SEABEES in Marine Corp (type) uniforms explains
a lot about why SEABEES
were not, and are not, recognized
when in the midst of the fiercest battles of war, especially in the most forward parts of beach assault invasions.
They were, and are, dressed like Marines!
Then add to this the fact that entire SEABEE
Battalions were described in the official orders of battle, during WWII, as Marine battalions. It's really
not hard to see why SEABEES are not identified as SEABEES in the newsreels, in print articles or after-battle
reports.
SEABEES in WWII, and afterwards,
look exactly like the Marines they fight and die beside. Embedded correspondents didn't see or appreciate any difference between
Marines and SEABEES, and the blindness of reporters to that distinction has continued every since!
Are the men in the Black & White WWII photos, below, MARINES or SEABEES?
Hard to tell, isn't it?
They're SEABEES of the 76th NCB Detachment at Palmyra Island, going to General Quarters, 1944.
SEABEES or MARINES?
These are 53rd SEABEES at Bouganville, WWII, November 1943.
SEABEES or MARINES?
62nd SEABEES awaiting debarkation at Iwo Jima, 16 February, 1945.
MARINES or SEABEES?
World Famous Photograph
IF YOU DON'T KNOW THAT THE ABOVE IMAGE IS OF MARINES RAISING THE 'STAR AND STRIPES' ON
IWO JIMA, 23 FEBRUARY 1945, ITS TIME TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL.
There are six Marine flag raisers in the photo. Four in the front line and two in back.
In front the four are (left to right) Ira Hayes, Franklin Sousley, John Bradley and Harlon Block.
The two in back are Michael Strank (behind Sousley) and Rene Gagnon (behind Bradley).
Strank, Block and Sousley would die shortly afterwards. Bradley, Hayes and Gagnon became national heroes within
weeks.
Are these SEABEES or MARINES in the Color Photos?
Still having a hard time telling?
SEABEES AGAIN!
Al Hillah, Iraq (May 27, 2003) -- Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Fifteen (NMCB-15) SEABBES
pursue a man who was caught stealing from other local citizens while en route to a school-building project in Al Hillah. Although
SEABEES are not assigned normal patrol duties, they may assist Iraqi citizens with law enforcement efforts. NMCB-15 is forward
deployed to IRAQ and is working on various humanitarian assistance projects in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Operation
Iraqi Freedom is the multi-national coalition effort to liberate the Iraqi people, eliminate Iraq's weapons, and end the regime
of Saddam Hussein. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 1st Class Arlo K. Abrahamson. (RELEASED)
OKAY YOU SHOULD BE A PRO NOW.
How about this one, below, are these Marines or SEABEES?
This time its Marines and Navy Corpsmen.
U.S. Marines and Navy Hospital Corpsmen carry wounded Marines out of
a medical vehicle to stabilize them at the 1/8 Regimental Aid Station before evacuating them to a medical facility. The Marines
were wounded during Operation Al Fajr (New Dawn) in the city of Fallujah, Iraq. Operation Al Fajr is an offensive operation
to eradicate enemy forces within the city of Fallujah in support of continuing security and stabilization operations in the
Al Anbar province of Iraq. Official U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Theresa M. Medina
OKAY, HERE IS ANOTHER MISLEADING PHOTO FOR YOU.
SEABEE or MARINE?
This is a SEABEE manning a machine gun turret.
Fallujah, Iraq (Nov. 17, 2004) - Construction Electrician 3rd Class Joe Tank (Seabee) mans
a turret mounted M-240B machine gun atop a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) to provide security while Seabees
assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Four (NMCB-4) clear debris from the streets of Fallujah, Iraq. NMCB-4 is homeported
in Port Hueneme, California and is currently deployed in support of Operation Al Fajr (New Dawn). Operation Al Fajr is an
offensive operation to eradicate enemy forces within the city of Fallujah in support of continuing security and stabilization
operations in the Al Anbar province of Iraq. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Philip Forrest (RELEASED)
One more time.
SEABEE or MARINE?
GOTTA BE A SEABEE!
NOPE. This is a Marine Combat Engineer.
U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Wesley D. Porter, a heavy equipment operator with Marine Combat Service
Support Battalion 7, lifts and transports items with a TRAM (Tractor, Rubber tired, Articulated steering, Multipurpose) at
Camp Turaybil, Iraq, Jan. 5, 2005. Battalion combat engineers have spent the past three weeks refortifying Camp Turaybil after
a suicide bomber drove his truck into the U.S. military compound here in December 2004, killing two Marines and injuring six
others. U.S.
Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Ryan B. Busse
