by Jessica Federman | Mar 3, 2026 | Recognizing Our Armed Forces, Uncategorized
At the edge of the Cape Fear River in Wilmington, North Carolina, the Battleship North Carolina sits in permanence—a battleship turned memorial, weathered by decades and salt air. Most visitors come to walk her decks and imagine the thunder of her guns. But the...
by Jessica Federman | Jan 28, 2026 | Uncategorized
Fred Lorenzo Brewer, Jr. lived a life that embodied the idea of aiming high. Born in 1921 and raised in segregated Charlotte, North Carolina, he grew up in a working-class family that valued education, faith, and perseverance. His father, Fred Sr., worked as a hotel...
by battleshipdev1 | Jan 30, 2023 | Sea Stories
“One of the more colorful characters on board was our senior aviator Lt. “Dipsy” Dowdle. Dipsy was a frustrated fighter pilot and a salty flier. When we stopped at Pearl Harbor on our way to the Pacific in October 1944, the captain received a complaint from the beach...
by battleshipdev1 | Jan 30, 2023 | Sea Stories
“There were two types of catapults, one was powered by compressed air and the other was by a 5 inch shell with gunpowder, and the one with the 5 inch shell was much smoother than the compressed air.” Launching from a catapult “was just a very easy way of getting...
by battleshipdev1 | Jan 30, 2023 | Sea Stories
In April 1944, American carrier planes were assaulting Truk and NORTH CAROLINA was protecting the carriers. The Battleship’s Kingfishers were assigned rescue duty and took to the air on the morning of April 30, 1944. “A number of our planes were shot down and...
