Visiting the US Navy Seabee Museum in Port Hueneme Navy Base in Ventura County to find out what made them so famous and why John Wayne would want to make a morale boosting tribute to these Construction Battalions sailors.
My father was a Seabee in WWII serving in the South Pacific. Most notably the New Guinea area as a heavy equipment operator. He never did open up about his experiences to me, and a part of me resented him for that. He passed away in 1996. I served with the Utah National Guard and deployed to Iraq in 2004-06. I now know why he kept some of those things to himself. I pray that he can forgive me.
I grew up literally a few blocks from this base. My grandfather was a Seabee during the Korean and Vietnam wars. My favorite thing I heard from him about his war experience was this. "While literally everyone else was trying to destroy everything they saw, we we're trying to build and maintain an infrastructure, while also being in combat. Guess who had the harder job?" Seabee's are hardcore. Oh!! You need a bridge built but there's an enemy company shooting at anything that moves. We'll get it done!
I remember visiting this museum frequently as a kid and it definitely didn't look anything like it does now. I think it was originally a couple of old quonset huts connected together but the thing that I mostly remember were all the mannequins that looked like they could come alove any moment. I see they still have them, and I think I even recognize one of them. I think the west side of the building had a gift shop with the one lone actual human-person you'd see in the museum.
Great video, I own a ww2 Seabees Navy Blue uniform with insignia as I collect ww2 militaria so watching your video was of great interest thank you, cheers Murray from Australia 🇦🇺
UT2 '66-'70, A-School Hueneme. GTMO '67. MCB 74 (Gulfport)/ChuLai '68-'69. From one SewerRat to another...Thanks The Seabees gave me my livelihood for the next 50 years.
My Father, Col T.B. Eustis Ret. served on Guadalcanal, in the Sea Bees Naval Construction Battalion 1942. Constructing The Henderson Air Field and the Air Base at The Field. His Tentmate was Killed By a Japanese Infantry soldier who infiltrated his Tent, While my Father Slept in His cot next to him. He never heard the struggle going on beside him awakening to find his Bunkmate dead and the soldier Shot by his buddy. My Father went on to Serve in The European Theater under Eisenhower in The United States Army Transportation Corps. Known as The Red Ball Express. This Video is most interesting.
