WWII Posters…

Continuing the series, it’s back to the Navy’s turn, but with a twist…

WWII seabees recruiting poster

While I have no idea who did this one, one of my friends dads when I was growing up had been a Seabee in WWII.  He was a heavy equipment operator, building highways both before and after the war.  He went in as an E-6, did a quick boot camp and went to Gulfport, Moffett Field then to the Espritu Santo in the South Pacific as a member of Naval Construction Battalion (NCB) 6. He was on Guadalcanal, Rabul, Saipan, Tinian and finally Iwo Jima.

HERE is a link to various Seabee history pages.

He had either three or four purple hearts, and apparently ‘earned’ them the hard way, rebuilding runways under fire in various places.  He always told his son to go in the Air Force, that way he would get a ‘cushy’ job…

He was the one that told me working on highways in the States was an easy job, because nobody was shooting at him, or blowing up the roads…

Rest in Peace Mr. Cramer…

Comments

WWII Posters… — 11 Comments

  1. The Seabees are an interesting bunch. We had a Seabee battalion on Adak during my time there, but there were certain things they weren’t allowed to work on. Union rules & U.S. labor laws making some jobs the responsibilities of civilian workers, or so I was told.

  2. I recently met a WWll seabee, what a character. I earned a PH in ‘Nam, it sure didn’t come easy. I was in the hospital longer than I was in ‘Nam.

  3. Interesting that they quoted the ages for enlistment and induction. I think enlistment means you join on your own and induction means that join for you (the draft sending you to the Navy.) So why advertise for induction? If you have a choice, you enlist. It doesn’t take much to confuse me.

  4. 18-37 year olds were draftable; the poster was to let men in the building trades know that they could volunteer for the Seabees (or Army Engineers) instead of being assigned elsewhere.

    I doubt too many 50 year old laborers would have been accepted as volunteers; skilled 50 year old heavy equipment operators or master welders, on the other hand…

  5. My knowledge on the Seabees was perpetuated via a wonderful John Wayne movie called the “The Fighting Seabees.” Susan Hayward stared in it with him. I think they did a nice job honestly portraying the life of a Seabee. I met a Seabee once in Washington State. He was sitting at a outside cafe in July with his hat as the only statement of his past. Some days I am bold, and as I thanked him for his service, I asked if I could join him. He immediately busted my balls for being a “Home Based Coastie!” We shared an incredible 45 minutes having coffee. His name was John. I never remembered his last. But they were volunteers who gave plenty to the fight. Thanks for invoking that memory, Old NFO!

  6. Rev- Yeah, some ‘screwy’ rules these days…

    Craig- Ouch!

    Mrs.C- Thank you again… 🙂

    CP/OldWindways/Peter- Peter is right, the ‘enlistment up to 50 was for skills they didn’t have, and they brought some of those folks in as E-6 and CPOs…

    Danny- You’re welcome! And yes, they’re tough old birds…