As a companion to Ken Burns' epic World War II documentary series, THE WAR: A Ken Burns Film, UNC-TV commemorates this pivotal time in our state’s history with the North Carolina's WWII Experience initiative, including:

• An extensive companion website featuring the
  Veteran's Stories World War II archive, capturing the unique experiences of North Carolinians from the homefront to the frontlines;
  
• Special presentations of World War II features, interviews, and other content within upcoming
  Broadcast Programs, including UNC-TV's original series;
  
• Online listings of important World War II Resources and Events occurring in various locations around the state;
  
• A repository for viewer Tributes and Comments, including acknowledgments from veterans' families & friends, community event bulletins, and submitted information & resources;
  
• A commemorative booklet recognizing North Carolina’s veterans with a listing of those who contributed financially to North Carolina's WWII Experience; and
  
• The production of two, hour-long documentaries chronicling North Carolina's WWII Experience.

Though many states have produced programs based primarily on veterans’ stories, North Carolina’s WWII Experience will be a much broader and more complex undertaking. Our state played a central role in the war effort, both here on the homefront and overseas on the frontlines and UNC-TV seeks to capture the diverse array of local wartime experiences.

Here in North Carolina, we had forts, camps, air force bases, naval stations, shipyards, military hospitals, and even POW camps. Thousands of soldiers, sailors, marines, paratroopers, and pilots trained here. Men and women from North Carolina served in every branch of the military.

Did you know that German submarines blew up eighty ships off North Carolina’s Outer Banks, a place that became known as Torpedo Junction?

Did you know that the only U.S. training base for African-American marines was here at Montford Point, in a military that was still segregated?

Did you know that in 1940, there were fifty-four hundred soldiers at Fort Bragg? And by 1942, there were one hundred thousand soldiers training there? In fact, by 1943, North Carolina was training more troops than any other state in the nation, more than two million by war’s end.

The father of the U.S. Army Airborne, General Bill Lee, was from Dunn, North Carolina. One of the greatest war correspondents, Edward R. Murrow, was born on a farm near Greensboro. Private First Class Jack Lucas of Plymouth was the youngest recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor for throwing himself on two enemy hand grenades during the battle of Iwo Jima. He saved the lives of several soldiers and actually lived to tell about it. And Major Thomas Ferebee, the bombardier on the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, was born on a farm near Mocksville.

The list goes on and on.

Our research is just beginning. We are looking for veterans, for people who lived during that time, for historians, and others who can help us tell North Carolina’s WWII Experience. If you have ideas, if you know great people to interview, if you have great stories you think should be shared and collected, please become a part of North Carolina’s WWII Experience. This momentous, multi-year initiative will connect generations of North Carolinians and help to capture and preserve the World War II stories, resources and experience that are such a vital part of our state’s history.

Click here to share your North Carolina WWII experience.

PLEDGE NOW to support North Carolina's WWII Experience.