Many years ago, my parents took me along on a vacation to Nags Head, a small town in the Outer Banks region of North Carolina. For a young boy, it was place where history became cool. Pirates used to roam the Atlantic Ocean off Nags Head. To the north is Kill Devil Hills, where the Wright brothers experimented with flight. And to the west is Roanoke Island, site of the mysterious late 16th century “Lost Colony.”

And though I didn’t know it at the time, it is also the place where Latvian sailors became legends during World War II.

Latvians in America had for years known about the story of the Ciltvaira and seven other Latvian merchant ships (the Abagra, Everagra, Everalda, Everasma, Everelza, Ķegums and Regent). Upon learning that their country had been overrun by the Soviet Union, their crews refused to return to an occupied nation and instead volunteered to help the Allies. Not all the mariners were Latvian.

On Jan. 19, 1942, just weeks after the United States had been dragged into the war, a German submarine torpedoed the Ciltvaira off the coast of North Carolina near Nags Head. Two of the 32 sailors died, but the rest were rescued.

Five more of the ships fell to torpedos that year: the Everasma on Feb. 28, the Abagra on May 6, the Regent on June 14, the Everalda on June 29, the Everelza on Aug. 13. Only the Everagra and the Ķegums survived the war.

Their story was detailed in a series of articles appearing earlier this year in Chas, a Russian-language daily newspaper in Rīga. Because few in Latvia knew the tale, the series saw broad interest, even earning a commendation from Foreign Minister Sandra Kalniete. The Latvian-language daily Diena published a version of the story in its Sestdiena magazine. And the Associated Press carried the story around the world.

Back in the United States, the tale of the Latvian sailors took on special meaning for two communities. One, of course, is Nags Head, where for many Ciltvaira perhaps was no more than a name on a street sign. And the other community is the New York Latvian Ev.-Lutheran Church, whose archives revealed that many of the sailors of the Ciltvaira and other ships had been members of the congregation during World War II.

The two communities came together May 8, when cermonies honoring the sailors were held in Latvia and in North Carolina. At Nags Head, local officials, staff from the Outer Banks Sentinel newspaper and members of the New York Latvian church gathered by the Atlantic Ocean to pay their respects, complete with a 21-gun salute.

The night before, the Nags Head Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution honoring the crew of the Ciltvaira.

For the New York church, the event also serves as a reminder of its own history.

A 1944 biography of the Rev. Kārlis Podiņš, who served the New York church for decades, notes how in 1942 the congregation held a special summer service to remember the fallen Latvian sailors and to bolster the spirits of those still living. “Having received their blessing and communion, they returned to the fight with twice the strength and courage,” wrote Austra Truce, who compiled the minister’s biography.

Before and during the war, the arrival of a Latvian ship in the port at New York had been a big event for the congregation, according to the June 1954 issue of the church newsletter, Baznīcas Ziņas, sent to me by Ēriks Niedrītis, a member of the church board.

“Our sailors attended events and came to church,” the article reported, “(and) there were parties in homes and receptions aboard ships.”

But the loss of Latvian lives and ships during the war changed the atmosphere. “The sacrifices of the war at sea brought great losses to Latvian sailors and cut deep into our active membership,” the article continued. “With that, to a great extent, our celebration of the sailors was quieted.”

If you vacation in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, take time to appreciate the history of the region. Read about the pirates. Visit the Wright brothers museum. See the theatrical production of the “Lost Colony.” And if you walk along the beach, pause a moment to remember those Latvian sailors.

Our friends at City Paper, a bimonthly magazine and tourist guide in Tallinn, Estonia, sent us a press release crowing about being one of the few publications to correctly predict that Marija Naumova of Latvia would win last year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

And now Editor Michael Tarm and the rest of the staff have picked this year’s winner: Russia.

Come May 24, I hope they’re wrong.

Not that Russia shouldn’t deserve to win the Eurovision contest some year. But I want to believe that Russia’s entry this year, “Ne ver, ne bojsia, ne prosi” (No Faith, No Belief) sung by the controversial duo t.A.T.u., is not the winner others are saying it is. To my ear, it doesn’t sound like anything new from Elena Katina and Julia Volkova, although the song does stand out from some of the sugary stuff offered by other entrants.

Besides, part of the trick of Eurovision—as Naumova’s victory showed last year—is putting on an impressive stage show that will wow television viewers across Europe. The Russian duo, who have filled the world press with questions about their sexuality and sexual identity, probably will have to up the shock factor to convince audiences that they should earn the Eurovision title.

I can hardly wait.

Russia, City Paper argues, has the most professional of the 26 entries that will be vying for the honors in Rīga’s Skonto Hall. To lose would be an embarassment.

City Paper rounds out its top five choices with Estonia, Norway, Turkey and Iceland. Latvia’s entry, “Hello from Mars” performed by the trio F.L.Y. (composed of Mārtiņš Freimanis, Lauris Reiniks and Yana Kay) places 15th in the publication’s list. And at the bottom is Sweden’s Fame and the song “Give Me Your Love,” which City Paper calls “as hackneyed as they come.”

In announcing its prediction, City Paper acknowledged that the Eurovision contest is about pop music, but it looked for songs that stood out from the pack. That’s one reason, according to the press release, the publication picked Estonia’s entry for the No. 2 spot, while holding out the suggestion that the song could in fact win. Estonia’s entry, “Eighties Coming Back” performed by the group Ruffus, is “the least pretentious, the most gritty of this year’s crop of songs,” City Paper said.

I’ll agree Estonia’s entry is different, but I’d rate it in the middle of the pack. A song about the return of the 1980s? C’mon…

And I’m convinced Latvia won’t win this year. F.L.Y. makes a nice trio, and each of the singers is already an accomplished artist, but “Hello from Mars” just doesn’t shine compared to a few other songs in the competition.

My favorites include Turkey, France and Belgium. Turkey’s Sertab Erener offers “Every Way That I Can,” a song with just a tinge of the East, enough to remind listeners that it’s from a country that bridges two continents. France’s Louisa Baileche performs “Monts et merveilles” (The Moon and the Stars), a restrained love song that stands out in part for not being as pop-oriented as other entries. And Belgium’s Urban Trad draws attention with “Sanomi,” a song more at home in a world music contest than in Eurovision—which probably explains why it’s last in the online ratings on the Web site for the song contest.

Those same ratings put Russia first, just as City Paper does.

Let’s see what the voters say. Maybe City Paper will have to eat crow.