This commemorative film from 1969 titled “We Build, We Fight” marks 25 years of service and achievement for the U.S. Navy’s Combat Battalions or Seabees. The film also acts as a recruitment tool with the narrator touching upon the branch’s expansion and the promise of lengthy careers for new recruits. Presented by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command and produced by Screen presentation, Inc. Washington D.C. this film talks about the history of the Seabees from their ingenious inventions during World War II in the Pacific Theater to their swift and methodical work during the Vietnam War. Seabees, or United States Naval Construction Battalions as they are formally called, form the U.S. Naval Construction Force (NCF). Naval Construction Battalions 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.

LST-742 USS Dunn in the Pacific, narration begins (0:13). Navy Seabee (CB) officer commands LCVP towards land (0:16). Seabees of the 6th Naval Construction Battalion come ashore to Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands to construct Henderson Field (0:49). Aerial view of Henderson Field by Japanese artillery and aircraft (1:14). Seabees construction project during Battle for Guadalcanal (1:41). Seabees and the Treasury Islands Campaign 1943 (2:12). Invasion of Mono Island in the Solomons, a Seabee from Company A of the 87th Naval Construction Battalion used a bulldozer to advance through enemy fire (2:14). Pontoon or the Magic Box developed by Captain John Leacock (2:56). Use of magic box by Allies in Europe – 1943 Allies land on Sicily (3:46). Pontoon use at Normandy, France (4:18). Aerial view of Omaha and Utah beaches in Normandy (4:31). Motor-powered ferries made from pontoons (4:46). Seabees ingenuity and the Normandy Invasion (4:52). US troops on the road to Berlin (5:15). US forces advancing against the Japanese in the Pacific War (5:36). Mariana and Palau Islands Campaign (5:41). Marines storm shore of Tinian (5:51). Construction of the Airbase on Tinian – to accommodate B29s (5:56). B-29 Enola Gay taking off to drop atomic bomb on Hiroshima. (6:43). Aerial view of the East River and the Statue of Liberty in New York City (7:04). Seabees arriving back in the United States (7:16). Man kisses the ground at arriving in New York. Scenes from the Korean War and the 38th Parallel (7:42). Seabees bring 1st Marine Division ashore at Incheon (8:06). Construction of air and sea facility at Cubi Point on Subic Bay in the Philippines (8:27). Seabees Byrd Expedition in Antarctica (9:30). Scenes of harsh winters and wildlife in the South Pole (9:50). Martin Aecon Nuclear Power Plant at McMurdo Station, Antarctica (10:09). Seabees train civilians in war tactics across the “underdeveloped world” (10:30). First Seabee Team dispatch to Haiti during the flooding of Lake Miragoâne (11:12). Seabee team deployment to Thailand and South Vietnam (11:42). Building of Camp Shield for US Army’s Special Forces at Dongs Oi when Seabees come under attack (12:18). Portrait of Marvin Glenn Shields (12:36). Beginning of Seabee work in South Vietnam (12:56). Construction of Chu Lai Air Base in 1964 (13:37). Construction of Monkey Mountain Facility (14:41). Seabees under attack by Viet Cong in Da Nang (15:02). Montage of Seabees at work in Vietnam (15:43) including African American CB at (15:59). Closing remarks (17:04).

We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 — President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.”

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com