Seabee Book

In 1942, the navy sought a location for an advance base on the West Coast to ship construction materiel, equipment, and men into World War II's Pacific theater. Port Hueneme's deepwater harbor, rail system, and rural setting made it the ideal site from which to send 20 million measurement tons of war materiel and a quarter of a million men onto island specks that later became headlines: Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and the Philippines. Seabees later deployed from Port Hueneme to serve in the Korean, Vietnam, Desert Shield/Desert Storm, and Iraqi conflicts, as well as in peacetime, for more than 60 years. Charged with building air bases, ports, combat camps, hospitals, and other support facilities as part of military and humanitarian efforts around the world, the Seabees remain at home in Port Hueneme.

The story of the Seabees by the famous author William Bradford Huie. This was Huie's first book about the Seabees. He wrote it while in the Navy Seabees. He was an assistant to Vice Admiral Ben Moreell, the "Father" of the Seabees.The Seabees were born of dire need at a time of national peril. The country was stunned by the blow at Pearl Harbor. Most of the men who joined theSeabees could have avoided military service [because of their age] had they chosen to do so, but it is a characteristic of the Seabees that they have a highly developed sense of individual responsibility to “get this thing over with.” Lieutenant Huie is to be complimented on the work which he has performed in setting forth the accomplishments and ideals of the Seabees and the spirit by which they are animated. This spirit can be summarized by quoting from an answer to a questionnaire distributed to a battalion of Seabees by their Chaplain. Among other questions was this one: “What can we do to make you more content?” and the answer was: “Nothing, I got in this outfit to give, not to get.” ––Ben Moreell Vice Admiral, Civil Engineer Corps, U.S. Navy

Seabee Cruise Book-133 Naval Construction Battalion 1943-1945. The 133rd NCB landed with the first waves of Marines on Iwo Jima Feb 19, 1945. The 133rd NCB suffered the highest casualty rate of any Seabee Battalion to date, 43% casualties. Cruise Books are Informal and nonofficial in nature (they sometimes are compared to college yearbooks) These publications offer insights into the daily activities and attitudes from the perspective of a unit's crew. Cruise books dating from the World War II years are rare today, but they are of special note because of the intense interest by veterans, writers, and scholars in a conflict that involved the entire American nation and engulfed most of the rest of the world. Care has been taken to render the best copy possible. However, quality of this book is based on the condition of the original, and current technology available. All proceeds from the sale of this book are donated to non-profit organizations.

The U.S. Naval Construction Battalion Center at Davisville, Rhode Island, is first remembered as the original "Home of the Atlantic Seabees." During World War II, 100 battalions as well as dozens of other U.S. Navy "Builder-Fighter" units were formed, outfitted, trained, and prepared for overseas deployment. Here, in the first photographic history of the base, is the story of the men and women who came to Davisville and their legacy of superb accomplishments in the service of their country. Established on February 27, 1942, the base was designated to manufacture and ship overseas materials and equipment and to outfit and embark construction battalions and other naval units. Between 1942 and 1994, when the base was closed, the Seabees participated in every war involving the United States. The Quonset Hut and the Davisville Pontoons were both developed at the Davisville Seabee Center. The base has schooled and trained thousands of officers and tens of thousands of Seabees.

The story of the U.S. Navy's Construction Battalions during World War II.

 Hoping to stay out of Vietnam, David Lyman joined the U.S. Naval Reserve to avoid the draft. By summer 1967 he was with a SeaBee unit on a beach in Chu Lai. A reporter in civilian life, Lyman was assigned to Military Construction Battalion 71 as a photojournalist. He documented the lives of the hard-working and hard-drinking SeaBees as they engineered roads, runways, heliports and base camps for the troops. The author was shot at, almost blown up by a road mine, and spent nights in a mortar pit as rockets bombarded a nearby Marine runway. He rode on convoys through Viet Cong territory to photograph villages outside "The Wire." The stories and photographs Lyman published as editor of the battalion's newspaper, The Transit, form the basis of this memoir.

The divers moved around the other side of the boat and entered the main cabin. Jack began searching the inside storage compartments. He found what he wanted in a box, a Mark 79 pencil flare. He looked out and saw the creature hovering over the stern. He ignited one of the flares and flashed it at the creature. The eel lunged at the flare and Kimo ducked down into the bottom of the boat. Jack let go of the flare when the creature charged forward. The eel engulfed the spattering red light and Jack grabbed at his hand. It was still intact. Both men were clinging to the deck of the cabin and didn't have the courage to check on the status of the intruder. They looked at each other and breathed deeply. "O'shaughnessy, are you missing any fingers or arms or a leg or anything else?" Kimo said and thought a little humor might alleviate the stress. Jack held up his hands. "Huh?" He spat. The eel disappeared and left the two Seabee's shaken and weak kneed. Kimo spun around and gave Jack a dirty look. Jack s hrugged his shoulders and said, "It likes sparkles, hell, I didn't know." He said. "Get us out of here Beaudette, over." Kimo knew his command would be followed and quickly.

American Baby Boomers––of the 1960's––are often portrayed in the media as either in the mud of Woodstock or in the mud of Vietnam. The truth is, just a small percentage––3% total––were in either place. Most Baby Boomers were living normal lives doing normal things. But for those who took an active part in the Cold War––which we won––and which included Vietnam––this book is dedicated to you. Book includes the records of the 13-man STAT TEAMS (later known as Seabee Teams) that served in Vietnam. The Navy Seabees were some of the first to show up for Vietnam's struggle against communism. In 1954, President Ngo Dinh Diem wrote a letter to President Eisenhower asking for military and economic aid. In 1954 and 1955 an estimated one million refugees (mostly persecuted Catholics) moved from the Communist State of North Vietnam to the south (8% of the North's population). The Seabees assisted them during their “Passage to Freedom”.In 1956, Seabees were assigned to survey Vietnam's roads. There weren't many. The Seabees travelled by jeep and on foot with pack-mules. The surveyors found that the bombers of World War II, the guerrillas of Viet Minh, and the newly emerging guerrilla groups of the Viet Cong had destroyed most of the bridges and sabotaged what few roads were left.Beginning in 1963, Seabee Teams, with Secret Clearances, arrived in Vietnam to assist the U.S. Army's Special Forces in the CIA funded Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) program, and to help the Vietnamese help themselves.The Seabees constructed Special Forces Camps and outposts, airfields for the SF STOL-class Caribou aircraft, and built connecting roads. These Seabee Teams also helped the Vietnamese to better their living conditions through thousands of projects in rural areas. The Seabee Teams in Vietnam also earned Purple Hearts, Silver Stars, Bronze Stars and many other medals. One Seabee Team member, Marvin Sheilds, earned the Congressional Medal Of Honor while fighting alongside with the Special Forces at Dong Xoi.In 1963, only approximately 10,000 Americans were in Vietnam and very little infrastructure existed. This was before the eventual arrival of 2.1 million––over time––Americans. Given the limited infrastructure––with hardly any ports, roads and airstrips––it would have been near impossible to get the 2.1 million eventual Americans––along with their equipment (Beans, Bullets, And Black Oil)––delivered to South Vietnam and support them. Many Vietnam Vets––including this writer––showed up after 1965. Most of us took it for granted that the air bases we landed in, roads we drove on, helo-pads we mounted out from and the camps we lived in, or passed through, and the water and food and fuel storage were somehow always there––or most likely didn't give it a thought. But long before we arrived, military and civilian engineers were busy preparing the “ground” to make it possible to fight a war; and begin attempts to win the hearts and minds of the South Vietnamese.A recent travel guide to Vietnam mentioned the superior roads and infrastructure in the Southern portion of Vietnam––as opposed to North Vietnam–– due to the American presence there during the Vietnam War.––Kenneth E. Bingham, Seabee volunteer, Feb, 2013

The Battalion Artist explores the three years, three months, and three days of Nat Bellantoni's life on the Pacific front in World War II. He had known since childhood that he wanted to be--that he in fact was--an artist. When he packed his seabag and took leave of his family and his sweetheart to go to war, he knew that the best way to manage the narrative of his life and to cope with the ups and downs of his feelings was to create images--visual records that spoke of what he felt, as well as what he saw. In this stunning book filled with authentic World War II images--many in full color--we see and feel the intensity of wartime life through the eyes of a talented young artist who was also a US Navy Seabee. Natale Bellantoni, a young art student from Boston, sailed across the Pacific in 1943-45 and returned home with a sea chest of art and photographs documenting his experiences in New Caledonia, New Guinea, the Admiralty Islands, and Okinawa. His subject matter was his daily life: endless weeks at sea, harbors and ships, men at work, airstrips, the local countryside, and the view of enemy planes overhead at night from his fox hole. Now collected in a lavishly illustrated volume, his watercolors, sketches, and photographs offer a window onto one of the most significant moments in American history. The Battalion Artist explores the World War II experiences of Nat Bellantoni, but it reflects the story of an entire generation.

As communist forces close in on the isolated Marine outpost at Khe Sanh, the 1968 Tet Offensive explodes across Vietnam. Shot down in Hue City while scouting for bases to move the 1st Air Cavalry to break the siege, U.S. Navy Seabee Officer Kevin Corcoran takes shelter with South Vietnamese holdouts. Intense enemy fire drives off rescue helicopters, leaving Kevin and a wounded friend isolated in Vietcong territory. As battle rages around him, Kevin ponders the fate of his Vietnamese lover, Linh, whom he knows is on a Vietcong hit list. To ease his anguish, he reflects on his battalion's efforts to build the bases, roads and air facilities the combat forces need to operate in an undeveloped country.U.S. Marines rush in to retake Hue. Trained for counterinsurgency warfare, the young “grunts” quickly adapt to urban combat and begin to wrest the old imperial capital from the North Vietnamese Army. Will they get to Kevin in time? And what fate awaits Linh at the hands of the vicious enemy? Asphalt and Blood is replete with scenes of fierce combat, Seabee ingenuity and “can do” spirit, and whirlwind wartime romance.