Battleship North Carolina marks 65 years in Wilmington by preserving stories of those who served

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The Battleship North Carolina is celebrating a special “berthday” — 65 years since the historic warship arrived in Wilmington and became both a memorial and museum.

But the battleship is more than steel, guns and six-and-a-half decades of history.

On the ship’s main deck, in what was once the wardroom and officers’ dining area, are the names of North Carolinians who made the ultimate sacrifice during World War II.

Now, a small group of volunteers is working to make sure those names are remembered not just as names, but through the stories behind them.

For Mary Ames Booker, the Battleship North Carolina’s curator, that mission has become a passion.

“I often hear from family members who are looking for information about their grandparents, their great-grandparents,” she said. “So, we’re learning all the time and we get new stuff all the time.”

Booker has spent 25 years working aboard the battleship and is helping lead two research projects.

One, the Names Project, focuses on the men and women who served aboard the North Carolina.

The other, the Roll of Honor, is much larger. Volunteers are researching the more than 10,000 North Carolinians who died during World War II and working to put a story to each name.

“We’ve been taking all of those names — easily more than 10,000 — state military archivists told me 11,000 names,” Booker said. “So, we’re finding out all about them… when they were born, and of course they’re all young kids… where their stories about them and where are their memorials?”

Volunteers dig through military records, newspapers, genealogy databases, cemetery records and other sources.

Sometimes, one name leads to a story that might otherwise have been lost to time.

That’s where Joe Davis comes in.

Davis has volunteered aboard the battleship since moving to the Wilmington area from Maryland 12 years ago. He now spends as many as 30 hours a week researching names.

“I’ve always been interested in history and genealogy,” Davis said. “When we came here, the Battleship gave me a great opportunity to really dig into the records and see what happened in the past.”

“All these men and women who served in World War II are just about gone now and I think it’s important to memorialize their experiences and keep it alive for the descendants of those people.”

Davis says the work is a lot like being a detective, following one clue after another.

“I think more of myself as a researcher… which I guess is a way of detecting.”

Some of the stories are difficult to read.

“This is important work,” Davis said. “These stories need to be memorialized for us who have never been in the war.”

Another volunteer, Bob Pitts, has researched about 600 names for the Roll of Honor.

He says the people behind those names never feel like just numbers.

“These people are not just names on a list — they are someone’s sons… they are someone’s brothers… in many cases they’re a husband… in many cases they’re a father.”

Pitts’ research has taken him from small towns and counties across North Carolina to battlefields and cemeteries around the world.

And he’s still finding stories.

“We’re always looking for pictures, documents, both the crew members as well as the members on the Roll of Honor from North Carolina.”

The goal is to make more of that information available to the public, allowing families to search for relatives and communities to learn more about the people who served and sacrificed.

“I think others across the state are just going to be amazed at this information,” Booker said. “They’re still the greatest generation… still the last great war… and a lot of heart to it.”

As the Battleship North Carolina marks 65 years in Wilmington, these volunteers are helping make sure its memorial is more than steel and guns.

It’s a place where names become stories — and stories keep memories alive.

If you have a family member who served aboard the Battleship North Carolina, or a North Carolinian who died during World War II, the battleship’s researchers want to hear from you.

Old photographs, letters, military records or even a family story could help volunteers add another piece to the history.

And you don’t have to be a historian to help. The battleship also relies on volunteers to research records, uncover stories and make sure these names are never forgotten.