"Joe's SEABEE Experience"
The first thing most people ask is, "What's a SeaBee?" A SeaBee is a sailor in the United States Navy whose enlisted job is in the field of construction. The ranks of the SeaBees contain craftsmen from all aspects of construction: carpenters, electricians, plumbers, steelworkers, heavy equipment operators and mechanics, and lets not forget the draftsmen and engineering aides. Along with all of the trades, a Construction Battalion has a full compliment of regular Navy rates that you would find on board any Navy vessel or installation. Yes, we needed boatswain mates, cooks, and storekeepers just like the rest of the Navy.
The name "SeaBee" derives from the first letter of the words "C"ontruction "B"attalion. The Construction Battalion is the major unit of organization for this branch of the Navy. The emblem that we proudly display is that of a bee in flight. The 'Bee wears a sailors cap to show his naval heritage, uses his front to arms to carry a machine gun and has arms left over to weild a hammer and wrench. The 'Bee then, is a graphic depiction of the SeaBee motto that was first forged in the jungles of the South Pacific of World War II, sharpened in the hell that was Korea and Viet Nam, and proudly upheld in the sands of Desert Shield and Desert Storm...
"We Build, We Fight"
"Construimus Batuimus"
As you can guess, SeaBees don't spend a lot of time on ships. However, they have found themselves in some rather unusual situations since their birth in 1942. One good source for SeaBee lore and history is Steven C. Karoly's "SeaBee Cook's Homepage." Steve was a Navy cook assigned to a SeaBee unit who has a special love for history.
My personal association with the SeaBees began rather innocently enough on a hot summer evening in July 1967 at my parents home in South Philadelphia. I had just finished up my first, and last, year at Temple University. It seems as though they didn't think as highly of me as they did of Bill Cosby.
Dad and I were sitting at the kitchen table having one of our many discussions about the meaning of life as only a father and an 18 year old "know it all" son can do. During the course of our talks, dad asked if I had thought about what I would do when my 2-S deferment expired in October. Of course I had thought about it. All 18 year olds in 1967 thought about deferments: 2-S, 4-F, and the dreaded 1-A... prime beef status!
I told dad that I was seriously considering joining the U.S. Army and trying to get into their airborne unit. In one of those blindingly dull moments that probably changed my life forever, my father looked me right in the eyes and said, "Son, do yourself a favor. I spent 4 years and 4 months in the Army. Join the Navy!" The next day I payed a visit to the Navy recruiter and enlisted. This may have been the first day of my life that I openly admitted my father may have known more about something than I did.
I reported to Armed Forces Induction Center in Philly on November 17, 1967 at 08:00 and received my first introduction to the military standard of "hurry up and wait"! I stood in endless lines, waddled like a duck semi-nude in front of the medical people, and had to "face to the left and cough for me"... we all know what that means.
Somewhere during the day, I took the Armed Forces Entrance Exam. If you didn't pass, you weren't accepted. Actually, it was kind of hard not to pass. This was the time that the Army was looking for warm bodies and their standards were not too high. I sort of remember that you needed a minimum of 17 points out of 100 to be accepted by the Army. The rumor was that they spotted you 10 points for getting your name correct. The Navy standards were considerably higher. I guess I did OK, because at 18:00 on November 17, 1967, they put me on a train to the Recruit Training Center headquartered at the Naval Training Center, Great Lakes on the west side of Lake Michigan.
After an 18 hour all night train ride, we arrived tired and hungry. Little did we know that that was as good as it got for the next 10 weeks.
To be continued...
While you're here... check out Joe's Navy photo album
Last Update: December 31, 1997
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