Page 46 - South Mississippi Living - July, 2017

SEABEES going back
story by William C. Hilderbrand, CAPT, CEC, USN (Ret.), President, CEC/Seabee Historical Foundation photos courtesy of NCBC
One of three Seabee bases created to provide a place to temporarily store massive quantities of construction materials and equipment for shipment to the war zone, the Seabee base at Gulfport became operational as an Advance Base Depot in June 1942. Temporary quarters for the Seabees shipping out to put those materials to work were needed and Camp Hollyday was established.
Nearly 70 Seabee units passed through the base on the way to WWII. At the height of the build-up in December 1943, 15,000 Seabees were housed here. In early 1944, a Naval Training Center was established and five enlisted service schools opened on the base.
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A Rhino ferry being unloaded of its cargo on a Normandy beach, June 1944.
HONORING 75 YEARS OF HISTORY
SEPT. 1970 REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM. U.S. Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 62 personnel lay explosive line changes to clear route.
Seabees build concrete pad during deployment.
Seabee Base
By the Numbers
Workforce: Civilian: 860 Military: 4,000
Daily Student Load: 600 plus many local students
Annual Trainee graduates: 54,600
Sailors Deployed Annually: Three battalions, each with 580 personnel. Over the course of a year, all will deploy 1740.
Amount in physical assets: $1.5 billion plant replacement value
Total economic impact: $850 million
1919 Centenniel Plaza was offered to the U.S. Navy as a Naval training center.