RIDGELAND, S.C. (WTOC) - Retired Air Force Gen. Lloyd “Fig” Newton, a Jasper County native, founder of Polaris Tech Charter School in Ridgeland, and former command pilot with 269 combat missions in Vietnam, joined the prestigious National Aviation Hall of Fame on September 19, 2025.

Newton and five other honorees were celebrated in Wichita, Kansas, according to a press release.

The Hall of Fame is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, home of the Wright Brothers.

Since Congress founded it in 1964, the National Aviation Hall of Fame has inducted more than 260 people who have shaped American aviation and aerospace.

“I have been blessed with the recent announcement of my selection to the National Aviation Hall of Fame,” Newton said. “This award is the highest honor in the aviation community and

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