The USS North Carolina (BB-55), famously nicknamed "Showboat," was the lead ship of her class of fast battleships and the first newly constructed battleship to join the U.S. Navy in nearly two decades when she was commissioned in April 1941. Armed with nine massive 16-inch guns, she mobilized immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor and spent the vast majority of World War II dominating the Pacific theater. The "Showboat" participated in every major naval offensive in the Pacific—including Guadalcanal, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa—earning 15 battle stars and securing her legacy as the most decorated American battleship of the conflict. Beyond bombarding enemy island strongholds, her heavily upgraded anti-aircraft batteries made her an invaluable shield for Allied aircraft carriers against Japanese air assaults.
The North Carolina faced the scrap yard after being decommissioned in 1947, but was saved by an intensely passionate, statewide "Save Our Ship" campaign in the early 1960s. Citizens across the state raised funds to secure her future, a drive highlighted by local school children who collectively donated more than $700,000 in dimes and nickels. Today, the legendary vessel is permanently moored as a National Historic Landmark and museum on the Cape Fear River in downtown Wilmington, North Carolina. She stands as a beautifully preserved time capsule of daily life at sea for her 2,000-man wartime crew, while serving as the state's official memorial to the over 11,000 North Carolinians who gave their lives in World War II.
