Armed Forces in WW2 were dependent upon the construction speed and skills of the Navy Seabees to move their efforts forward. In December of 1942, the 35th U.S. Naval Construction Battalion embarked for the South Pacific. They would divide into two teams and build airstrips on Espiritu in the New Hebrides and on Banika in the Russell Islands.
After a rehabilitation leave in New Zealand, the battalion returned to Banika before being reassigned to Manus in the Admiralty Islands. They would arrive on Manus shortly after it's capture from the Japanese, and build ammunition dumps, warehouses and The Naval Headquarters. After 24 months in the South Pacific war zone, they would return to San Francisco on Thanksgiving 1944 for leave.
reprinted from May, 2010
One of the most under appreciated units in WWII. My late father-in-law was in the Seabees and came back after 4 years suffering from what became a life-long case of 'shell shock'. Of course today today it's a 'syndrome', but back in WWII is was deemed a result of 'weakness.' What a travesty. And he was among thousands of WWII veterans whose records were 'lost' and was denied service-connected benefits. None-the-less he was a proud american to his dying day.
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