From the earliest days in World War 2 during the South Pacific Island hopping campaigns, building airfields, fixing holed up runways. Fighting in the jungles of Vietnam, building barracks, water plants in OEF and OIF and more the United States Navy Seabees We Build We Fight is every part of who these incredible Sailors are.
John Wayne and the Fighting Seabees
Hollywood has never wavered when recognizing the heroes of our US military and without question the Seabees have been cast and crew in Hollywood films as well. In 1944 John Wayne was featured as “Wedge Donovan” along with his best girl, Susan Hayward.
The legendary John Wayne would later command Green Berets in the film The Green Berets filmed in 1968 at the height of America’s involvement in Vietnam and during the year of the Tet Offensive. John Wayne leads his team and defends his FOB with the help of some Seabees that clear the dense foliage and Vietnamese jungle to make it easier to see and fire upon attacking North Vietnam regulars and Vietcong in their black pajamas.
Hit them with the Foo Gas!
The Seabees prepared perimeters, set noise makers and even constructed pits lined with gas that set attackers on fire when they approached the wire.
The men and women of the Seabees are very respected by all forces. They enter every war, battle or conflict, normally ahead of the main troops, often building and clearing so as to give the US Marines, soldiers and airmen a selfish haven from the enemy. They contract FOBs (Forward Observation Bases) and more.
More Than a Construction Crew
You might pass by a construction site in your downtown area and see the hardhats, yellow and orange florescent shirts and hoodies wading in and out of the construction project but what you will not see is one of them carrying a rifle or handling explosive like you might a Seabee. The Seabee rates are as follows:
- Builder (BU)
- Construction Electrician (CE)
- Construction Mechanic (CM)
- Engineering Aide (EA)
- Equipment Operator (EO)
- Steelworker (SW)
- Utilitiesman (UT)
Each highly specialized and trained Seabee performs a myriad of work related responsibilities within each US Navy rate. They are a highly specialized group of US Navy Sailors often assigned to battalions, often called Naval Mobile Construction Battalions or NMCB’s for short.
Seabees 80th Anniversary
This coming March 5th, 2022 will mark the 80th Anniversary of the Seabees. This is a monumental birthday because it reaches back to the Second World War and the incredible sacrifices our Seabees made then and the decades of incredible sacrifice they have made since then.
How old are the Seabees?
With roots dating back to World War II, the Seabees were formally established on March 5, 1942, to meet the Navy’s growing need to build bases, camps and other structures as part of the war effort. In the over seven decades since its founding, Seabees have gone on to serve in most major U.S. conflicts.
Navy Crow Constructs Coins for Seabees
For over 15 years the US Navy veterans of Navy crow have been designing some of the most detailed Seabee art for coins and shirts during this time. They have honored the Seabee traditions with historical designs of the all too famous Semper Fortis and Bee commonly found within the the Seabee uniform device but also have taken on a more contemporary approach to this stinging bee.
