Seabees
Training Camps
Camps: Peary,
Williamsburg, Virginia
Camp Endicott, (Sun Valley), Davisville RI
Atlantic Fleet Headquarters, Gulfport, MS
Camp Parks, Shoemaker, CA
Camp Rousseau, Port Hueneme, CA
For a very thorough history and description of the
Seabees training camps, the following link is excellent. The later chapters
in this series also detail the specific contributions of individual Seabee
Battalions at each base.
HyperWar: Building the Navy's Bases in World War II (Chapter 6)
http://152.46.7.80/hyperwar/USN/Building_Bases/bases-6.html
 |
Throughout his service, the
Bluejackert' Manual was the Seabee's handbook of Naval customs,
ediquette, skills, ships, gunnery, first aid, and more . . .
And when he returned to civilian life, the Navy supplied a
description
of his skills to civilian employers |
 |
 |
USN Seabeeing News
For news, entertainment, and edification, the Bees had newspapers
galore: from custom produced locals to the venerable Overseas Edition of
the New York TIMES. Thanks to Penny Hoffman for this valuable
collection! |
 |
Recruitment of
Seabees
 |
From the beginning, the Seabees were seeking a
different kind of men. .The early ideal was the older, experienced, and
often more individualistic veterans of the WPA projects. WWI vets,
grandfathers, itinerate laborors, these grizzled, inventive geniuses would be vital
to the effort of building airfields rapidly amidst combat and under impossible
conditions, using materials at hand, and dealing with the variety and
unexpectedness of terrains and circumstances. |
As Seabees became widely known, Madison Avenue called on them
to boost sales of items from Jeeps to Coca-Cola. Some remarkable
artistic renditions of Bees building under fire and introducing natives of the
Admiralties to Coke were more authentic than the tidy recruitment posters.
|
|
 |
But the Seabees weren't finicky. If
the other services didn't want you, in the Seabees you still "can do."
Bob Conner wasn't color-blind
like many of his comrades, but his flat feet failed the Army aesthetic.
Camp Peary, Williamsburg,
VA
Endicott, (Sun
Valley) Davisville, RI
Camp Endicott in Davisville,
RI, provided boot camp for early battalions, but by the time the 93rd
Battalion was formed, it was the place to go for advanced training - weaponry, and other combat.
There was also an interlude at Sun Valley where the Bees learned weaponry
from the Marines. Endicott, like Camp Peary, featured "virtual"
ships and other simulated practice areas for survival, combat, and
warfare construction .
 |
An Introductory Booklet extolled Endicott's facilities and training,
which included such
survival
needs as distinguishing "Safe" edible plants.
 
The
Bulldozer.provided local
news
Postcards were welcomed by the folks back home
|
Camp Parks
Construction
Battalion Replacement Depot,
Livermore, CA
Camp Parks was originally envisioned as
a "rest camp" for Seabee Battalions between assignments.
But few battalions ever got home (or anywhere else) to rest during their
2 or more years overseas. Camp Parks most commonly provided advanced training for outfits
like the 93rd which were awaiting
space at Port Hueneme.
|

"We build - we fight".
History of Camp Park:. Army and Navy Publishing Company of
Louisiana. 58 pages with text and black and white photographs.
|
Camp Rousseau, Port Hueneme, CA
. |
Hueneme refined
construction and military skills. Some fortunates got to home
their skills helping movie stars construct entertainment venues.
All were welcomed at special Hollywood performances. Splinter
City was the last stop before shipping out. Here, the Bees met the
equipment that would accompany them and form working
units, prepared to respond rapidly to whatever conditions lay ahead
when they disembarked. |
|
|