A vintage World War II landing craft was hauled across a coastal North Carolina town Wednesday and is set to be restored and preserved - one of only about a dozen of its kind believed to be left.

The North Carolina Maritime Museum moved the rare Higgins boat to its Watercraft Center in Beaufort, where restoration work is to begin Thursday.

"There are only four left in the United States, including this one, so it's a very unique boat," museum spokeswoman Michelle McConnell said. "We have the opportunity to restore one of these, which is restoring history."