Item Description
Original Items: Only One Grouping Available. Now this is an incredible grouping attributed to a member of the 69th Naval Construction Battalion during WWII. The grouping is full of wonderful items such as personal uniform items, photos as well as NSDAP related bringback items. The best feature of the grouping is the wood trunk itself, which is beautifully painted with the Seabee “Bee” on the lid and on the bottom:
69th SEABEES
"OMAHA BEACH"
ENGLAND
FRANCE
BELGIUM
HOLLAND
SCOTLAND
GERMANY
The 69th Naval Construction Battalion saw service in Canada, England, Scotland, France and Germany. It is remembered as the battalion that closed Omaha Beach, made the longest overland movement of any construction battalion in World War II and became the first Seabee unit to relocate by air.
The 69th was the only CB to set foot on German soil. They also were the first CB to deploy by air. They were flown to Bremen in April tasked to repair damaged buildings and the power grid for the allied occupation force. Making Bremerhaven harbor operational also fell to them. One detachment's project was the U.S. Navy Hq in Germany at Frankfurt-am-Main. By August 1945 the battalion was back in England concluding NCF Atlantic operations.
The items in this grouping include:
- Navy Jumper Named to “C.F. BAXTER”: Great condition but unfortunately we have not been able to locate any solid service information on this young sailor, making for a wonderful research opportunity.
- Work Coveralls: Stained but in good condition
- Work Gloves
- Dress Cap and Winter Cap
- Photos of Various Sizes
- Small Life Ring Picture Frame with Photo from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
- “Trench Whistle”
- Small 48 Star American Flag
- Unused Luftwaffe Sports shirt embroidered patch
- Small NSDAP Party Pennant
- Razor Set With Case
- Various Small NSDAP/HEER/Luftwaffe Insignia such as Rank and Tinnies
- x2 Pistol Belts, with a white one for shore patrol
- Seabees Notebook/calendar
- Various French and German Paper Money
And much more!
This is a perfect grouping for the US Navy Seabee collector, especially based off the fact that it is attributed to the only battalion to operate in Germany during WWII!
Comes more than ready for further research and display.
The need for a militarized construction force became evident after the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor. On December 28 Radm. Moreell requested authority to create Naval Construction Battalions. The Bureau of Navigation gave authorization on 5 January 1942. Three Battalions were officially authorized on 5 March 1942. Enlistment was voluntary until December when the Selective Service System became responsible for recruitment. Seabee Training Centers were named for former heads of the Civil Engineer Corps: Radm. Mordecai T. Endicott, Radm. Harry H. Rousseau, Radm. Richard C. Hollyday, Radm. Charles W. Park and RADM. Robert Peary. One NCTC was named for the first CEC killed in action, Lt. Irwin W. Lee and Lt. (jg) George W. Stephenson of the 24th CB.
An issue for BuDocks was CB command. Navy regulations stated that command of naval personnel was limited to line officers of the fleet. BuDocks deemed it essential that CBs be commanded by CEC officers trained in construction. The Bureau of Naval Personnel strongly objected to this violation of Naval tradition. Radm. Moreell took the issue directly to the Secretary of the Navy. In March the Secretary gave the CEC complete command of all men assigned to CB units. With CBs authorized and the command question settled, BuDocks then had to deal with recruitment, training, military organization structure plus organizing the logistics to make it all work. That all happened quickly. Due to the exigencies of war there was a great deal of "improvisation", a quality that became synonymous with Seabees in general.
"At Naval Construction Training Centers (NCTC) and Advanced Base Depots (ABD) on both coasts, men learned: trade skills, military discipline, and advanced combat training. Although technically designated "support", Seabees frequently found themselves under fire with the Marines. After completing boot training at Camp Allen VA. and later Camp Peary VA, the men were formed into CBs or other smaller CB units. The first five battalions were deployed immediately upon completion of training due to the backlog of projects. Battalions that followed were sent to an ABDs at either Davisville, Rhode Island, or Port Hueneme, California to be staged prior to shipping out. Basic military training was done by the Navy while the Marine Corps provided advanced military training at Camp Peary, Camp Lejeune or Camp Pendelton. About 175,000 Seabees were staged out of Port Hueneme during the war. Units that had seen extended service in the Pacific were returned to the R&R Center at Camp Parks, Shoemaker, CA. There units were reorganized, re-deployed or decommissioned. Men were given 30-day leaves and later, those eligible were discharged. The same was done at the Davisville, Rhode Island, for the east coast."
From California, battalions attached to III Amphibious Corps or V Amphibious Corps, were staged to the Moanalua Ridge Seabee encampment in the Hawaiian Territory. It covered 120 acres and had 20 self-contained areas for CB units. Within each area were 6 two-story barracks served by a 1,200 man galley and messhall plus 8 standard quonsets for offices, dispensary, officers quarters and a single large quonset for the ships store. The entire facility had water, sewer, electricity, pavements, armory and a large outdoor theater. A second CB encampment of 4 additional 1000 man Quonsit areas was built on Iroquois Point. Battalions attached to the 7th Amphibious Fleet were staged at Camp Seabee next to the ABCD in Brisbane, Australia then to other US Naval Advance Bases.
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