Thurman, just wanted to thank you again for assisting me a while back with the search I was conducting on my Uncle who chewed some of the same sand as your father. We've since had many chats regarding his time in the Pacific. Nothing really earth shattering but I think he enjoys having an ear to bend and it's nice to be able to talk intelligently on the subject with him. You really helped to zero in on where he was and what he did by identifying the 53rd for me.
It's hard keeping up with him tho, seems like every time we start talking about something he brings up another engagement and then I have to do some more research. Funny how those old guys remember so much 
Anyhow, keep the updates coming. The Seabee's were truly unsung hero's of WWII like so many others. Never hurts to shine the light on them when we can!
Ron