Seabee's
#1

Hi all but especially Marion since I'm hoping she can direct me to the right spot. My uncle was a Seabee in the Pacific during WWII. I wrote to him asking some general questions regarding his service in the hopes he will tell me of his time there.

 

Are there any sites you've run across that have any details concerning the Seabee's and their involvement in WWII? Just curious, I tried Google and get a few but nothing really that informative. Thanks for any help.

 

Ron

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#2

Good morning Ron:

 

Searching on some units of WWII can be a real pain! :wacko:

 

But I do have a few books for you to look at and they can be found on Amazon.com amongst others:

  • Can Do!: The Story of the Seabees (Bluejacket Books Series)-William Bradford Huie
  • From Omaha to Okinawa: The Story of the Seabees (Bluejacket Books)-William Bradford Huie
Here are a few sites that I will be adding to the Links Page soon too:

 

The Battle of Saipan -which contains many Seebee resources

 

Great WWII Seebee Poster

 

Keeping the Seebees Sober - A personal account

 

Operation Seebees

 

War in the Pacific - Chronology of the Pacific

 

A Fighting Seebee Remembers

 

93rd Seebee Battalion

 

133rd Seebees

 

CEC/Seabee Historical Foundation

 

Seebee Veterans Association

 

Black Aviation Engineer Units

 

Navy Seebee Guestbook

 

US Navy Seebees Ring- included over 40 sites and many related to WWII Seebees

 

How's that for a start my friend? Hey, do you have any specifics on your uncle, even a unit number? Let me know and I can probably find out some SPECIFICS for you.

 

Your sleuth in arms... :pdt34:

Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"
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#3

Damn fine effort there Marion, thanks so much for that.

 

As for the Uncle, I've just started on him, sent the letter a week or so ago. My Mom said she mentioned it to him a while ago and he said that he some documentation regarding his time in service so I'm expecting something from him soon. I'd like to post "his story" as soon as I get enough of the details to put it all together. I asked him for some of the details of his unit as a start so I begin some research and hoepfully we can go from there. When I get started I'll happily take you up on that offer of assistance.

 

Thanks again.

 

Ron :pdt34:

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#4

You are very welcome. I SO enjoy doing this kind of research. I will also look up info in my Army Corps of Engineer volumes too. Great resources.

 

I look forward to hearing what you discover and then we can create a page for your dear ol' uncle. It will be our first Seebee page. Yipee!

 

My absolute pleasure because I love helping others, as so many have helped me in my quest. :pdt34:

Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"
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#5

Hi Marion, just wanted to update this a bit. I finally heard back from my Uncle, seems he was in Bougainville. I've come across some good stuff on the invasion there just haven't had much of chance to sift thru it yet. He sent me an accomodation that his unit (actually the whole 3rd Marine Division) received for their actions there. He was part of the Naval Construction Battalion, First Marine Amphibious Corps. Tried to do a cursory search for some information on that but came up with nothing.

 

He also sent me some information on his half-brother who was a ambulance driver and received the Bronze Star for his actions at Okinawa & the Ryukyu Islands. Pretty good stuff there.

 

As I find out more or if I find out more, I'll keep this updated. Thanks again for your help Marion.

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#6

Wow, that is so cool. I am very happy that you were able to get in touch with him. It's so important that you and I get as much info as we can on our fathers and uncles, etc.

 

Good to hear from you and I will see what else I can find out about your uncle now that I have more info. Please keep in touch and consider having me do a page for him in the near future. It would be a wonderful addition and I'm sure it would make him proud. :pdt34:

Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"
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#7

Need some advice/help. Based on the two attached documents, is there any way to find out more about the individual?

 

Letter.JPG

Citation.JPG

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#8

Well NARA might have his records, unfortunately they will only release those records to next of kin. But, since you have his name, rank, serial number etc. I can try and look up some info for you as far as his unit is concerned.

 

I will keep you posted. ;)

Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"
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#9

Thanks Marion, I appreciate that. I looked into NARA, need to submit a form to retrieve his records but I don't have all the information necessary to fill it out. Literally, these documents are all I have and my Uncle (his half brother) wouldn't have the information either. I'm going to fill out as much as I can and send it in hopes of it being enough, guess we'll see.

 

Thanks again, you're the best :pdt34:

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