Governor McCrory Appoints Wilmington World War II Historian Wilbur Jones to USS North Carolina Battleship Commission
North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory has appointed retired Navy Captain Wilbur D. Jones, Jr., to the USS North Carolina Battleship Commission.
North Carolina Representative Ted Davis, Jr., on September 6 administered the oath of office to Jones, a Wilmington native, military historian, and the author of 17 books, including two on World War II Southeastern North Carolina. [See attached photo]
Operating as Wilbur Jones Compositions, L.L.C., Jones writes, lectures, consults, and leads global WWII battlefield tours. He serves as chairman of the World War II Wilmington Home Front Heritage Coalition, an award-winning, all-volunteer 501 (c)(3) preservation organization.
The Commission was established by general statutes of the State of North Carolina in 1960 to provide an organization whose charter was to oversee the administration and operation of the battleship as a permanent memorial and exhibit for the State’s WWII.
It consists of 18 members selected by the Governor, including the Secretary of Cultural Resources and the Secretary of Commerce who serve as voting ex-officio members.
Jones’ civic activities also include the Wilmington Downtown Rotary Club, chairman of the Friends of the Battleship North Carolina, and the Hannah Block Historic USO/Community Arts Center Advisory Board. In 2012 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Wilmington StarNews Media.
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For additional information, contact Jones at JonesWD@ec.rr.com or 910-793-6393, or Captain Terry Bragg, USN (Ret.), battleship executive director, at exdir@battleshipnc.com or 910-251-5797, extension 3002.