February 27 , 1946
February 1946. World War II is over and wartime production jobs were ending. During the war, Carl and Georgie worked a number of jobs in several places, finishing the war in Pocatello, Idaho. They elected to return to Iowa, where they both had family, but opted to make a grand tour of the west on the way. Georgie wrote a journal of the trip. The story starts here.
Saw the Ventura Mission the next day. Went out to Port Hueneme where Gladys and Louis worked to see other friends who were working there and visited some other Iowans, the Congroves from Morning Sun, that evening.
Walt’s Comments
My aunt’s next door neighbor was a Seabee during the war. He was quite proud of his service, and he kept a sticker with the bee logo on the inside of his shed door.
Sadly, I’m not sure who Gladys and Louis were, or how they knew Carl and Georgie. My brother and I postulate that at least one of them was a co-worker of Carl or Georgie. If anyone knows, drop a comment below!
Who were the Seabees?
Once the war started, the Navy could no longer use civilian construction workers to work on building bases in foreign locations. They would not be able to defend themselves if attacked.
The Naval Construction Battalions (or C.B.s) were formed in January of 1942 in Rhode Island. The recruits were tradesmen – electricians, carpenters, equipment operators. There were trained in combat so they could defend themselves as needed. The first battalion was deployed less than 2 weeks after it was formed. By March 5th, they were officially named Seabees by the Navy.
Rear Admiral Ben Morell, Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks, who had requested the authority to create the Seabees, gave them the motto Construmus Batumus or We Build, We Fight.
The Fighting Bee logo was designed by a civilian file clerk named Frank Iafrate. He was asked to work on it due to his talent in drawing caricatures.
More than 350,000 men served in the Seabees in more than 400 locations before the war’s end. Nearly 8,000 Civil Engineers Corps officers served with them.
Digging Deeper
More on the San Buenaventura Mission can be found of their website.
Port Hueneme (Y-NEE-MEE) Naval Base – One of three sections of the Naval Base Ventura County. The second section to be built, it was built as a depot for supplies and construction equipment. It was also used for training of Seabees. The port area has a long history before it was used in WW2.
More on the the history of the fighting bee logo can be found at the Seabees Museum in Rhode Island.
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