Battleship North Carolina to host 62nd annual Memorial Day ceremony honoring the fallen
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The Battleship North Carolina Memorial will host its 62nd annual Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 25, inviting the community to gather in remembrance of service members who gave their lives for the United States, including North Carolina’s Immortal 11,000.
The ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the Battleship North Carolina Memorial, located at 1 Battleship Road in Wilmington.
This year’s program will feature keynote speaker Becky Aikman, author of “Spitfires: The American Women Who Flew in the Face of Danger During World War II,” along with remarks from Admiral John G. Morgan, Jr., U.S. Navy (Ret.). Members of the family of Mary Webb Nicholson, a North Carolina native and World War II aviator who died in service to the Allied cause, are also expected to attend.
The ceremony will honor Nicholson’s legacy as part of a broader tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Through storytelling, reflection, and recognition of individual service members, organizers aim to connect personal histories of courage to the enduring meaning of Memorial Day.
Program highlights will include profiles of fallen service members from each branch of the military, a ceremonial invocation and wreath-laying, a color guard presentation, and a musical tribute.
Set against the backdrop of North Carolina’s official World War II memorial, the event offers a public opportunity to pause and reflect on the lives and sacrifices of those who never returned home.
