- Wars, Conflicts, and Operations
- American Revolution
- War of 1812
- Civil War
- Spanish-American War
- World War I
- World War II
- Korean War
- Cuban Missile Crisis
- CIA Documents
- The NSA Collection (Documents from 1960-1963, 1969)
- State Dept. Foreign Relations of the United States 1961-1963, Volume XI: Cuban Missile Crisis and Aftermath
- JFK Library
- Navy Ships and Units Participating in the Crisis
- Enterprise (CVAN 65)
- Presidential Recordings Project at Miller Center, University of Virginia
- The Cuban Missile Crisis (YouTube)
- Admiral George W. Anderson
- Admiral Robert Dennison
- Admiral Alfred G. Ward
- Excerpt from Steven L. Rearden, Council of War: A History of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 1942-1991 (Washington: NDU Press, 2012), pages 224-243
- Bibliography
- Chronology: Excerpts from United States Naval Aviation 1910-2010 manuscript
- Cuban Missile Crisis
- Vietnam War
- Operation Allied Force
- September 11th Terrorist Attack
- Middle East Engagements
- POW MIA
- Pirate Interdiction and the U.S. Navy
- Campaign Against the West Indian Pirates
- The Bashaw of Tripoli
- Act to Protect Commerce
- Operations Against West Indian Pirates
- Navy and Marines vs. Piracy, Africa
- Suppression of Piracy on Johanna Island
- Incidental Anti-Piracy Operations, Gulf of Siam
- Fish, Family, and Profit: Piracy and the Horn of Africa
- Piracy and Horn of Africa Operations
- Rescue of Iranian Fishing Vessel from Pirates
- USS Nicholas Captures Suspected Pirates
- Combined Maritime Forces Flagship Intercepts Somali Pirates
- More Suspected Pirates Apprehended in the Gulf of Aden
- Commemorations Toolkits
- Heritage
- Uniforms
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1776-1783
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1797
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1802
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1812-1815
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1815
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1830-1841
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1841
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1852
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1852-1855
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1862-1863
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1864
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1898
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1900
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1905-1913
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1917-1918
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1918-1919
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1922-1931
- Uniforms of the U.S Navy 1941
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1942-1943
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1943-1944
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1951-1952
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1961
- Uniforms of the U.S. Navy 1967
- Customs and Traditions
- Sailors' Tattoos
- Goats and the U.S. Navy
- Navy Athletics
- The Sailor’s Creed
- The Ship’s Bell
- Striking the Flag
- Unofficial Navy Certificates
- Precedence of Forces in Parades
- Passing Honors, National Anniversaries, and Solemnities
- Rocks and Shoals: Articles for the Government of the U.S. Navy
- Plank Owners
- Ship Naming
- Twenty-One Gun Salute
- Change of Command
- The Navy Hymn
- Commissioning Pennant
- Ship Launching and Commissioning
- Burial at Sea
- Crossing the Line
- Banners
- Life Aboard
- Decorations and Awards
- Speak Like a Sailor
- Famous Navy Quotations
- Origins of the Navy
- U.S. Navy History Lessons Learned
- Uniforms
- Communities
- Disasters and Phenomena
- Tragedy of USS Memphis
- Sinking of USS Indianapolis
- The Catastrophic Fire On Board USS Forrestal
- Conestoga
- Atlantis: The Legendary Island
- Bermuda Triangle: Selected Bibliography
- Flight 19
- Amelia Earhart
- Philadelphia Experiment
- U-2s, UFOs, and Operation Blue Book
- Destruction of USS Maine
- Exercise Tiger: Oral History
- Port Chicago, CA, Explosion
- Weather-Related Incidents
- The Sullivan Brothers and the Assignment of Family Members
- Organization and Administration
- Historical Leadership
- Officers List
- Office of the Secretary of the Navy
- Fleet Commanders
- District Commanders
- Bureaus
- Officers of the Continental and U.S. Navy and Marine Corps 1775-1900
- Naval Officers of the War of 1812
- Individuals Assigned to Administrative History Project
- Commander in Chief US Allied Forces Southern Europe
- Chief of Chaplains
- Chief of Naval Education and Training
- Commander in Chief US Naval Forces Europe
- Director of Naval Reserve
- Gray Eagles
- Office of Information
- Directors of Naval Intelligence
- Japan, Commander US Naval Forces
- Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs)
- Naval Electronic Systems Command Headquarters
- Office of Naval Material
- Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research Development and Acquisition)
- Commander Seventh Fleet
- Vice Chief of Naval Operations
- Ranks
- Regulations and Policy
- Personnel
- Service and Medical Records
- U.S. Navy Installations
- Washington Navy Yard, District of Columbia
- Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia
- Naval Submarine Base New London, Connecticut
- Naval Station Mayport, Florida
- Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida
- Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois
- Naval Base San Diego, California
- Naval Base Kitsap, Washington
- Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
- U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan
- Naval Support Activity Bahrain
- Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy
- Historical Leadership
- Diversity
- Exploration and Innovation
- Underwater Exploration
- Polar Exploration
- Operation High Jump
- Art Exhibit: Operation Deep Freeze I (1955-56)
- Rear Admiral Robert E. Peary
- Matthew Henson, U.S. Navy Medal of Merit
- Alcona
- Arneb
- Atule
- Caiman
- Merrick
- Porpoise II
- USS Richard E. Byrd
- Roosevelt
- Vincennes I
- Whitewood
- USS Wilkes
- The Jeannette Expedition in Arctic Waters as Described in Annual Reports of the Secretary of the Navy, 1880-1884
- Naval Aviation News - Overview of Naval Aviation in the Antarctic pg 20-25
- Naval Aviation News - Antarctic Development Squadron (VXE) 6 pg 16-19
- Naval Aviation News - Operation Deep Freeze Photos - Antarctic support pg 22-23
- Naval Aviation News - South Pole Approach pg 33
- Submarine Force Museum
- Electricity and USS Trenton
- Atmospheric Nuclear Testing: A Select Bibliography
- The World Cruise of the Great White Fleet
- The Voyage of a Lifetime
- The Ships of the Great White Fleet
- Great White Fleet Gallery
- Beginning of the Cruise
- Fleet Leadership
- Crossing the Equator
- World Cruise Experience
- At Sea
- Puerto Rico-South America-Mexico
- U.S. West Coast
- Hawaii-Australia-New Zealand
- Japan and China
- Philippines and Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
- Suez Canal-Egypt-Turkey
- Mediterranean
- End of the Cruise
- Memorabilia
- Navy Role in Space Exploration
- Notable People
- Presidents
- Chiefs of Naval Operations
- The Office
- Admiral William S. Benson
- Admiral Robert E. Coontz
- Admiral Edward W. Eberle
- Admiral Charles F. Hughes
- Admiral William V. Pratt
- Admiral William H. Standley
- Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy
- Admiral Harold R. Stark
- Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King
- Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz
- Admiral Louis E. Denfeld
- Admiral Forrest P. Sherman
- Admiral William M. Fechteler
- Admiral Robert B. Carney
- Admiral Arleigh A. Burke
- Admiral George W. Anderson Jr.
- Admiral David L. McDonald
- Admiral Thomas H. Moorer
- Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr.
- Admiral James L. Holloway III
- Admiral Thomas B. Hayward
- Admiral James D. Watkins
- Admiral Carlisle A. H. Trost
- Admiral Frank B. Kelso II
- Admiral Jeremy M. Boorda
- Admiral Jay L. Johnson
- Admiral Vernon E. Clark
- Admiral Michael G. Mullen
- Admiral Gary Roughead
- Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert
- Admiral John M. Richardson
- Master Chief Petty Officers of the Navy
- MCPON Delbert D. Black
- MCPON John D. Whittet
- MCPON Robert J. Walker
- MCPON Thomas S. Crow
- MCPON Billy C. Sanders
- MCPON William H. Plackett
- MCPON Duane R. Bushey
- MCPON John Hagan
- MCPON James L. Herdt
- MCPON Terry D. Scott
- MCPON Joe R. Campa Jr.
- MCPON Rick D. West
- MCPON Michael D. Stevens
- MCPON Steven S. Giordano
- MCPON Official Photographs
- Trailblazers
- Historical Figures
- Astronauts: Chronology of Space Missions
- Secretaries of the Navy
- Benjamin Stoddert (1798 - 1801)
- Robert Smith (1801 - 1809)
- Paul Hamilton (1809 - 1812)
- William Jones (1813 - 1814)
- Benjamin W. Crowninshield (1815 - 1818)
- Smith Thompson (1819 - 1823)
- Samuel Southard (1823 - 1829)
- John Branch, Jr. (1829 - 1831)
- Levi Woodbury (1831 - 1834)
- Mahlon Dickerson (1834 - 1838)
- James K. Paulding (1838 - 1841)
- George Edmund Badger (1841)
- Abel P. Upshur (1841 - 1843)
- David Henshaw (1843 - 1844)
- Thomas W. Gilmer (1844)
- John Y. Mason (1844-1845) (1846-1849)
- George Bancroft (1845 - 1846)
- William B. Preston (1849 - 1850)
- William A. Graham (1850 - 1852)
- John P. Kennedy (1852 - 1853)
- James C. Dobbin (1853 - 1857)
- Isaac Toucey (1857 - 1861)
- Gideon Welles (1861 - 1869)
- Adolph Edward Borie (1869)
- George M. Robeson (1869 - 1877)
- Richard W. Thompson (1877 - 1880)
- Nathan Goff, Jr. (1881)
- William Henry Hunt (1881 - 1882)
- William Eaton Chandler (1882 - 1885)
- William C. Whitney (1885 - 1889)
- Benjamin F. Tracy (1889 - 1893)
- Hilary A. Herbert (1893 - 1897)
- John D. Long (1897 - 1902)
- William H. Moody (1902 - 1904)
- Paul Morton (1904 - 1905)
- Charles J. Bonaparte (1905 - 1906)
- Victor H. Metcalf (1906 - 1908)
- Truman H. Newberry (1908 - 1909)
- George von L. Meyer (1909 - 1913)
- Josephus Daniels (1913 - 1921)
- Edwin Denby (1921 - 1924)
- Charles F. Adams, III (1929 - 1933)
- Claude A. Swanson (1933 - 1939)
- Charles Edison (1940)
- William Franklin Knox (1940 - 1944)
- James Forrestal (1944 - 1947)
- John Lawrence Sullivan (1947 - 1949)
- Francis P. Matthews (1949 - 1951)
- Dan A. Kimball (1951 - 1953)
- Robert B. Anderson (1953 - 1954)
- Charles S. Thomas (1954 - 1957)
- Thomas S. Gates (1957 - 1959)
- William Birrell Franke (1959 - 1961)
- John Bowden Connally, Jr. (1961)
- Fred Korth (1962 - 1963)
- Paul B. Fay (acting) (1963)
- Paul Henry Nitze (1963 - 1967)
- Charles Fitz Baird (acting) (1967)
- Paul R. Ignatius (1967 - 1969)
- John Hubbard Chafee (1969 - 1972)
- John William Warner (1972 - 1974)
- J. William Middendorf (1974 - 1977)
- William Graham Claytor, Jr. (1977 - 1979)
- Edward Hidalgo (1979 - 1981)
- John Lehman (1981 - 1987)
- James H. Webb (1987 - 1988)
- William L. Ball (1988 - 1989)
- Henry L. Garrett III (1989 - 1992)
- Daniel Howard (acting) (1992)
- Sean Charles O'Keefe (1992 - 1993)
- ADM Frank B. Kelso, II (acting) (1993)
- John Howard Dalton (1993 - 1998)
- Richard Jeffrey Danzig (1998 - 2001)
- Robert B. Pirie, Jr. (acting) (2001)
- Gordon R. England (2001-2003) (2003-2005)
- Susan M. Livingstone (acting) (2003)
- Hansford T. Johnson (acting) (2003)
- Donald Charles Winter (2006 - 2009)
- Raymond Edwin Mabus, Jr. (2009 - 2017)
- Sean G. J. Stackley (acting) (2017)
- Richard V. Spencer (2017 - present)
- Profiles in Duty
- Medal of Honor Recipients
- Notable Ships
- Heritage-Customs and Traditions
- Historical Summary
- Image (gif, jpg, tiff)
Seabees
U.S. Navy Seabee Museum in Port Hueneme, CA.
Birth of the Navy’s Construction Battalions
The Naval Construction Force, better known as the Seabees, was born 5 March 1942. To meet the Navy’s need for construction of advanced bases in combat zones in WWII, Rear Admiral Ben Moreell, Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks, requested specific authority to activate, organize, and man Navy construction units. The first Seabee units were authorized on 5 January 1942, and official authorization of the Seabee name and insignia occurred on 5 March 1942.
Since then, for over 75 years, Seabees have been the Navy's construction force, building bases and airfields, conducting underwater construction, and building roads, bridges, and other support facilities. They play a crucial role in supporting the fleet and combatant commands while carrying out the Navy's maritime strategy.
Seabees also play an important role in sustaining global relationships. Seabees are forward deployed around the world to provide engineering and construction support while promoting regional stability and improving lives through engineering civic action projects in many countries.
U.S. Navy Seabee Museum
The U.S. Navy Seabee Museum selects, collects, preserves, and displays historic material related to the history of the Naval Construction Force (Seabees), and the U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps. A wide selection of museum holdings is available digitally through the museum website. Material includes World War II unit histories, World War II cruisebooks, and issuances from the World War II Seabee News Service.
More History and Tradition of the Seabees
Naval Construction Battalion Books
Building the Navy's Bases in World War II
Seabee History: Formation of the Seabees and World War II
Seabee History: Between the Second World War and the Korean War
Seabee History: Southeast Asia
Seabee History: Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm
Museum Advisory Council Green-lights 75th Seabee Anniversary Plans for March 2017
Seabee Unit Cruise Books in the Navy Department Library
Blog Posts
10 Things You Need to Know About Your Seabees!
The U.S. Navy Seabees: Rates to Remember
After much deliberation, Seabees settle on March 5 as birthday
Building for a Nation and for Equality: African American Seabees in World War II
Videos
The following videos focus on the proud and continuing tradition of the Seabees.
Built on History
Seabee Reflections: World War II to Present. [YouTube] In honor of the 75th anniversary of the Seabees, the U.S. Navy Seabee Museum in Port Hueneme, California, had the opportunity recently to interview Seabees who served from World War II to present.
Celebration of the Fighting Seabees. [YouTube] This video combines historic footage with recent imagery to show the Fighting Seabees, then and now.
Seabees of World War II. [YouTube] This World War II footage, obtained from the National Archives, includes a brief prologue and epilogue from Rear Adm. Ben Moreell. Footage includes Pacific operations as well as scenes of the Sicily invasion and landing at Salerno.
History of the Seabees in Guam. [YouTube] This video, courtesy of Joint Region Marianas, provides a historical look at Seabee contributions in Guam.
Celebrating the Contributions of Seabee Betty. [YouTube] This video, courtesy of Joint Region Marianas Public Affairs, tells the story of "Seabee Betty," who served as a surrogate mother to thousands of Seabees stationed in Guam.
“Can Do Since ’42”: World War II Service
These video clips highlight the service of Seabee veterans.
All Hands Magazine interviews World War II Seabees. [YouTube]
World War II veteran and Seabee Jack Mace recounts his service in the Pacific Fleet. [YouTube]
The son of a World War II veteran discusses the pride he has for his father’s service. [YouTube]
A World War II Seabee veteran discusses his experience serving in the Philippines. [YouTube]
Constructing the Future
These videos depict the range of Seabee capabilities and provide footage of today’s Seabees at work.
Capabilities of the Seabees [YouTube]
All Hands Update [YouTube]
NMCB 5 Holds Basic First Aid Educational Event in Calinog [DVIDS]
BUCN Glenn Vaca: Construction Project in Cambodia [DVIDS]
NMCB 5 Classroom Construction Project in Panay [DVIDS]
Seabees in Cambodia [DVIDS]
UCT Diego Garcia: Diving Operations [DVIDS]
Valiant Shield 2016: CTF-75 [DVIDS]
Why I’m Proud To Be a Seabee
In these video interviews, Sailors share why they’re proud to be Seabees.
Share from YouTube:
The valuable skills Seabees learn
The amazing accomplishments of the Seabees
The versatility of the Seabees
Seabees Can Do! | Full interview also available.
Download video packages from DVIDS:
The opportunity to dive into history
Notable Seabees
James D. Fairbanks
Edward Griffin Underhill
Selected Images
Footnotes
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