1941: WORLD WAR II

It should not go unnoticed that the grueling manual labor of the Civilian Conservation Corps added significant mileage to the Blue Ridge Parkway, trails of the AT and infrastructure of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. But by 1941, North Carolina—and the nation—was still in a dismal economic slump, and Roosevelt’s CCC was unable to alter the trend. Remarkably, and uncharacteristically, it would be the Japanese who finally developed a strategy for lifting America out of the doldrums.

Calling their plan “Let’s Go to War,” the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, left the nation gasping in shock—and eager for a means of returning the favor. The response sent 16.1 million American men into service and, almost overnight, resurrected a struggling economy. For its part, North Carolina would build ships and supply textile goods, lumber, tobacco and food. Over 362,500 North Carolina men and women served willingly as officers, technicians, infantry, pilots and seamen—and of those soldiers who fought overseas, more than 8,500 would not return home. During the war, North Carolina trained more troops than any other state, with Fort Bragg growing to a post of over 100,000. Unbeknownst to most Carolinians, over 10,000 enemy soldiers were detained in seventeen POW camps during the war, often housed in small communities and put to work as paid employees of farms, factories, lumber mills and road crews (years later, many POWs would fondly remember their days in North Carolina and the kind people who befriended them).

Forty-one ships that fought in World War II were named after North Carolina, the most famed being the battleship USS North Carolina. Randomly named after the Tar Heel State, it would be the first to serve in the war and would receive fifteen battle stars for its meritorious service in the Pacific Theater. Beyond its superlative name (and a few homeboys onboard), the state of North Carolina had no meaningful association with the ship. Despite this disconnect, loyal Carolinians were peculiarly unable to part with the battleship when it was scheduled for the scrap heap after the war. Eventually purchased from the navy with private donations, the USS North Carolina was moved to the port of Wilmington and currently serves as a well-loved naval museum; a testament to the pride all North Carolinians share in the men, women—and ships—who represent them.