A bill designating the Port City as the first “American World War II City” should pass this year, U.S. Sen. Richard Burr said during a visit to Wilmington on Thursday.
“I think we’re very close,” said Burr, R-N.C. “I don’t see anything that stands in the way, now that, when we get back, we’ll have the election out of the way.”
The designation would be the culmination of a nine-year effort by Wilmington resident and historian Wilbur Jones, who has seen previous efforts for Congress to make the distinction languish in committees.
“I sure hope we see some light” at the end of the tunnel, Jones said. “We’re going into the ninth year of this goal in seeing Wilmington recognized as a World War II city.”