War Zone: WWII Off of North Carolina’s Outer Banks
In 1942, the United States suffered one of its worst defeats of WWII; not in Europe or the Pacific, but along the nation’s eastern seaboard. Three hundred ninety-seven ships were sunk or damaged and 5,000 people were killed. For six months, 65 German U-Boats hunted merchant vessels practically unopposed within view of coastal communities. The greatest concentration of these attacks occurred off North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Based on his three hour documentary film filled with eye witness accounts from merchant sailors, Kevin Duffus will discuss the events that made the first six months of 1942 one of the most heart-rendering periods of North Carolina’s history.

Kevin Duffus
Kevin P. Duffus is an award-winning filmmaker, researcher, author, and investigative journalist of historical events. His three-hour public television documentary, War Zone—World War II Off North Carolina's Outer Banks, preserves the stories of merchant sailors, lifesavers, residents of island communities, and the remarkable "baby born in a lifeboat," during the devastating German U-boat attacks of 1942.

In addition, Kevin will be joined by Joe Hoyt, an archaeologist with the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary to discuss the findings from NOAA's 2009 Battle of the Atlantic Expedition. Film clips and still images will illustrate the discovery of YP-389 and the survey conducted on the HMT Bedfordshire. Learn why the protection of these historically significant shipwrecks is critically important.