North Carolina earned eight battle ribbons for service in the Pacific Theater and served in every major naval offensive in the Pacific area of operations during World War II, earning 15 battle stars represented by three silver stars on the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal. Her wartime ribbons included the American Defense Service Medal with an "A" for active service in the Atlantic, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three silver stars, the World War II Victory Medal, the Navy Occupation Medal, the Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation, the Philippine Liberation Medal with bronze star, and the Philippine Independence Medal. During World War II, North Carolina bombarded Japanese-held islands nine times, sank the Japanese merchant marine ship Eiko MARU on January 29, 1944, and downed 24 enemy planes. Her 15 battle stars were earned through participation in 15 campaigns: the landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi, the capture and defense of Guadalcanal, the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, the New Georgia Group Operation, the Gilbert Islands Operation, the Bismark Archipelago Operation, the Marshall Island Operation, task force strikes against Truk, the Marianas, Palau, Yap, Ulithi, Woleai, Truk, Satawan, and Ponape, the Western New Guinea Operation, the Marianas Operation including the invasion of Saipan and the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the Leyte Operation, the Luzon Operation including actions against Formosa, the China coast, and Nansei Shoto, the Iwo Jima Operation, the Okinawa Operation including the capture of Kerama Islands and raids against Kyushu and Inland Sea targets, and Third Fleet operations against the Japanese Home Islands.