#LestWeForget – DaNang

Security Command Crew, DaNang

Beginning in 1964 the United States military buildup in South Vietnam interrupted the normal peacetime deployment pattern of the Naval Construction Force. The Seabees were slated to play an important and historic role in the growing Southeast Asian conflict. By autumn of 1968, when Vietnamese requirements reached their peak, world-wide Seabee strength had grown to more than 26,000 men, serving in 21 full-strength Naval Mobile Construction Battalions, 2 Construction Battalion Maintenance Units, and 2 Amphibious Construction Battalions.

From 1965 until 1969 the Seabee commitment in Southeast Asia rapidly increased, necessitating first the transfer of Atlantic Fleet battalions to the Pacific through a change of homeport, then the deployment to Vietnam of Atlantic Fleet battalions, and later, the establishment of nine additional battalions. This effort culminated in the recall to active duty of two reserve battalions in May 1968, bringing to 21 the number of battalions rotating to Vietnam at one time or another. In addition, there were two Amphibious Construction Battalions lending support to the Vietnam effort. During the same time period, to meet a requirement for Seabees to support such installations as the Naval Support Activities at DaNang and Saigon, the two Construction Battalion Maintenance Units, the two deployed Naval Construction Regiments, and the deployed Third Naval Construction Brigade rapidly increased their size.

Aerial view of the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 3’s camp on Da Nang (Đà Nẵng), Vietnam.

Seabees from the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 9 pour cement for a foundation on Da Nang (Đà Nẵng), Vietnam.

In 1965 the Seabee portion of the Vietnam Construction Program was concentrated at three northern coastal points, the ports of DaNang, Chu Lai, and Phu Bai. The first six construction battalions sent to Vietnam were deployed to these three points and, by 1966, as the construction program gathered momentum, eight battalions were at work simultaneously in the I Corps Area

At DaNang the Seabees built three badly needed cantonments. Temporary facilities which included strong-back tents, mess halls, shops, sheds, bathroom facilities, and a water distribution system were the first to be completed. In addition, Seabees repaired the important DaNang River Bridge, rendered technical aid to South Vietnamese troops who were building ramps for tank landing ships and small boats, and constructed warehouses and petroleum storage tanks. Fortification of the cantonments was also essential because of frequent enemy attacks. Despite Seabee-built machine gun positions and bunkers for perimeter defense, one such attack succeeded in destroying the newly built advance base hospital, killing two Seabees and wounding over ninety. In true Seabee tradition, the men rapidly rebuilt the entire hospital complex. Over the eight years Seabees deployed to DaNang, seventeen gave the ultimate sacrifice to help the people of Vietnam and proving that the Seabees really are “builders for peace.”

Destruction endured to Naval Quonset huts on Da Nang (Đà Nẵng), Vietnam after a Viet Nam Cong San attack on 28 October, 1965.

Fair Winds and Following Seas, Seabees…

BU3 Arthur Adams

SD3 Restituto Adenir

BUCN Daniel Berminham

BU1 Robert Fisher

CN David Fleskes

EOC John Haines, Jr

BU1 Paul Hallman

BUL2 Donald Haskins

BU2 Gregory Helsley

LT (jg) Michael Hollingsworth

SW1 Charles Jones

CMM3 Robert Kasper

EO3 Charles Koberlein

EON2 Keith McEnany

BUCS Walter McGinn

LT (jg) Arthur Moscrip, Jr

CET3 Larry Riddle

#LestWeForget – CE2 Chuck Komppa

Just two months into an Iraq deployment, Construction Electrician 2nd Class Charles V. “Chuck” Komppa, a Navy Reservist with the Fort Lewis, WA- based Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 18, was killed in action 25 October 2006 while serving in Iraq’s western Al Anbar Province. Komppa was serving with the battalion’s Detachment 0618,  based out of Billings, MT. It was the 35-year-old’ s first deployment to Iraq. Seabees and other U.S. service members remembered on 28 October 2006, during a memorial service at the base chapel in Al Asad, Iraq.

As an electrician for the Navy, Komppa spent his days conducting electrical assessments and repair projects throughout western Al Anbar Province. At the time of his death, he was about to begin an electrical assessment in Haditha, Iraq, a Euphrates River city northwest of Baghdad. Komppa served five years active duty in the Navy as a machinist’s mate and was discharged in 1995. He rejoined the Navy as a Reservist after September 11, 2001, but this time as a construction electrician.

Seabee Insignia on Uniforms: WWII Part III

Very early in WWII, the Seabee insignia we know today was created by Frank Iafrate to represent the 1^st Naval Construction Battalion and eventually all Seabees. Some of the first Seabee units were attached to the Marines. Thy received USMC utility uniforms known as HBTs with the USMC insignia stenciled on the left pocket and USMC over the pocket. Some examples have the user’s name stenciled across the upper back. But some of these WWII Seabee battalions seem to have wanted more.

The first examples of Seabees using their new “Bee” insignia on a utility uniform started turning up on Marine HBT utilities. The US Navy Seabee Museum has three examples on the Seabee insignia on WWII utility uniforms or coats. The first examples found were stenciled in black ink on the USMC P-1941 utility coat made of Herringbone Twill (HBT), seemingly influenced by the traditions of the Marines.

This USMC P-1941 utility coat is the first example in the Collection to show the Seabee insignia on a working uniform. A member of the 121^st Naval Construction Battalion (NCB) wore it. As part of the 4^th Marine Division, the 121^st were issued HBT utilities. Battalion members asserted their distinct identity by stenciling their Seabee insignia on the back of the coat with the owner’s name. The MCB 3 was added when the owner was recalled to active duty as a reservist during the Korean Era.

The first utility coat with the Seabee insignia on the left breast is found on this USMC P-1941 utility coat, worn by a Seabee who served with Construction Battalion Detachment 1041, the 25th Special and the 27th Special. Though slightly faded from wear and use, the stencil is distinct with its placement over the left breast pocket close to the shoulder.

This N-1 Deck Coat is currently on exhibit and was worn by a member of 106^th NCB. The battalion participated in the invasions and build up of Iwo Jima and Ie Shima, Okinawa. On the back of the coat is the first example of a multi-colored Seabee insignia on something other than a dress uniform. It was created sometime between 1944 and early 1945. The owner also wore the jacket in Japan during the early Cold War when he was recalled to active duty

For more information on the creation of the Seabee insignia:

Curator’s Corner: The Birth of the Fighting Bee