public

Heavily Investigated

She sits on the Cape Fear River like a ship that never quite made it home — and some say certain sailors haven't either. On September 15, 1942, a Japanese torpedo tore through her port side and into a lower-deck washroom, killing five men. Visitors who linger there now report cold presences, moving objects, voices from nowhere. A blond young sailor is said to drift her passageways, slipping into areas sealed to the public. Faces peer from portholes. Two distinct presences are felt — one restless, one that makes the air cold enough to see your breath.

Commissioned April 9, 1941, USS North Carolina was the first new American battleship in nearly two decades — a 35,000-ton marvel launched at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. She fought in every major Pacific offensive, earning 15 battle stars while losing just 10 men. Decommissioned in 1947 and slated for the scrapyard, she was rescued by a statewide 'Save Our Ship' campaign — schoolchildren contributed pennies — and berthed in Wilmington in 1961, dedicated as a memorial in 1962. The record honors the ship; the dark below-decks quietly honors something else.