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This Week in Seabee History: May 31 - June 6

June 1, 2020 | By ggranger

Consolidated by U.S. Navy Seabee Museum, Naval History and Heritage Command

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VIRIN: 160606-N-ZY182-2429

May 31

May 31-June 4, 1942: 10th NCB commissioned at Naval Construction Training Center (NCTC) Camp Allen, Norfolk, Virginia.

1943: Construction Battalion Maintenance Units (CBMUs) 509, 510 and 511 commissioned. 7th and 8th NCR commissioned. Construction Battalion Detachment (CBD) 1004 inactivated. CBDs 1007, 1008 and 1021 commissioned.

1944: ACORN 7 arrived at Emirau. CBMUs 591 and 603 commissioned. CBMUs 516 and 526 inactivated. 1st Naval Construction Brigade inactivated. 5th Naval Construction Brigade commissioned. 27th, 28th, 29th NCRs commissioned. 29th Special NCB commissioned at NCTC Camp Peary, Magruder, Virginia. CBD 1025 inactivated.

1945: ACORN 13 arrived at Samar. ACORN 45 arrived at Sangley Point, Manila. 148th NCB commissioned at NCTC Camp Endicott, Davisville, Rhode Island. CBDs 1086 and 1090 commissioned.

1946: CBMUs 503, 607, 616 and 634 inactivated. 34th NCR inactivated. CBD 1085 inactivated. CBDs 1151, 1154, 1157, 1158 and 1159 commissioned.

1946: 48th NCR inactivated.

1947: CBMU 630 inactivated. CBDs 1156 and 1158 inactivated. CBD 1512 activated.

1952: CBD 1523 inactivated.

1965: 30th NCR reactivated.

1967: NMCB 5 main body moved from Vietnam to CBC, Port Hueneme, California.

1968: NMCB 40 s advance party of one officer and 27 enlisted men departed RVN aboard a military Airlift Command Aircraft C-141 for return to Construction Battalion Center (CBC), Davisville, Rhode Island.

1968: Cmdr C.J. Mathews, CEC, relieved Cmdr. W.W. DeGroot III, CEC, as commanding officer of NMCB 58 at change of command ceremonies held at the 2nd Republic of Korea (ROK) Marine Brigade drill field, Hoi An, RVN.

1971: Cmdr. Robert A. Schade Jr. was relieved as commanding officer, NMCB 5, by Cmdr. Robert J. McHugh Jr., CEC.


June 1

1944: 11th NCR inactivated.

1945: 114th NCB inactivated at Attu and reconstituted as CBD 1161. 134th NCB activated in the field at Guam.

1946: 140th NCB inactivated at Manus.

1965: At Chu Lai, RVN, NMCB 10 constructed a 4,000-foot aluminum plank Short Airfield for Tactical Support (SATS) for Marine Air Group 12. The first eight A-4s landed at the field on June 1, with the first air strikes launched hours later in the day.

1966: The 3rd Naval Construction Brigade, which gained renown in the Southwest Pacific area during World War II, was reestablished in Saigon, RVN, to exercise operational control over the NCRs and other directly assigned Naval Construction Force units. The brigade was commanded by Rear Adm. Robert R. Wooding, CEC.

1966: Construction Battalion Unit (CBU) 201 was commissioned at Davisville, Rhode Island, and assigned to the 21st NCR. CBU 201 would later serve in repeated deployments to the Amundsen Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica.

1968: Seabee Teams 0101 and 0102 graduated from Seabee Team Training and were assigned to Officer in Charge, Construction Battalions, Pacific Detachment, RVN, deploying to Cha Phu and Phu Vinh, respectively.

1968: Seabee Teams 0601, 0602 and 4001 arrived in Davisville, Rhode Island, from RVN for reassignment to their respective mobile construction battalions.

1969: Seabee Team 7102 deployed to RVN for assignment to Officer in Charge, Construction Battalions, Pacific Detachment for duty at Phan Rang.

2010: Capt. Katherine L. Gregory, CEC, promoted to Rear Admiral (RDML), becoming the first female CEC flag officer.


June 2

1942: Advance Base Depot (ABD_ Gulfport and Camp Hollyday, Mississippi, established.

June 2-3, 1942: Attu and Kiska, Alaska, were occupied by the Japanese after their unsuccessful attack on Dutch Harbor. Approximately 2,000 Japanese composed the Attu garrison, and the main installation at Kiska was several times larger and better developed.

1945: 130th NCB, Okinawa, (Operator) Machinist Mate 2nd Class John Wiebe and (Helper) Gunner s Mate 2nd Class Harry Lehr were operating their bulldozer in a road near the beach. Suddenly they and their machine dropped out of sight. When workers nearby looked around all was emptiness except for a gaping hole. After recovering from their astonishment they walked over and looked into the chasm. About 15 feet down was the vanished dozer with Wiebe still at the controls with a surprised look on his face. Demolition crews blasted a ramp and the cat was driven out and back to work by Wiebe, who received only minor lacerations from his experience.

1966: Cmdr. Paul R. Gates, CEC, relieved Cmdr. Richard T. Hardy, CEC, as commanding officer of NMCB 1.

1967: Cmdr. L.D. Lawson, commanding officer, NMCB 7, assumed operational control of Camp Adenir from Cmdr. E.J. Williams, commanding officer, NMCB 5.

1969: Seabee Team 7103 was assigned to the 21st NCR for 18 weeks of specialized training.


June 3

1965: The main body of NMCB 9 departed Port Hueneme, California, aboard the USNS Blatchford for Vietnam. This was the first battalion to depart from the continental limits of the United States for duty in Vietnam. Previously, NMCB 10 had departed from Okinawa and NMCB 3 had departed from Guam. NMCB 9 arrived in Da Nang on 27 June.

1968: Cmdr. C.J. Mathews, commanding officer, NMCB 58, assumed control of Camp Haskins North from Cmdr. R.M. Fluss, commanding officer, NMCB 4. The NMCB 4 flag was transferred to Camp Evans. NMCB 4 personnel moved to Camp Evans between 27 May and 4 June.

1968: Cmdr. William E. Burdick, CEC, relieved Lt. Cmdr. H.A. Holmes as commanding officer, CBMU 301.

1968: NMCB 4 redeployed from Camp Haskins North to Camp Evans, RVN.

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Photo By: Lance Cpl Mark Morrow
VIRIN: 180531-N-ZY182-6638
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Photo By: MC1 Dave Gordon
VIRIN: 180531-N-ZY182-6639

June 5

1967: Main body of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 58 arrived at Davisville, Rhode Island from Da Nang, Republic of Vietnam (RVN).

1968: NMCB 74 advance party, consisting of three officers and 85 enlisted personnel, arrived at Camp Shields, Chu Lai, RVN.

2009: Capt. Louis Cariello, Civil Engineer Corps (CEC), relieved Capt. Robert McLean III, CEC, as commander, 22nd Naval Construction Regiment (NCR) at Naval Construction Battalion Center (NCBC) Gulfport, Mississippi.

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Photo By: Lt. j.g. Jeromy L. Pittman
VIRIN: 180531-N-ZY182-6635

June 6

1942: 9th Naval Construction Battalion (NCB) commissioned at Naval Construction Training Center (NCTC) Camp Allen, Norfolk, Virginia.

1943: Naval Combat Demolition Unit (NCDU) training school established at Amphibious Training Base Fort Pierce, Florida. Volunteers assembled for the first classes came from the Bomb and Mine Disposal School in Washington, D.C. and from Camp Peary, Virginia (both Seabees and CEC officers).

1944: In the initial stage of the Allied invasion of Normandy, Seabees formed the nucleus of naval combat demolition units. Each demolition unit was under the command of a junior officer of the Navy Civil Engineer Corps. Team members placed explosive charges beneath the underwater steel barriers that prevented thousands of ships from reaching shore. As they were placing the charges the teams were under constant fire from the enemy. Whole teams were wiped out when shells hit their explosives. The men ignored the dangers and kept at their work. When the explosive charges were placed, survivors remained on the beach or swam back to the landing ships waiting in the channel. The explosives went off on schedule and huge holes were blown into the German defenses. Ships and landing craft darted for the shore through gaps in the barriers. Thousands of Seabees were soon manhandling their pontoon causeways onto the beach to let the infantry charge ashore.

1967: Khe Sanh came under enemy mortar attack. Builder (Light) 3rd Class C.A. Hubbard was killed in action; six men were wounded in action.

1969: Equipment Operator 1st Class R.R. Anderson, Regimental (21st NCR) Seabee Team instructor, drowned while participating in training field operations at Buck Hill Scout Reservation, Rhode Island.

1969: 21st NCR Detail Yankee of Underwater Construction Team (UCT) 1 departed Davisville, Rhode Island for Santa Maria, Azores Island for underwater construction in support of NATO-sponsored Project AFAR (Azores Fixed Acoustic Range).

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