I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2717 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to designate one city in the 
United States each year as an ‘‘American World War II City’’, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 1, 2011 
Mr. MCINTYRE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to designate 
one city in the United States each year as an ‘‘American 
World War II City’’, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Many cities across the United States con-
tributed to the war effort during World War II, in-
cluding through defense manufacturing, bond drives, 
service in the Armed Forces, and the presence of 
military facilities within the city. 
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(2) Many of those cities have sought to preserve 
the history of those contributions, including through 
the establishment of preservation organizations or 
museums, restoration of World War II facilities, and 
recognition of World War II veterans. 
(3) The city of Wilmington, North Carolina, 
made remarkable contributions to the United States 
war efforts during World War II. 
(4) During World War II, Wilmington was the 
country’s unique wartime boomtown, aptly and offi-
cially named ‘‘The Defense Capital of the State’’. 
(5) Wilmington based and trained all five mili-
tary services: the predecessor to the Air Force at the 
Wilmington Airport, the Army at Camp Davis and 
Fort Fisher, the Navy at Fort Caswell, the Coast 
Guard at Wrightsville Beach, and the Marine Corps 
at Camp Lejeune. 
(6) The North Carolina Shipbuilding Company 
of Wilmington, the State’s largest employer at that 
time, constructed 243 cargo vessels with which to 
provide goods and equipment to our soldiers. 
(7) 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 
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and equipment, a British patrol base, and a shipping 
point for Lend Lease supplies to the Allies. 
(8) Wilmington dispatched thousands of its 
sons and daughters to fight the enemy on land, sea, 
and air as Navy frogmen, P–51 fighter aces, 
Tuskegee Airmen, submarine skippers, bomber pi-
lots, Marine riflemen, Army artillerymen, physicians 
and nurses, and volunteers of all sorts. 
(9) Wilmington tragically lost 248 men as a re-
sult of their courageous efforts to defend the United 
States, and two New Hanover High School grad-
uates received the Congressional Medal of Honor 
and numerous others received high decorations for 
valor, including Navy Crosses, Distinguished Service 
Crosses, and Distinguished Flying Crosses. 
(10) Wilmington’s strategic position made it 
vulnerable to enemy attack by German U-boats, 
which marauded shipping off our beaches. In July 
1943, in perhaps the only German attack on the 
United States, a U-boat fired at the Ethel-Dow 
chemical plant in Wilmington. Wilmington endured 
this attack, as well as constant civilian defense re-
strictions and air raid drills, including black-outs 
and dim-outs. The city’s population more than dou-
bled with the influx of military personnel, forcing 
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locals to cope with strain on housing and schools, 
transportation, medical and social services, law en-
forcement, and food supply. 
SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF AMERICAN WORLD WAR II CITIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
shall designate one city in the United States each year 
as an ‘‘American World War II City’’. 
(b) CRITERIA
FOR DESIGNATION.—The Secretary 
shall make each designation under subsection (a) based 
on the following criteria: 
(1) Contributions by a city to the war effort 
during World War II, including those related to de-
fense manufacturing, bond drives, service in the 
Armed Forces, and the presence of military facilities 
within the city. 
(2) Efforts by a city to preserve the history of 
the city’s contributions during World War II, includ-
ing through the establishment of preservation orga-
nizations or museums, restoration of World War II 
facilities, and recognition of World War II veterans. 
(c) FIRST AMERICAN WORLD WAR II CITY.—The 
city of Wilmington, North Carolina, is designated as an 
‘‘American World War II City’’. 
Æ 
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