Washington, Sep 3 (IANS): US President Donald Trump announced Wilmington in southern US state North Carolina as the first World War II Heritage City at a ceremony held to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II.

"We will never forget what you did for us," Trump said in prepared remarks at Battleship North Carolina in Wilmington on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

During the war, Wilmington was the site of the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company, which built 243 ships in five years as part of the federal government's emergency shipbuilding program, according to a The Hill report.

The president signed legislation last year directing the secretary of the interior to each year designate at least one city as an American World War II Heritage City based on contributions made to secure victory in the war, efforts to keep a historical record of those contributions and work honouring WWII veterans, said the report.