The U.S. House of Representatives last month passed a bill that could boost tourism in Wilmington.

HR 2189, an omnibus veterans affairs bill, contains legislation sponsored by Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-7th District), according to a press release from local WWII historian Capt. Wilbur Jones. Jones worked with McIntyre to bring the concept to Congress. If passed by the Senate, the bill would establish a procedure within the Department of Veterans Affairs to name at least one American World War II City annually based on two criteria: wartime contributions and preservation efforts since the war.

Wilmington would be designated the first to receive the honor.

“It will have a huge impact on tourism,” said Jones, a retired Navy captain. “We will be able to say we are the first WWII City by act of Congress, and because we have the Battleship [North Carolina] and Fort Fisher, which attract tons of visitors, this would be a military destination for travelers.”

Wilmington prides itself on being an historic city. The hub is the Hannah Block USO/Community Arts Center, restored to its original look, which houses the Heritage Home Front Museum, Jones said.

He is chairman of the World War II Wilmington Home Front Heritage Coalition, vice chairman of the USS North Carolina Battleship Commission and recent advisory board member of the Hannah Block USO/CAC.

McIntyre and Jones have worked since 2008 to seek national recognition for the region’s wartime contributions and preservation accomplishments, Jones said. In 2012, both testified before the House Veterans Affairs’ Committee. Due to budget discussions, looming sequestration and other fiscal concerns, the bill did not get to the house floor in 2012. Co-sponsored by Rep. Walter Jones (R-3rd District), who represents part of Wilmington, the bill passed last month with a vote of 404-1.

“This bill will ensure that and will also set in place a procedure for other cities to receive this rightful designation,” McIntyre said in a press release. “As a nation, we should never forget the tireless efforts of those who supported our brave men and women in uniform, and Wilmington leads the way with its exemplary community contributions and effort.”

According to the release, during WWII, all five military services trained in and around Wilmington.

“Wilmington provided the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad headquarters, three housing camps for German prisoners of war, a major training base for P-47 fighters, defense industries producing goods and equipment, a British patrol base and a shipping point for Lend Lease supplies to the Allies,” the release stated.

The N.C. Shipbuilding Company of Wilmington also was the state’s largest employer of the time and built 243 cargo vessels to provide goods and equipment to soldiers.

The bill now goes to the Senate Veterans Affairs’ Committee, whose ranking member is Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC).

Battleship receives $1M donation for repairs

Part of the American World War II City designation involves history preservation efforts, and Battleship North Carolina officials are in the midst of raising funds for a major renovation effort of the memorial.

Officials announced Nov. 7 that the Battleship North Carolina is receiving a $1 million donation to help repair the ship’s hull and expand the attraction’s complex.

The contribution from Duke Energy Foundation is part of the $17 million in funding the Battleship requires in part to repair the vessel’s hub, officials said. Duke’s executivevice president of regulated utilities Lloyd Yates presented the donation to Capt. Terry Bragg, executive director of the Battleship North Carolina, a site that draws nearly 200,000 people a year.

In 2009, U.S Navy officials notified the Battleship’s commission that it should either develop a dry-docking plan for the vessel that sits in the Cape Fear River across from downtown Wilmington or “prepare and provide the Navy with a plan for the eventual disposal of the ex-NORTH CAROLINA,” according to a news release.

The Navy requires vessels to either be dry-docked or undergo similar level repairs every 15 years, Bragg said. The Battleship North Carolina has not been dry-docked since 1947.Dry-docking the Battleship would necessitate the ship to be transported to Norfolk, Va., which would cost about $35 million, Bragg said.

Bragg also doubts the feasibility of moving the battleship because of the nearby bridges and high power tension lines.

After the Navy notified the Battleship of the need for dry-docking, officials reconciled with the Battleship committee that waterboard repairs would be an “acceptable alternative.”

“Some areas of the hull are in desperate need of repair as those areas are only 1⁄10-inch thick,” Bragg said.

The repairs are apart of the Battleship’s Generations Campaign, which consists of raising money to build a wall around the Battleship, create a memorial walkway and expand “education interpretation.”

“By building that steel wall, the cofferdam, sheet style dam, we’ll be able to pump the water out and do hull repairs cut out and replace steel now and any time in the future,” Bragg said.

Of the $17 million needed, officials hope to get $7 million dollars from public and private donations and another $10 million from the state government. The Battleship fundraising effort has already raised $5 million of the $7 million needed from private and public donors.

“We are an economic contribution to this community. The Battleship North Carolina, through formal study has $240 million contributing to the local economy just in the last decade and 11 million visitors to date,” Bragg said.

Visiting ships bring tourists to the Port City, beaches

During the month of November, passenger cruise ships offered a welcome boost to the local economy, according to a press release from the Wilmington and Beaches Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB).

Two American Cruise Line (ACL) ships scheduled stops at the Bridge Tender Marina in Wrightsville Beach. On Nov. 6 the American Star with up to 25 passengers and on Nov. 13 the Independence with up to 56 passengers were scheduled to stop, according to the release. According to ACL’s website, the East Coast Inland Passage Cruise itinerary listed a narrated trolley tour of downtown Wilmington and a visit to Bellamy Mansion Museum, in addition to time to explore Wilmington’s historic river district.

The CVB’s release stated that according to a Cruise Lines International Association 2007 study, each cruise ship passenger spends an average of $123 per U.S. port-of-call visit. It is estimated that each crewmember spends an average of $49 per visit.