“Seabee Civilian” (c. late 1940s/ early 1950s) is a black-and-white recruitment film by the United States Navy as part of the Seabee Standby Reserve recruitment effort. The film features scenes that cut between archival WWII footage of Seabees at work in the Pacific Theatre and Europe and returned Seabees navigating their post-war lives and jobs. Naval Construction Battalions known as Seabees were conceived of as replacements for civilian construction companies in combat zones after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Seabees are still active today and most recently aided in the “War on Terror” being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in the early 2000s to aid in infrastructure repair in the two countries.
Opening credits overlaid seal of the Department of the Navy, US Navy Seabees Naval Construction Force animated caricature (0:07). Montage archival footage from Naval battles during World War II: Aerial footage Pacific Theatre – Solomon Islands, Aleutian Islands campaign, North Africa, Normandy landings, Admiralty Islands campaign, Battle of Saipan (0:26). Aerial view Seabees standing on pontoon causeways along tropical beach (0:44). Seabee operations: small bulldozers clear path for airstrip, pontoon causeway dropped into water from side of ship, bulldozer camouflage by leaves and debris cleared in jungle (0:50). Mushroom cloud: Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (1:00). General MacArthur speech on USS Missouri at Japanese Surrender Ceremony (1:06). Celebrations throughout America, soldiers return home and walk in parades in uniform (1:12). Sign reading “So when we reach the Isle of Japan with our caps at a jaunty tilt. We’ll enter the city of Tokyo on the roads the Seabees built. Third Marine Div.2nd Raider Reg” perhaps Papua New Guinea (1:41). Life of Seabees throughout war: knee high in mud shoveling path, drinking beer at base camp (1:52). Crowds gather along street to celebrate Seabees, perhaps San Francisco (2:07). Dilapidated exteriors of single-family homes, weeds growing through cracks of sidewalk (2:21). Seabee civilian construction projects: electric plant in New Jersey, Seabee operates bulldozer clearing new roads in Texas/ California, steel skeleton of skyscraper New York. fleets of diesel trucks at loading dock, post-war construction projects new family homes (2:35). Portrait of civilian Seabee building home in suburbs of Washington D.C., looks over work of apprentice carpenter (3:39). Front page of “The Evening” newspaper, article about John J. McCloy in post-war Berlin (4:30). Seabees march in formation in WW2 Wool US Navy Seabees sailor military uniform (5:02). (5:11). Row of landing ship, tanks (LST), bulldozer drives off of US navy Walking Barge (5:17). Scenes of US Navy construction sites Little Creek Virginia, Port Hueneme, California; aboard large Navy battleship (5:44). Exterior United States Navy Bureau of Yards and Docks in Washington D.C. (6:15). Interior Bureau of Yards and Docks: scenes of civil engineer officers at work at individual work desks, studying new construction techniques (6:21). Top Navy officials sit in office, smoke cigars and draw up plans for Seabee Standby Reserve (6:45). Navy officer enters perhaps bar, hangs Seabee reserve force recruitment poster; scenes of former Seabees walking by such posters (7:15). Men sit in rows at carpenter union meeting, stand for Pledge of Allegiance before representative from U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps gives speech to union (8:12). Carpenters sit under shady tree during lunch break, flip through Seabee standby reserve recruitment pamphlet (10:41). Archival footage Seabees operating bulldozers: one clears palm trees in tropical location; other perhaps trains with a bulldozer at Camp Endicott, Davisville, Rhode Island (10:56). Perhaps Diamond T Diesel Semi-Truck (11:19). Montage men at work in different industries, exemplify skills needed for the Seabees Standby Reserve: surveyor in field, mechanics repair engine and other factory machines, masons carefully lay concrete and brick to build up facade of building, saw mill operators, piledriver operators, plumbers and pipefitters (11:22). Young man proudly applies Seabees decal to window of perhaps 1946 Hudson Super Six (13:08).
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