USS North Carolina memorial launches campaign to raise money

WILMINGTON-- The USS North Carolinea needs a little TLC. This ship played an important role in history and needs to be preserved.

Thousands of people come to tour the ship, but sitting in the water for 50 years, the ship is in need of repair. Water seeps through the hull, corroded from the decades of salty water in which it sits. So much corrosion that the hull has become paper thin in some areas of the ship. The crew calls it "weeping."

The ship has 15 stars, making it the most decorated battle ship of WWII .

The estimated cost of repairs is $17,000. On the website, battleship.com donations can be made, people are able to text "Battleship" to 41444.

Of course, there is the option of mailing a donation in to Friends of the Battleship North Carolina. And by visiting the USS North Carolina, that money is donation money.

Work on the ship is set to begin in December.