’s plenty of local sports and opinion content throughout the paper, plus the Weekend Extra section to enjoy.
Thank you as always for supporting local journalism. Paul Runnestrand is the executive editor of the Florida Times-Union. He may be reached at prunnestrand@ jacksonville.com.