29
LLOYD WHITFIELD “WHIT” MOORE,
April 28, 1946 - February 25, 1968, resided in Wilmington, but he spent
his happy summer days at the family’s cottage on Sandpiper Street at
Wrightsville Beach. With his sister, Peggy, he was taught as a child to swim,
boat, fish and sail by his devoted parents, Lloyd Sr. and Margaret Moore. As
a lanky young athlete, Whit’s basketball teammates dubbed him “Spider,”
a nickname that stuck for the rest of his short life. Flashing his signature
smile, Whit Moore had a friendly, confident and outgoing spirit.
Like his father, Lloyd, Whit was a fisherman. His dad’s giant channel
bass, caught in the surf at Rich’s Inlet, was mounted above the hearth at
their beach cottage. The mischievous family cat would occasionally leap
to the mantle and take a swipe at the old bass. So it was natural that the
north shoal at Rich’s Inlet would be one of Whit Moore’s favorite fishing
spots. No place for the faint of heart, the shoal offered monster waves,
ripping currents, bars of shifting quicksand and soft winds that could
suddenly rage. Fish loved the place and so did Whit. With ease, he could
maneuver the family’s Simmons skiff through the tangle of backwater
creeks and out to the fishing grounds. Cautious though he was, danger
was simply a part of nature to Whit. He was comfortable and peaceful in
his beloved coastal haunts.
Left: Vietnam, September/October 1967. From the heights of Con Thien,
the U.S. Marines of Mike Company look down upon the DMZ during daily
fighter-bomber attacks on the enemy. Above: Cadet Officer Whit Moore
during his days at Carolina Military Academy.
The Vietnam War lasted from
November 1, 1955 to the fall of
Saigon April 30, 1975 — the longest
war in American history. In
Vietnam, Wilmington lost twenty
sons — seemingly ordinary men
who, through raw courage, gave
their lives under the harshest
conditions imaginable.
COURTESY MARGARET MOORE SPALLEK
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM