Of the three Pacific roads to victory, perhaps the least significant was the one which wound through the North Pacific. When dawn betrayed their presence, they came under murderous German fire. This historic event sealed the fate of Japan. ), without whom no plane would ever have gotten off the ground during WW2. As the war proceeded, battle-weary construction battalions and other units in the Pacific were returned to the United States to the Construction Battalion Recuperation and Replacement Center at Camp Parks, Shoemaker, California. John Wayne stars as Wedge Donovan, head of civilian construction company stationed in a pre-Pearl Harbor South Pacific war area. The U.S. Army, concerned about the Rhine River's swift and tricky currents, called upon the Seabees to operate many of the landing craft that were to be used in breaking Germany's Rhine River barrier. These ferries were actually little more than floating pontoon structures powered by giant outboard motors. Hugh C. 4.0 out of 5 stars you will get what you want. Their civic action projects focused on the Trust Territories of the Pacific. By mid-1943, however, Merauke, on the underbelly of New Guinea, resounded with the roar of battle and the clatter of Seabee hammers and bulldozers. The supporting cast includes Dennis O'Keefe, William Frawley, Leonid Kinsky, Addison Richards and Grant Withers. In the North, Central, South and Southwest Pacific areas, the Seabees built 111 major airstrips, 441 piers, 2,558 ammunition magazines, 700 square blocks of warehouses, hospitals to serve 70,000 patients, tanks for the storage of 100,000,000 gallons of gasoline, and housing for 1,500,000 men. Donovan gets impatient with the red tape of filling out the daily progress reports. There the battalions, and later other units, underwent staging and outfitting. Seabee Camps used during the filming of the picture include Camp Rousseau, CA; Point Mugu, CA; Camp Peary, VA; Camp Endicott, Davisville, RI . The huge port area that was formed out of this odd combination of materials became known as Mulberry A. I had seen this film years ago but enjoyed watching it again. Thus, the Pacific roads to victory reached their final destination. What was needed after the successful Marianas campaign was an emergency landing field much closer to the Japanese homeland that would service crippled bombers returning from raids and enable shorter- ranged fighter planes to accompany the giant bombers to their targets. These were constructed out of old cargo ships, special prefabricated concrete structures that were floated over from England, and the ubiquitous steel pontoons. The construction foreman of a fighting work battalion to be stationed near Japanese lines in the Pacific, and a naval commander colleague compete in Washington for a journalist, while preparing to engage the enemy in a massive assault. Walter Scharf's score received an Oscar nomination. On a much smaller scale, the Advance Base Receiving Barracks at Davisville, Rhode Island, performed similar functions for Atlantic battalions. These Seabees were soon joined by those of the Second and Seventh Naval Construction Brigades, units that had been organized and staged in the Hawaiian Islands. The island of Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides was closest in proximity to Japanese-held Guadalcanal and, thus, rapidly assumed major importance. During the battle, Seabees bulldozed paths to the Japanese lines so that American tanks could attack the hostile positions. Continual rainfall, 50 varieties of dysentery, skin disease, and the dreaded elephantiasis all combined to make life miserable for the construction men. After the invasion fleet had arrived off the coast, The approximately 10,000 Seabees of Naval Construction Regiment 25 began manhandling their pontoon causeways onto the beach. Along the Atlantic front, the Seabees helped forge two roads to victory. There they prepared a new weapon of war, the steel pontoon, that was to be used for the first time on the invasion beaches of Sicily. To obtain men with the necessary qualifications, physical standards were less rigid than in other branches of the armed forces. The bulk of the outdoor locations for The Fighting Seabees was filmed on the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, Calif., widely considered to be the most heavily filmed outdoor filming location in the history of film and television. The Naval Construction Battalions were established in January 1941 at Davisville, Rhode Island, which is part of the greater town of North Kingstown. The main invasion forces landed on Okinawa's west coast Hagushi beaches on Easter Sunday, 1 April 1945. As a result, it became necessary to ring the canal's ocean approaches with protective bases. Guadalcanal was the very tip of the Japanese thrust down the Solomon chain toward the Allied southern communications route. Wedge is mortally wounded but carries out his mission, and soon the enemy soldiers are routed. Henceforward, Seabees were on average much younger and came into the service with only rudimentary skills. From tropical Caribbean climes to the ultimate destination of Germany, they played a crucial role in initially opening and later maintaining bases of critical importance to the war effort. Whole teams were wiped out when shells prematurely detonated their explosives. The new CBs have to both build and be ready to fight. The picture received an Academy Award nomination for Best Music Score. Description. On the South Atlantic road to victory, Seabee contributions in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America were the first of many milestones. Starring John Wayne and Susan Hayward! The enemy was quickly outflanked and overpowered as large numbers of men and huge amounts of equipment poured ashore over pontoon causeways with a minimum of casualties and delay. Huge amounts of much needed equipment were hauled ashore on Rhinos during the first few days of the invasion. The Fighting Seabees is Republic Pictures' rip-roaring tribute to the US Navy's Construction Batallions (C.B. 10, Seabee accomplishments at Le Havre were equally impressive. They continually played a major role in the savage fighting which characterized the island- hopping campaign in the Central Pacific. By New Year's Day, the Japanese airstrips were captured and the American flag flew over the entire Cape. As a result of these attitudes, anti-Japanese attitudes were common, including in films of the time. Watch or stream the full The Fighting Seabees movie. Original title: The Fighting Seabees (Donovan's Army). On loan to Republic Pictures, she finally won the female leads in Hit Parade of 1943 and The Fighting Seabees, after which true stardom came quickly. It was in the face of fierce resistance and heavy bombardment that the Allies suffered heavy casualties as they stormed ashore at both Salerno and Anzio, and the Seabees absorbed their share of the casualties. However, the U.S. Navy established the World War II date of 5 March 1942 as official for the founding of the Seabees. Fighting Seabees, The -- (Movie Clip) Opening Credits, Mar The name "Seabees" is a nickname for the US Navy's Construction Battalions (CBs) division. After the 7 December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States entry into the war, the use of civilian labor in war zones became impractical. [7] Principal photography took place from September 20 to early December 1943. Wedge returns and reports to Bob, who wearily tells him that he will probably be court-martialed upon their return home. To support Patton's advancing army, the Seabees built pontoon ferries similar to the Rhinos of D-day fame and used them to transport Patton's tanks across the river. by Jeremy Arnold. Further crossings followed in rapid succession as the Seabees made their task appear to be little more difficult than a sightseeing cruise. Although Seabee accomplishments on the North Atlantic road eventually culminated in the Normandy invasion, operations in that area had begun as early as March of 1942. 1944, 8,965ft During D-Day of the Normandy invasion, 6 June 1944, the Seabees were among the first to go ashore as members of naval combat demolition units. Dozens of other Seabee units soon followed . Less than five months after the Bobcats arrived on Bora Bora, the Second Detachment was sent to Tongatabu in the Tonga Islands and the Third Detachment to Efate in the New Hebrides. Film is mint, record has a fold but does not seem to skip, OB is generally excellent condition - $20; THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF CHARLIE CHASE - Compilation of Chase's classic silent comedies. A detachment also repaired facilities at the nearby port of Bremerhaven. Working with U.S. Army Engineers, their crucial task was to destroy the steel and concrete barriers that the Germans had built in the water and on the beaches to forestall any amphibious landings. Tarawa Atoll in the Gilberts was one of the toughest of them all. In the Second World War, the Seabees were organized into 151 regular construction battalions, 39 special construction battalions, 164 construction battalion detachments, 136 construction battalion maintenance units, 5 pontoon assembly detachments, 54 regiments, 12 brigades, and under various designations, 5 naval construction forces. Allied troops and tanks subsequently swept ashore in ever greater numbers and pushed the German defenders inland. Film Editing: Richard Van Enger However, Donovan is shot in the process and dies in the explosion. The Fighting Seabees. The convergence of naval and merchant fleet traffic at this point offered German U-boats a vital and tempting target. Synopsis: Construction workers in World War II in the Pacific are needed to build military sites, but the work is dangerous and they doubt the ability of the Navy to protect them. The enlisted men were trained practically from scratch, and the efficiency of their training was demonstrated by the fact that cargo handling in combat zones compared favorably to that in the most efficient ports in the United States. The Seabees received about six weeks of advanced military and technical training, underwent considerable unit training, and then were shipped to an overseas assignment. He therefore commanded 100,000 construction troops in all, the largest concentration of construction troops during the entire war. The Japanese campaign of 1942 that succeeded in seizing the Aleutian islands of Attu and Kiska was partly a feint, partly a serious probe of American defenses, and partly a move to prevent the United States from invading the Japanese homeland through the Aleutian and Kurile Islands. The film utilizes an oft-used storyline of the war movie genre which has two soldiers in love with the same girl. There's also a Love Triangle between Wedge, his main military ally, and a Hot Scoop . Synopsis. Only after savage fighting at a cost of nearly 1,000 American dead were the Japanese defenders overwhelmed. Eddie Powers: I'm Eddie Powers, Donovan's factotum, meaning, "Man Friday". The film's opening credits dedication states: "Proudly and gratefully we dedicate this picture to the Civil Engineer Corps and the Construction Battalions - the Seabees of the United States Navy who have fired the imagination of the world with their colorful exploits throughout the Seven Seas.". From the Caribbean and the Americas, the South Atlantic victory road led to North Africa where the Seabees faced combat for the first time in the Atlantic Theater of Operations. Home for the Seabees with John Wayne SeabeeMuseum 1.12K subscribers Subscribe 252 Share 9.7K views 1 year ago An educational video about the work Seabees perform on Naval Base Ventura, Port. ", "Original print information: 'The Fighting Seabees'. Construction workers in World War II in the Pacific are needed to build military sites, but the work is dangerous and they doubt the ability of the Navy to protect them. Still another specialized Seabee unit was the construction battalion detachment, ranging in size from 6 to 600 men, depending on the specialized nature of its function. Despite the fanciful story that Borden Chase wrote here about how the service was founded, the Seabees were actually an idea already thought of by Admiral Ben Morreell the Chief of Navy Supply even before Pearl Harbor. Near Mint in OB - $15; RIDING . The supporting cast includes Dennis O'Keefe, William Frawley, Leonid Kinsky, Addison Richards and Grant Withers. Wedge continually balks at Bob's strict Navy methods, so Connie tries to win him over with kindness, and the construction work progresses rapidly. Movie Review: The Fighting Seabees (1944) A propaganda film designed to boost conscription in the US Navy's Construction Battalions, The Fighting Seabees is a heavily fictionalized account of the unit's creation. Lough Erne, Loch Ryan, and Rosneath in Scotland were transformed into huge storage depots, tank farms, industrial areas, and seaplane bases. The first decorated Seabee hero of the war, Seaman 2nd Class Lawrence C. "Bucky" Meyer, USNR, was among the Seabees of the 6th battalion who worked on Henderson Field. Wedge then accompanies his crew to another small island in the South Pacific, where they are to build an air field. When the enemy lands in force on the island, Donovan's men want to help fight. Original photographs taken on the set of "The Fighting Seabees". Although only minor construction was accomplished during the first ten days of the operation, the Seabees later built one crucial emergency landing field and fighter airstrips so desperately needed by the Allies. As a result of this tremendous feat, the Allies were able to mount large scale air attacks against Guadalcanal and destroy the dangerous Japanese air base under construction there. The classic pontoons were standardized in size and fitted with special tackle so that they could be quickly assembled to form causeways, piers, and other structures. Fighting Seabees, The The following weapons were used in the film The Fighting Seabees: Contents 1 Handguns 1.1 M1911A1 pistol 1.2 Luger P08 1.3 Colt New Service 2 Submachine Gun 2.1 M1928A1 Thompson 3 Rifles 3.1 Springfield M1903A3 3.2 Springfield M1903 Mk 1 3.3 Krag-Jorgensen Model 1896 Rifle 3.4 Mauser Gewehr 1898 4 Machine Guns "Wedge" Donovan is a tough construction boss, building airstrips in the Pacific for the US Navy during World War II. Emphasis in recruiting them was placed on experience and skill, so all they had to do was adapt their civilian construction skills to military needs. The Fighting Seabees TV Listings 1944 1 hr 40 mins Drama NR Watchlist Where to Watch The head of acivilian construction company in Hawaii is pressed into military service after the Japanese. The Seabees also built offshore cargo and docking facilities, piers, and breakwaters. Many of the first Seabees were sent to the North Pacific to help forestall what appeared at the time to be a major Japanese offensive. Therefore, Rear Admiral Ben Moreell determined to activate, organize, and man Navy construction units. British Lion Film Corp Ltd Released on 1944-07-10 Languages English Available on video and DVD Formats Black and white. Susan Hayward was borrowed from Paramount for the production, which received full cooperation from the U.S. Navy, according to news items and reviews. They immediately began the arduous task of repairing the airfield, now named Henderson Field that they had earlier helped to destroy. It thus fell to the Seabees to put these harbors quickly back into service. These detachments did everything from operating tire-repair shops to dredges. See production, box office & company info, "We Build So That Others Can Fight".."We Fight For What We Build". Although a July 1943 Hollywood Reporter news item noted that the studio was "writing the character of Captain Needham, commanding officer of the Construction Battalions at Camp Hueneme, into the scriptand Albert J. Cohen has wired for permission to have the captain play himself in the picture," Needham does not appear as a character in the completed film. On these islands the Seabees constructed fuel tank farms, airfields, supply depots, and other facilities to support military action in the Coral Sea and Solomon Islands. For many months, however, the Seabees remained at Anzio and, under continuous German bombardment, built cargo handling facilities, unloaded tank landing ships, and kept supplies moving to the front. Of the remaining two Pacific roads, the one through the steaming jungles of the South and Southwest Pacific had the Philippines as one of its principal destinations. 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