NC and WWII

Governor Pat McCrory signed a proclamation recognizing North Carolina's contributions to World War II as August 14-15, 2015 marked the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.  Nearly 400,000 men and women from across North Carolina enlisted in all branches of the Armed Forces. Of those, 26,000 World War II Veterans still call North Carolina home, and 8,500 who served did not return home. About 2 million men and women were trained in North Carolina during World War II. North Carolina was home to 24 military installations that trained and housed troops from all branches of the military. North Carolina industry contributed by building Liberty Ships at the North Carolina Ship Building Company in Wilmington. In addition, North Carolina provided more textiles to the Armed Forces than any other state. Additionally, North Carolina was home to some military firsts. Many of the female pilots of the historic Women Airforce Service Pilots flew A-24's and A-25's towing targets, flying radar deception missions, night target-towing missions, and tracking missions out of Camp Davis in Holly Ridge, N.C.  On June 1, 1942, the U.S. Marine Corps started enlisting African Americans. The first class of 1,200 volunteers began their training at Montford Point at Camp Lejeune, at New River, N.C.