Happy Anniversary Seabees~05 March 09

[thedrifter]

Happy Anniversary Seabees~05 March 09



The 67th Anniversary Of The Seabees

The Seabees are the Construction Battalions (CBs) of the United States Navy. The Seabees have a history of building bases, bulldozing and paving thousands of miles of roadway and airstrips, and accomplishing myriad other construction projects in a wide variety of military theatres dating back to World War II.

On March 5 1942, all Construction Battalion personnel were officially named Seabees by the Navy Department. The official motto of the Seabees is "Construimus, Batuimus" – translated into English as "We Build, We Fight." The Seabees have several unofficial mottos as well. Their best known unofficial motto is the simple phrase "Can Do!", featured on much of their promotional material. The "Song of the Seabees" was written in 1943. The lyrics were composed by Sam M. Lewis and the musical composition was written by Peter DeRose. The first verse of the song, however, is usually the only verse to be sung or played at official functions.


*Ratings*

There are seven source ratings for the Seabee community:
Construction Mechanics (CM) maintain and repair the construction machinery used by the Seabees, such as power tools and heavy equipment.
Equipment Operators (EO) operate heavy construction equipment and coordinate rigging operations.
Utilitiesmen (UT) install, maintain, and operate a building's mechanical and fluid systems.
Construction Electricians (CE) install a building's electrical distribution and emergency power systems.
Builders (BU) are responsible for general construction, including carpentry, concrete, masonry, and finish work.
Steel Workers (SW) are responsible for erecting structural steel and reinforcing steel in concrete construction.
Engineering Aides (EA) are responsible for construction surveying, drafting, and project estimation.

At the Master Chief Petty Officer level, each of the ratings merge with at least one other ratings.
Construction Mechanics and Equipment Operators become Equipmentman Master Chiefs (EQCM).
Construction Electricians merge into the Utilitiesman rating, although the rating's abbreviation is changed to UCCM.
Builders, Steel Workers, and Engineering Aides become Constructionmen Master Chiefs (CUCM).


The first decorated Seabee hero of the war, Seaman 2nd Class Lawrence C. "Bucky" Meyer, USNR, was among the Seabees of the 6th battalion who worked on Henderson Field. In his off-time, he salvaged and repaired an abandoned machine gun, which, on 3 October 1942, he used to shoot down a Japanese Zero fighter making a strafing run. For this exploit, he was awarded the Silver Star. It was, however, a posthumous award, for 13 days after shooting down the plane, "Bucky" Myer was killed in action when the gasoline barge on which he was working was struck by Japanese naval gunfire.

**Seabee Video**

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyiu0DuTgYE


Another milestone in Seabee history was in the making in 1943 -- but the location was Hollywood rather than the South Pacific. Made in 1943 and released in early 1944, the motion picture The Fighting Seabees, starring John Wayne and Susan Hayward, made "Seabee" a household word during the latter part of the war. This picture also began a relationship between John Wayne and the Seabees which was to last more than three decades. In fact, John Wayne's last motion picture was Home for the Seabees, a Navy documentary filmed in 1977 at the Naval Construction Battalion Center, Port Hueneme, California. This was most appropriate, since the exteriors of The Fighting Seabees, had been filmed in and around the same base during World War II.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036824/



The Song of the Seabees
(1943)
Words by Sam M. Lewis
Music by Peter de Rose


We're the Seabees of the Navy
We can build and we can fight
We'll pave the way to victory
And guard it day and night
And we promise that we remember
The “Seventh of December”


We're the Seabees of the Navy
Bees of the Seven Seas


The Navy wanted men
That's where we came in
Mister Brown and Mister Jones
the Owens, Cohens, and Flynn
The Navy wanted more
Of uncle Sammy's kin
So we all joined up
And brother we're in to win



*Seabees Today*

Seabees continue to play a major role in the Global War on Terrorism. In support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Seabees repaired runway facilities at Camp Rhino and Kandahar in Afghanistan. Twenty-six Seabee units deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and 15 Seabees were killed. The construction of multiple 20-acre aircraft-parking aprons, munitions storage areas, a 48,000-square-foot concrete pad, bridges, a 1,200-person camp and repaired various roads have been proven invaluable to coalition forces.

There are currently about 18,000 Navy Seabees serving worldwide. Two thirds of today's Seabees are reservists. Active duty Seabees serve in eight active Battalions, two Amphibious Construction Battalions (ACB's) and two Underwater Construction Teams (UCT's).

The Seabee reserves are organized into 12 battalions, two support units, and four regiments located throughout the United States.

With a primary mission of providing continuing construction in a war zone, the Seabees are ready to deploy on short notice to any point on the globe. Upon arrival, they work night and day.

Seabees also conduct humanitarian missions worldwide, including earthquake and hurricane recovery efforts in the United States.

The true spirit of the Seabees is their "Can Do" philosophy. It’s a timeless belief representing Seabees past, present, and future.

Ellie

"WITH WILLING HEARTS AND SKILLFUL HANDS,
THE DIFFICULT WE DO AT ONCE,
THE IMPOSSIBLE TAKES A BIT LONGER
WITH COMPASSION FOR OTHERS
WE BUILD - WE FIGHT FOR PEACE WITH FREEDOM"
Seabee Memorial, Arlington, VA