Seabees in World War II

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Naval Construction Battalions
Sicily, Anzio, North Africa
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Admiral Ben Moreell
3rd Marine Division, 2nd Raider's sign on Bougainville

When World War II broke out the United States Naval Construction Battalions (Seabees) did not exist. The logistics of a two theater war were daunting to conceive. Rear Admiral Moreell completely understood the issues. What needed to be done was build staging bases to take the war to the enemy, across both oceans, and create the construction force to do the work. Naval Construction Battalions were first conceived at Bureau of Yards and Docks (BuDocks) in the 1930s. The onset of hostilities clarified to Radm. Moreell the need for developing advance bases to project American power. The solution: tap the vast pool of skilled labor in the U.S. Put it in uniform to build anything, anywhere under any conditions and get the Marine Corps to train it. The first volunteers came skilled. To obtain these tradesmen, military age was waived to age 50. It was later found that several past 60 had managed to get in. Men were given advanced rank/pay based upon experience making the Seabees the highest paid group in the U.S. military.[1] The first 60 battalions had an average age of 37.

"December 1942 saw voluntary Seabee enlistments cease per

Chemical Warfare Service Flame tank Group. While the Seabees had many unit types and had their tasks outside the NCF, other services, and the rest of the Navy itself, made no distinction, they all were simply "Seabees".[6]

History

Pre-war naval construction development

In the late 1930s the US saw the need to prepare militarily. Congress authorized the expansion of naval Shore Activities in the Caribbean and by 1939 in the Central Pacific. "Following standard peacetime guidelines the Navy awarded contracts to civilian constructions firms. These contractors employed native civilian populations as well as U.S citizens and were answerable to naval officers in charge of construction. By 1941 large bases were being built on Guam, Midway, Wake, Pearl Harbor, Iceland, Newfoundland, Bermuda, and Trinidad to name a few."

guerrillas.[8]
Wake turned out to be a case in point for Americans.

World War II

WWII recruitment poster
African American Seabee color guard
Early Seabee pennants with first pattern Seabee for use as an equipment stencil per BuDocks order (not for uniforms).
WWII CB Organization. Organic allotment: 8 D8s, 4 D7s, 4 D6, 2 D4 bulldozers.[9]

The need for a militarized construction force became evident after the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor. On December 28 Radm. Moreell requested authority to create Naval Construction Battalions. The Bureau of Navigation gave authorization on 5 January 1942.[10] Three Battalions were officially authorized on 5 March 1942. Enlistment was voluntary until December when the Selective Service System became responsible for recruitment. Seabee Training Centers were named for former heads of the Civil Engineer Corps: Radm. Mordecai T. Endicott, Radm. Harry H. Rousseau, Radm. Richard C. Hollyday, Radm. Charles W. Park and RADM. Robert Peary.[11] One NCTC was named for the first CEC killed in action, Lt. Irwin W. Lee and Lt. (jg) George W. Stephenson of the 24th CB.[12]

An issue for

Secretary of the Navy.[10] In March the Secretary gave the CEC complete command of all men assigned to CB units.[10] With CBs authorized and the command question settled, BuDocks then had to deal with recruitment, training, military organization structure plus organizing the logistics to make it all work. That all happened quickly. Due to the exigencies of war there was a great deal of "improvisation", a quality that became synonymous with Seabees in general.[13]

"At Naval Construction Training Centers (NCTC) and Advanced Base Depots (ABD) on both coasts, men learned: trade skills, military discipline, and advanced combat training. Although technically designated "support", Seabees frequently found themselves under fire with the Marines. After completing boot training at

Camp Parks, Shoemaker, CA. There units were reorganized, re-deployed or decommissioned. Men were given 30-day leaves and later, those eligible were discharged. The same was done at the Davisville, Rhode Island, for the east coast."[2]

From California, battalions attached to III Amphibious Corps or V Amphibious Corps, were staged to the Moanalua Ridge Seabee encampment in the Hawaiian Territory. It covered 120

Brisbane, Australia then to other US Naval Advance Bases
.

The Atlantic theater

Mulberry A" at Omaha Beach
.
African American Seabees of the 80th CB erecting the framework of an airship hangar on Trinidad. The crane pictured was a "fixed" unit that could not travel. Being fixed allowed the crane to have over 100' of boom and jib. It was one of several that were set up to erect the hangar

"When the war became a two-ocean war, the Panama Canal became

Galapagos Islands, CBD 1012 constructed a seaplane base with tank farm and did the same again at Salinas, Ecuador. Salinas would be the southernmost U.S. base in the Pacific. While not in combat zones these bases were necessary for the overall war effort."[16]

"

NAS Port Lyautey, Morocco."[13]

"With Tunisia taken the Seabees began prepping pontoon assemblies for their first use in combat at

Allies and Axis. The Seabees with their pontoons proved that was not true. The Germans were overwhelmed by the men and material that poured ashore over them.[13]

"Seabee causeways were used again at

Salerno and Anzio. Having learned from Sicily the Germans were prepared causing heavy casualties at both. At Anzio Seabees were under extended continuous fire. After Southern Italy the Seabees had one last task in the theater, Operation Dragoon."[13]

"Seabee operations in the

Londonderry, Northern Ireland, Lough Erne, Loch Ryan, and Rosneath, Scotland. Depots, fuel farms, and seaplane bases were constructed to anchor the line. Afterwards the Seabees went South for Operation Overlord preparations. They built invasion bases from Milford Haven to Exeter and prepared for their own multifaceted D-day role."[13]

On

Mulberry A. It was a temporary port until French ports were liberated. Even after weather disabled the Mulberry, Seabee handiwork got thousands of tons supplies and troops ashore."[13]

"The

St. Nazaire."[13]

The last Seabee task in Europe was the

Prime Minister Churchill across.[13]

"The 69th was the only CB to set foot on

Frankfurt-am-Main. By August 1945 the battalion was back in England concluding NCF Atlantic operations."[13]

The Pacific theater

gale force winds. CB 45 put damage control
parties aboard working round the clock five days to save her.
Type A Kō-hyōteki-class submarine two-man sub salvaged by 6th CB divers off Tassafaronga Point.
3/20
Marines that enabled the assault on Tinian
B-29s passing over a Seabee bulldozer tournapull unit on Tinian 1944

"Pacific Seabee deeds were historically unparalleled.[17] It was there that 80% of the NCF literally built the road to VJ-day constructing nearly all the airfields, piers, ammunition bunkers, supply depots, hospitals, fuel tanks, and barracks required to make it happen on over 300 islands."[13] The very first job Seabees had a hand in was the salvage of the USS California (BB-44) and USS West Virginia (BB-48) at Pearl Harbor under the command of a CEC Lieutenant. He had Seabee divers and 120 men from the 16th CB before he was done.

Very shortly after their formation the Marine Corps took an interest in this other Naval ground force. This would lead to a unique relationship with the Naval Construction Force that remains at present. The first combat interaction the two had was the

22nd Marines
. Shortly after, the Navy recalled the transferred CBs and the Corps decommissioned all the engineering regiments. However, for landing assaults the Corps had CBs temporarily assigned to fill shore party assignments on Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

"The entire Pacific from

pipeline
route that remains utilized today.

"The first CB projects were on

skin problems, and the dreaded elephantiasis. Combined they made conditions miserable, and were harbingers of what was awaiting Seabees elsewheres. That detachment was beset with difficulties, but gained satisfaction when the island's tank farms fueled Task Force 44 for the Battle of the Coral Sea."[13]

Following the Bobcats the 2nd and 3rd Construction Battalion Detachments were formed. The 2nd went to

Espiritu Santo Naval Base
.

demolitions men.[18] They would see extensive combat at the Battle of Eniwetok. When those operations were over the 22nd Marines were given a Naval Unit Commendation and the Bobcats and A Co 3 CB were released by the Marines.[18]

USS Enterprise (CV-6) at Noumea, New Caledonia, 10 November 1942 undergoing emergency repairs by CB 3.[19]
USS Minneapolis at Tulagi with the battle dressing that enabled her to meet the USS Vestal at Espiritu Santo. CB 6 had a lumbering operation at Tulagi that provided the logs.

[6]

USS New Orleans at Tulagi needing the same repairs at the same time. NARA(80-G-216013)[20]

On 30 October 1942 the

welders' arcs sparking... and with her forward elevator still jammed... since the bomb...broke it in half."[22]
On 13 November the ship's captain notified
Bull Halsey knew what those Seabee repairs meant to the outcome. He sent a commendatory letter to the Seabee's OIC, Lt. Quayle: "Your commander wishes to express to you and the men of the Construction Battalion serving under you, his appreciation for the services rendered by you in effecting emergency repairs during action against the enemy. The repairs were completed by these men with speed and efficiency. I hereby commend them for their willingness, zeal, and capability."[24] At Pearl Harbor in November 1942, 120 steel workers, riggers, and electricians from the 16th CB were responsible for salvaging the USS West Virginia far faster than Navy estimates.[25] Divers from the 16th CB assisted in the salvage of the USS Oklahoma.[26] The 27th CB created its own "Ships Repair Shop" as a courtesy to the fleet. Its divers replaced 160 damaged ship's props. That "Shop" logged major repairs on 145 vessels, including 4 submarines.[27]

The 6th CB was the first CB to see combat. They did so with the

advance PT base. Its boats became famous for their operations in the "slot"[13] PT Squadron 3 was there and requested Seabee volunteers nightly to fill out its crews.[27]
It also became Headquarters Motor Torpedo Boat So. Pacific Command MTBSoPac. News worthy to the troops at the time, off
Higgins boat ran into the periscope of a sunk Japanese two-man sub 300 yd (270 m) offshore.[28] It was in 20 ft (6.1 m) of water and with improvised diving gear they hooked cables for bulldozers to pull it ashore. With bulldozers straining on the cables, a dynamite blast was used to free it of the mud suction force and it was beached. It became a "must see" for U.S troops on the island.[13]

Like CBs, PTs were new in WWII. The Seabees would build 119 PT bases or Cubs. The largest would be on Mios Woendi. Many battalions were involved, however, the 113th and 116th CBs had PT Advance Base Construction Detachments. The 113th's detachment was attached to Task Group 70.1[29] through the end of the war. It was a precursor to postwar Seabee teams. Each man was cross-trained in multiple trades with some qualified as corpsmen or divers.[30]

19th Marines bulldozed trails for the armor beyond the front lines so far they had to be told to hold up.[13]
A Co 87th CB had to visit the armory for combat gear prior to joining the
Papua, New Guinea
, and New Britain was Australian administered Territory that saw Battalions from Camp Seabee Brisbane.

Prior to Cape Gloucester the 1st Marine Division posted notice requesting flight qualified volunteers to form an aviation unit of

Petty officer 1st class and Admiral Nimitz wrote him and the other flyers commendations for the Navy Air Medal.[32]

"The

Seventh Fleet. The capture of Emirau completed the encirclement of Rabaul. A strategic two-field Oak, with depots, dry dock, and PT base was constructed there."[13]

"The Central Pacific saw CBs both landing in all the assaults, their efforts moved the U.S relentlessly toward the Japanese homeland.

Majuro Atoll into one of the fleet's Lions and similarly transformed Kwajalein Atoll into a Oak."[13]

"Seizure of the Marianas turned the Pacific war. Their loss cut the Japanese defense and placed Japan within bomber range.

Operation Forager saw CBs make significant contributions at the Kwajalein, Saipan, Guam, and Tinian. On Siapan and Tinian top secret Seabee handiwork was fielded by the 2nd and 4th Tank Battalions, flamethrowing tanks. Within four days of capture, Seabees had Aslito on Saipan operational. During the battle for Guam, CB Specials did stevedoring while others were Marine combat engineers. When they were done CBs turned Guam into a Lion for the fleet and an Oak for the air corps. The invasion of Tinian was a showcase of Seabee ingenuity and engineering. The CEC engineered detachable ramps mounted on LVT-2s making landings possible where the Japanese thought it was impossible. Before the island was even secure, Seabees were completing an unfinished Japanese airfield."[13]

During 1944 dredging harbors to facilitate movement of men, supplies, and vessels became an unheralded priority. The 301st CB was formed to do the job and given four demolitioneers from the UDTs, two of them ex-NCDU. Between them they had three Silver stars and one Bronze.

"Once the Marianas were taken B-29s needed an emergency field and a forward base for fighter escort. Iwo Jima was chosen for V Amphibious Corps to assault on 19 February 1945. The assault had four battalions tasked as shore party: 4th & 5th Pioneers and 31st & 133rd CBs. The 133rd suffered the most casualties in Seabee history tasked to the 23rd Marines D-day-D+18.[33] Only basic road construction was accomplished during the first days. The Marines requested Seabee heavy equipment operator volunteers to augment their beach depots for the assault D-day. CBs 8 and 95 each sent two dozen men.[34] Work on the first airfield began on D+5.[13] Two Seabees from the 117th CB accompanied the flamethrowing tanks they had created to provide technical field support. On Iwo Jima it got so that the Marines would hold up the assault to wait for one of their Seabee built flamethrowing tanks. Post-battle, the battalions had demolition teams scout and clear areas to provide safe construction sites.[35]

"

paratroopers. The assault lasted 72 hours with the Japanese losing over 350 men.[36] As in the South Pacific, PTs had Seabees augmenting crews on runs along Halmahera in the Lembeh Strait.[37]

"At Okinawa the

Third Marine Amphibious Corps landed off Rhinos and causeways of the 130th CB. The 58th, 71st, and 145th CBs were attached to the three Marine Division. The Seabees created an entire battalion of flamethrowing tanks for the assault. Numerous CBs followed, as Okinawa became the anticipated jumping-off point for invasion of Japan. Nearly 55,000 in four CB brigades were there. By August 1945 everything was prepped for the invasion."[13] In the three months it took to secure the Island, seven stevedore battalions offloaded 2,000,000 tons.[38]
There were three airfields that were crucial to the campaign. The African American Seabees of the 34th CB drew the task of getting the Awase airfield operational and did.

When the

atomic bomb to Tinian[39] 6th Brigade Seabees unloaded the components, stored and posted guard.[39]
When technicians assembled the weapon Seabees assisted as needed.
U.S. Fleet Admiral Halsey: "The Seabees helped crush the Japs in every South Pacific campaign".[42]

Lions, Cubs, Oaks, Acorns advance base units

Blasting on shoreline during construction of airfield on Eniwetok Atoll in June 1944

Advance base construction operations were given a code name as a numbered metaphor for the size/type of base the Seabees were to construct and assigned to it the "unit" charged with development and administration of that base.[43] These were Lion, Cub, Oak and Acorn with a Lion being a large Fleet Base numbered 1–6.[44] Cubs were Secondary Fleet Bases 1/4 the size of a Lion (numbered 1–12 and most often for PT boats)[45] Oak and Acorn were the names given airfields, new or captured enemy fields (primary and secondary in size).[46] Cubs were quickly adopted as the primary type airfield with few Oaks. Of the three base types Lions, Cubs and Acorns, Acorns received priority due to their tactical importance and the speed at which the Seabees could make one operational. The Navy believed the Seabees could produce an operational runway overnight. In the Office of Naval Operations manual for Logistics of Advance Bases it reads " Highly mobile Acorns...can be established by surprise tactics between sunset and sunrise on enemy territory...(are) strategically important... offensive instruments possessing tactical surprise to a highly portentous degree."[47]: Page 88 

Camp Bedilion was home to the Acorn Assembly and Training Detachment responsible for training and organizing Acorn units. It shared a common fenceline with Camp Rousseau at Port Hueneme.[48] A Lion, Cub, or Acorn was composed of three components: Base Operation units, Fleet/Aviation repair-maintenance units and Construction Battalion personnel. CBs constructed, repaired or upgraded 111 major airfields with the number of acorn fields not published.[49] When the code was first created the Navy thought it would require two CBs to construct a Lion. By 1944 entire Construction Regiments were being used to build Lions.

Lions, Cubs, Oaks, Acorns USN Administration in WWII:[47] ACORN: acronym for Aviation, Construction, Ordnance, Repair. A CBMU was attached to every ACORN. A single island could have multiple Acorns on it. It was common practice to separate airfields for bombers and fighters. In December 1944 the Navy took over an unused Army Air Corps base at Thermal, CA. making it Naval Air Field Thermal. The Navy made it the pre-embarkation and training center for Acorns, CASUs, and CBMUs.

Espiritu Santo war's end

At the end of WWII, Espiritu Santo had become the second largest base the U.S. had in the Pacific. To deal with the vast quantities of supplies and equipment staged there the military had to find a solution.[67] It cost too much to send back to the states and would hurt industry by flooding the market with cheap military surplus. Additionally, the Navy was more concerned about discharging men and mothballing ships. The answer was to offer to sell it to the French for 6 cents on the dollar. The French thought they wouldn't offer anything and the U.S would abandon it all.[67] Instead the U.S ordered the Seabees to build a ramp into the sea by Luganville Airfield.[67] There, day after day the surplus went into the water. Seabees wept at what they had to do.[67] Today the site is a tourist attraction called Million Dollar Point. Individual CBs were ordered to do the same across the Pacific.[68]

CB rates

These indicate the construction trade in which a Seabee is skilled. During WWII, the Seabees were the highest-paid group in the U.S. military, due to all the skilled journeymen in their ranks.

Vulcanizing, Water front, and Well-drilling.[71]
Seabee divers at Gavutu, Solomon Islands, Nov. 8, 1943 installing a marine railway.

The Seabees had a divers school of their own to qualify 2nd class

Underwater Demolition Teams were swimmers during WWII, but postwar transitioned to divers. Another historic note to the Seabees is that they had African American divers in the 34th CB. Those men fabricated their diving gear in the field using Navy Mk-III gas masks as taught at diving school. Twice, while at Milne Bay, the 105th CB sent special diving details on undisclosed missions. At Pearl Harbor Seabee Divers were involved in the salvage of many of the ships hit on 7 December as well as the recovery of bodies for a long time after the attack.[76][77] Divers in the 301st CB placed as much as 50 tons of explosives a day to keep their dredges productive. However, the divers of CB 96 used 1,727,250 lbs of dynamite to blast 423,300 cubic yards of coral for the Ship repair facility on Manicani Island, at the Naval Operating Base Leyte-Samar.[78]
Their primary diving gear was modified Navy Mark III and Navy Mark IV gas masks.

Organization

The primary Seabee unit was the battalion, composed of a headquarters company and four construction companies. Each company could do smaller jobs independently as they each had all the basic ratings for doing any job. Hq. Co. was made up primarily of fleet

draftsman
. A CB's complement was 32 officers and 1,073 enlisted.

"By 1944 construction projects grew in scope and scale. Often more than one CB was assigned to a job. To promote efficient administrative control 3-4 battalions would be organized into a regiment, if necessary, two or more regiments were organized into a brigade. This happened on Okinawa where 55,000 Seabees deployed. All were under the Commander, Construction Troops, Commodore Andrew G. Bisset (CEC). He also had 45,000 U.S. Army engineers under his command making it the largest concentration of construction troops ever."[2]

At wars end they would number over 258,000. The NCF grew into 12 Naval Construction Brigades of: 54 Construction Regiments, 151 CBs, 39 Special CBs, 136 CB Maintenance Units, 118 CB Detachments, and 5 Pontoon Assembly Detachments.

NCDUs
, UDTs, Cubs, Lions, Acorns and Marine Corps.

While the CB itself was versatile it was apparent that some units could be smaller and/or specialized for task specific units. "The first departure from the standard CB was the "Special" Construction Battalion, or the "CB Special". "Special" CBs were composed of

longshoremen who were badly needed for the unloading of cargo in combat zones. Many officers for "Specials" were recruited from the Merchant Marine (and commissioned as CEC) while stevedoring companies were the source of many of the enlisted. Soon, the efficiency of cargo handling in combat zones was on a par to that found in the most efficient ports in the U.S."[2] There were five battalions specialized in pontoons, barges, and causeways: 70th, 81st, 111th, 128th, 302nd.[80]
The 134th & 139th CBs were made trucking units due to the transportation and logistic needs on Guam and Okinawa.

"Several types of smaller, specialized units were created. Construction Battalion Maintenance Units/CBMUs, a quarter the size of a CB were one. They were Public Works units intended to assume base maintenance of newly constructed bases. Another unit type was the Construction Battalion Detachment/CBD, of 6 to 600 men. CBDs did everything from running tire-repair shops to operating

pipelines or petroleum facilities."[2]

The Seabee

The Seabee's machinegun-toting

carpenter's mate. On each wrist he placed the CEC insignia. For the border he used a letter Q for Quonset Point. He gave the design to the lieutenant. The lieutenant showed it to his captain, who sent it off to Adm. Moreell. The only change the Admiral requested was that the border be changed to a hawser rope in keeping with Naval tradition for Naval insignia.[81]

Flame throwing tanks, CWS: Flame Tank Group

Main article: Chemical Warfare Service: Flame Tank Group Seabees
117th CB logo[27]
Cross section through a CB-H1 flame thrower
Marines use a "Satan" to incinerate a Japanese pillbox on Siapan.
The CB-H2 flamethrower seen here on Iwo Jima had a range of 150 yards[82]
The Seabees' training model of a coaxial H1a-H5a flamethrower shown by Col Unmacht's staff to visitors would not see combat until Korea
Night demonstration at Schofield Barracks 3 weeks prior to Iwo Jima.

During WWII

psychological presence on the battlefield. U.S. troops preferred to follow them over standard armor for the fear they put in the enemy.[84]

Pacific field commanders had tried field modified mechanized flame throwers early on,[85] with the Marine Corps deciding to leave further development to the Army. The Navy had an interest in flame throwing and five Navy Mark I flamethrowers arrived in Hawaii in April 1944. The Navy deemed them "unsuitable" due to their weight and turned them over to the Army's Chemical Warfare Service.[86][page needed] In May a top secret composite unit was assembled at Schofield Barracks.[87] It was led by Colonel Unmacht of the US Army Chemical Warfare Service, Central Pacific Area (CENPAC)[84][88] Col. Unmacht began the project with only the 43rd Chemical Laboratory Company. They modified the first M3 Stuart light tank designating it a "Satan". The flame tank group was expanded with men from the 5th Marine tank battalion and 25 from the 117th CB.[87] The newly attached Seabees went over what the Army had created and concluded it was a little over engineered. They recommended reducing the number of moving parts from over a hundred to a half dozen.

V Amphibious Corps (VAC) wanted mechanized flamethrowing capabilities for the Marianas operations. VAC had ordered and received two shipments of Canadian

first and second echelon maintenance. First, for officers and enlisted of the Marine Corps and then later for the Army.[90][88] The Satans had a range of 40–80 yd (37–73 m) and were the first tanks to have the main armament swapped for flame throwers. They were divided between the 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions and made D Company of the tank battalions. They saw combat on Siapan and Tinian with Tinian being more favorable to their use.[88]

Mid-September the Army decided to officially form a CWS "Flame Thrower Group" with Col Unmacht requesting 56 additional Seabees.

EM2c Joseph Kissel are credited with designing the CB-H1. Installation required 150 lb (68 kg) of welding rod, 1100 electrical connections, and cost between $20,000-25,000 per tank[87](adj. for inflation $288,000-$360,000 in 2019).[citation needed] The CB-H1 flamethrower operated at 300 psi (20 atm) which gave it a range of 400 ft (120 m) and could transverse 270°.[87] This model was quickly superseded by the CB-H2 that was far better.[91] EM2c Kissel and SF1c J.T. Patterson accompanied the tanks to oversee maintenance during the battle. Kissel filled in as an assistant driver/gunner with tank crews on 20 days of the operation.[89]

In November 1944 the Fleet Marine Force had requested 54 mechanized flame throwers, nine for each of the Marine Corps Divisions[92] On Iwo the tanks all landed D-day and went into action on D+2, sparingly at first. As the battle progressed, portable flame units sustained casualty rates up to 92%, leaving few troops trained to use the weapon. More and more calls came for the Mark-1s to the point that the Marines became dependent upon the tanks and would hold up their assault until a flame tank was available.[84] Since each tank battalion had only four they were not assigned. Rather, they were "pooled" and would dispatch from their respective refueling locations as the battle progressed. For Okinawa the 10th Army decided that the entire 713th Tank Battalion would provisionally convert to flame. The Battalion was tasked to support both the Army and the Marine Corps assault. It was ordered to Schofield Barracks on Nov 10. There the Seabees supervised three officers and 60 enlisted of the 713th convert all 54 of their tanks to Ronsons.[92][93] The Ronsons did not have the range of either the CB-H1 or CB-H2.

Seabee Awards in the NCF

During WWII Seabees would be awarded 5

Navy Crosses, 33 Silver Stars, and over 2000 Purple Hearts
. Many would receive citations and commendations from the Marine Corps. The most decorated officer was Lt. Jerry Steward (CEC): Navy Cross, Purple Heart with 3 Gold Stars, Army Distinguished Unit Badge with Oak leaf and the Philippine Distinguished Service Star. Another CEC with an unusual set of awards was Capt. Wilfred L. Painter: Legion of Merit with Combat "V" and 4 Gold Stars.

Presidential Unit Citation USN/USMC
 :

U.S. Army Distinguished Unit Citation
 :

  • 40th CB Los Negros, 1st Cavalry Division [94]
  • 12 men 78th CB Los Negros, 1st Cavalry Division[94]

  Navy Unit Commendation

  • 3rd Naval Construction Detachment- Espiritu Santo[94]
  • 11th Special CB, Okinawa[94]
  • 31st CB, Iwo Jima, 5th Marine Shore party Regiment[94]
  • 33rd CB, Peleliu 1st Marine Pioneers[94]
  • 58th CB, Vella Lavella[94]
  • 62nd CB, Iwo Jima, V Amphibious Corps[94]
  • 71st CB, Okinawa[94]
  • 53 men 113th CB, PT boat Advance Base Construction Detachment, Balikpapan Borneo/Philippines[94]
  • 133rd CB, Iwo Jima, 23rd Marine Regiment[94]
  • 301st CB, Siapan, Tinian, Guam, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, Okinawa[94]
  • CBMU 515, Guam, 22nd Marine Regiment[94]
  • CBMU 617, Okinawa[94]
  • CBMU 624, Okinawa[94]
  • CBD 1006, Sicily[94]

   U.S.Army Meritorious Unit Commendation

  • 60th CB, Los Negros, 1st Cavalry Division[95]

Seabee Awards outside the NCF

Seabees serving outside the NCF received numerous awards as well. The Navy does not make a distinction for awards given inside or outside the NCF nor does it identify Seabees in the NCDUs or UDTs awards. Admiral Turner recommended over 60 Silver Stars and over 300

Bronze Stars with Combat "Vs" for the Seabees and other service members of UDTs 1-7[96] That was unpresendented in USN/USMC history.[96] At Guam and Tinian all UDT officers received silver stars and all enlisted received bronze stars with Combat "Vs".[97]

Presidential Unit Citation USN/USMC

  • 3rd Battalion 18th Marines (18th CB) Tarawa, 2nd Marine Division[94]
  • 14 men of 3rd Battalion 20th Marines (121st CB) Saipan and Tinian 4th Marine Division[94]
  • Naval Combat Demolition Units assault force O Normandy[94]
    • NCDU 11, NCDU 22, NCDU 23, NCDU 27, NCDU 41, NCDU 42, NCDU 43, NCDU 44, NCDU 45, NCDU 46, NCDU 128, NCDU 129, NCDU 130, NCDU 131, NCDU 133, NCDU 137
  • UDT 11 Bruni Bay, Borneo[94]
  • UDT 11 Balikpapan, Borneo[94]

  Navy Unit Commendation

  • 3rd Battalion 22nd Marines [1st Naval Construction Detachment(Bobcats), & A Company 3rd CB] Eniwetok[94]
  • ACORN 14, Tarawa, 2nd Marine Division[94]
  • Naval Combat Demolition Units force U Normandy[94]
    • NCDU 25, NCDU 26, NCDU 28, NCDU 29, NCDU 30, NCDU 127, NCDU 132, NCDU 134, NCDU 135, NCDU 136, NCDU 139
  • UDT 4, Guam[94]
  • UDT 4, Leyte[94]
  • UDT 4, Okinawa[94]
  • UDT 7, Marianas[94]
  • UDT 7, Western Carolina's[94]

The Seabee Record[98]

Post-war legacy

The Fighting Seabee Statue at Quonset Point, where the Seabee Museum and Memorial Park commemorates Camp Endicott which is on the National Register of Historic Places

During the war many of the bases the Seabees built were disassembled for the materials to be reused in new bases closer to the front. However, the airfields could not be moved and remained post war. The Seabees built or repaired dozens across the Pacific. Today, after upgrades and modernization, many are still in use or remain usable.

WWII Airfields in use today:

Pacific:

Atlantic:

Military installations WWII:

See also

Notes

  • On Johnson atoll the 1st Marine Defense Battalion detachment named each of its batteries. One them was made up of four 3" AA guns and called the "Seabee battery".[100]
  1. ^ "Cumshaw" ("Cumshaw definition". Merrian Webster.) "moonlight procurement",

References

  1. ^ Rogers, J. David. "USN Seabees During World War II" (PDF). Missouri University of Science and Technology. p. 8. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e History of the Seabees, Command Historian, Naval Facilities Engineering Command (Report). 1996. p. 13. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
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Bibliography

Further reading

External links

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