The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.

Thursday, September 23, 2021

WW II Shipwrecks OFF NC's Coast-- Part 5: Many Are War Graves

"Each wreck (story) has two parts:  There's the wreck itself on the bottom,  and the history of what it went through to end up on the bottom." Tane Casserley said.  "Most  of these wreck are war graves.  People died on these (ships)  going down in horrible ways.  Some of the vessels lost up to twenty guys that went down in burning flames and drowned."

In the case of the freighter Portland, which ran aground  in 1943, the July 2021 expedition marked the first time investigators have visited the site.

Another visit is planned for the summer of 2022, in partnership with the heritage-presentation group known as Diving  with a Purpose.  A member of that group was a volunteer in the July expedition according to officials.

Side scan data was collected at  each of the 13  wrecks during the  expedition.  The new sonar imaging  will provide a better  idea of what remains of the  wrecks on the sea floor, officials said.

--GreGen


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