From the September 29th Channel 6 WECT, Wilmington, NC, "Happy 50th Birthday Battleship North Carolina" by Bob Townsend.
The USS North Carolina arrived in Wilmington fifty years ago tomorrow, October 2, 1961. This weekend, you can tour the ship at the 1961 prices which were 50 cents adult, 25 cents child.
Congress authorized the funds to build the battleship in 1937 and it was commissioned April 9, 1941, shortly before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Fortunately, it was not there when the attack came.
The North Carolina participated in every major Pacific offensive, earning fifteen battle stars in the process. At the end of the war, it was decommissioned and for 14 years remained in the US Navy mothball fleet in New Jersey.
When it was announced that the Navy was going to sell the state's namesake for scrap, WECT Account executive Jimmy Craig found out and immediately began a campaign to raise the money to buy the ship. Wilmington's American Legion Post 10 formed a committee with Craig as chairman.
More to Come. --Cooter
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