![]() ![]() “They said I needed to either repair the ship or make plans to scrap her,” he says. Shortly after Bragg became executive director in 2009, he received an important letter from the U.S. “All our messaging tells the story of the sacrifice, honor and courage of the men who served aboard this ship.” ![]() “Our audience is primarily school kids – we see more than 40,000 each year – and young families,” Bragg says. Since then, the ship has functioned as a self-supporting attraction, welcoming over 300,000 visitors annually. In 1961, the USS North Carolina made its way from New Jersey to Wilmington, where it underwent repairs in preparation for a 1962 dedication as a memorial and museum. “They wanted to make the ship a memorial to the more than 11,000 North Carolinians who served and died in World War II, and to honor veterans who survived the war and returned home.” “It was a nickels and dimes campaign organized by the people of North Carolina, mainly schoolchildren,” Bragg explains. Navy for the next 14 years.”Ī backlash against the navy’s decision to scrap the ship in 1958 emerged from citizens of North Carolina who wanted to bring it back to its namesake state. “When she came home after the war, she was decommissioned and placed in layup by the U.S. “She was the most decorated battleship of World War II,” says Captain Terry Bragg, executive director at the Battleship North Carolina museum in Wilmington. The USS North Carolina’s crew served valiantly – and successfully – during the war, carrying out nine shore bombardments, taking down more than 24 enemy aircraft, sinking an enemy troopship and providing support to many aircraft carriers under attack from the air. ![]()
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