“The Showboat”
Updated: Feb 26, 2025
BB-55. The battleship USS North Carolina. "The Showboat." The namesake ship of a state whose citizens saved the ship from the scrapyard through a "Save our Ship" campaign that brought it to its new home in Wilmington, North Carolina. A National Historic Landmark and a monument to the North Carolinians that fought and died during the Second World War.
I visited "The Showboat" when I was a young child and it was always one of my favorite places and one of my favorite places to bring friends and family members from out of town. My love of naval history was undoubtedly born on her teak decks and in her interior spaces. It is an impressive testament to the emerging might of the American military, the nation's engineering, and its shipbuilding. It is a solemn reminder of the cost of war and of the bringing about of peace.
Back when I first visited the USS North Carolina, there was a sound and light show telling the story of the famed warship and its valiant officers and crew, in addition to the world history of the time. I remember hearing the "ghost ship" tell its story. The sound and light show is no more (mosquitoes were a common participant in the festivities), but you can still hear that story via footage, educational videos, exhibits, and the ship itself.
There are admittedly a number of fantastic museum ships to visit and I have been to a number of them. But BB-55 USS North Carolina in my childhood home of Wilmington will always be a sentimental favorite of mine. If you visit the Port City and the surrounding coast, be sure to stop by for a visit and pay your respects to those that sacrificed for our freedom and that of a world at war. You can learn more and plan for your visit via the links below.
Battleship North Carolina
"SHIP HISTORY"
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