John Hagler believes he was the first American to receive the Order of the Long Leaf Pine.

The 77-year-old Raleigh resident says he received the award from then-Gov. Terry Sanford in February of 1964 in the old Senate chambers of the Capitol.

But he says he was not the first to be inducted. He believes that honor goes to several Laotian and Vietnamese officers who were undergoing specialized training at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare School at Fort Bragg.

He contacted Dome after learning that former Gov. Mike Easley gave out more than 4,000 awards, including one to his in-laws. 

"I'm certain that the award was then not what it later was supposed to signify and become," he wrote in an e-mail to Dome. "And I'm terribly sorry that during the administration of Governor Easley it obviously became something like a prize out of a Cracker Jack box which significantly lowered it's value and meaning."

Hagler, who later worked at the N.C. Office of Archives and History, said he never could find definitive information about how and when the award was created.

Vice President Joe Biden will return to North Carolina next month to deliver the commencement address at Wake Forest University.

His office announced he will speak on Monday, May 18, at the private school in Winston-Salem, as well as give commencement addresses at the Air Force Academy and at Syracuse University, where he attended law school, Rob Christensen reports.

This will be Biden's third appearance in North Carolina in recent weeks. He also met with troops at Fort Bragg last week and was in Eastern North Carolina the week before unveiling new rural programs.

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have also visited the state.

The Obama administration is paying a lot of attention to North Carolina, which he carried by a small margin in November.

Correction: An earlier version of this post had an incorrect date.

A watchdog group found $228 million in earmarks from last year.

Citizens Against Government Waste highlighted 173 earmarks from North Carolina's representatives and senators in its annual "Pig Book" of Congressional appropriations today.

The list ranges from $50,000 for gang prevention in Charlotte to $57.9 million for a hospital renovation at Camp Lejeune. Many of the earmarks have also been requested in this year's budget.

The advocacy group ranked North Carolina 34th in "pork per capita," with $24.72 per resident. That was up from 39th place the previous year.

It also criticized $11.6 million for a Fort Bragg chapel requested by Rep. Mike McIntyre, $2 million for textiles research and $167,000 for the Morehead Planetarium from Rep. David Price, and $475,750 for the automotive research from Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

In the upcoming budget, North Carolina's House members have requested 545 earmarks totaling $1.5 billion. The Senate has not yet released its requests.

North Carolina's transportation earmarks heavily favor cars.

Members of the state's Congressional delegation requested 74 federal appropriations worth $313.8 million for airports, trains, transit and roads.

Here's a breakdown:

ROADS: 40 requests worth $174.4 million. Projects range from $300,000 to fix a bridge in Montreat to $84.7 million to extend a road through Fort Bragg.

TRANSIT: 13 requests worth $67.2 million. Projects range from $500,000 to buy new hybrid buses for Asheville to $30 million to extend Charlotte's light-rail system.

AIRPORT: 15 requests worth $46.6 million. Projects range from $665,000 to address safety concerns at the Richmond County airport to $7.5 million to extend a runway in Oxford.

TRAINS: Six requests worth $25.6 million. Projects range from $166,000 for a new roof on the Gibson train depot to $9.5 million for a new stop in Lexington.

Here are the five biggest local earmark requests:

Returning Soldiers Barracks. U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge requested $88 million to build new barracks for soldiers transitioning to civilian life at Fort Bragg.

Fort Bragg Road. Rep. Larry Kissell requested $84.7 million to extend Murchison Road through Fort Bragg. (Reps. Etheridge and Mike McIntyre asked for $35 million.)

Wilmington Harbor. Rep. McIntyre asked for $78 million for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deepen Wilmington Harbor.

Cape Fear Locks. Rep. McIntyre asked for $41 million for the Corps of Engineers to repair locks and dams on the Cape Fear River.

Military Readiness. Rep. Kissell requested $40 million to conduct military readiness testing and training activities at Fort Bragg.

As noted previously, Rep. G.K. Butterfield also requested submarines and aircraft carriers for the military that watchdog groups do not consider earmarks.

U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell had a few simple rules about earmarks.

The Biscoe Democrat asked for $530.1 million worth of special appropriations in the federal budget — the most of any member of the North Carolina delegation.

But he said they had to meet a few simple tests.

"They have to be transformative, they have to make a difference and they have to create jobs," he told Dome. "There's no bridges to nowhere, no museums that are not needed. These are things that will make a difference in the district."

More than $327 million of Kissell's earmark requests centered on the military, but unlike fellow Democratic Rep. David Price, he had few military research requests.

"What we were looking at are more finished products," he said. "There's a place for research, but these are more for specific requests."

Although Fort Bragg is not in the Eighth Congressional district, Kissell said many of its personnel live there. He said that his predecessors also looked to earmark money for the Army base.

Military procurements make up 62 percent of Rep. Larry Kissell's earmarks.

As noted previously, the Biscoe Democrat asked for $530.1 million in special appropriations in this year's federal budget, according to his official Web site.

As with Rep. G.K. Butterfield's requests, many of Kissell's earmarks centered around military spending — $327.1 million to be exact.

Unlike Butterfield, however, Kissell's requests were not national in scope.

His requests were either directly for North Carolina military bases, such as $84 million for a road project at Fort Bragg, or for state contractors, such as $5 million for a Candor textile company to make flame-resistant apparel.

"Our intention was to make sure that we were supporting our district and military folks stationed at Fort Bragg," said spokeswoman Leanne Powell.

Kissell's non-military earmark requests totaled $203 million.

Vice President Joe Biden told members of the Army's 18th Airborne Corps this morning that their work in Iraq has helped give the government there a "fighting chance" to survive.

Biden helped welcome several hundred members of the unit home from Iraq in a ceremony on the 82nd Airborne Division's main parade field at Fort Bragg. The ceremony, more elaborate than most for returning troops, was attended by about 1,700 people.

"Because of all the work you've done, I am absolutely confident that the Iraqis are in a much better position to take responsibility for their own security," Biden told the soldiers. "You did more than I suspect you even know."

Biden, accompanied by his wife, Jill Biden, is making his second visit to North Carolina this month.

Last week, he accompanied U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to Faison and Pikeville in Eastern North Carolina to discuss how the stimulus package would help rural America.

Joe Biden gave some shoutouts to local officials today.

Speaking at a welcome-home ceremony at Fort Bragg, the vice president noted the presence of three Democratic members of Congress: 

And I want to thank the members of the Congress again, Senator Kay Hagan, and -- who is a welcome addition and a good buddy of mine. And I hope you're enjoying the Senate as much as I did when I was there, Kay; and Bob Etheridge, who you all know well, and Mike McIntyre -- two stalwart members of the United States Congress...

He also gave a shoutout to Fayetteville Mayor Tony Chavonne and Spring Lake Mayor Ethel Clark, who were also in the audience.

U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre is seeking $302 million in earmarks.

The Lumberton Democrat released his list of 67 requested appropriations for the federal budget on his Web site.

The largest request is $78 million to complete the deepening of Wilmington Harbor. The smallest is $100,000 to restore the slave quarters behind he Bellamy Mansion in Wilmington.

Other notable earmarks:

* Repair locks and dams along the Cape Fear River, $41 million.

* Extend a road into Fort Bragg, $35 million.

* Construct a dining facility at Fort Bragg, $12.6 million.

* Dredge the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway, $12 million.