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Just across from downtown Wilmington on the Cape Fear River, you’ll find the USS North Carolina. At her 1941 commissioning, she was deemed the “world’s greatest sea weapon” and went on to serve a vital role in World War II operations in the Pacific, particularly the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
The North Carolina was named a museum ship in 1962, docked at Wilmington in hopes of keeping her more inland and safer from hurricanes. Today she’s a memorial to the 11,000 North Carolinians who died in World War II, and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986.
– Kristie Coggins, The 100 Companies