The
Navy Seabees came about shortly after the
United States entered
World War II. There was a need for
construction forces to
build advance bases who were
miliatarized; not just
civilian contractors hired by the military. The need for a militarized
force arose because under
international law, use of civilian labor in
war zones was
banned. So, for this reason,
Rear Admiral Ben Moreel put in a request to the
Bureau of Navigation to
organize and man a Naval construction
regiment. On January 5, 1942 Moreel was granted the
authority to do just that. Construction workers were
drafted (the first
recruits being men who worked on
Hoover Dam, and other major construction projects) and placed within one of the three Naval Construction Batallions (NCB) which formed the Naval Construction Regiment. The
nick name 'Seabees' was
coined from the latter two
letters of NCB. The Seebeas were given their
motto by Moreel himself, which was "Construimus, Batuimus"; meaning "We Build, We
Fight."
The Seabees played a critical role during World War II in all theaters of battle. They built hundreds of advance bases, roads, bridges, etc. Their most famous being their participation during the D-Day invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Seebeas worked alongside US Army engineers in demolition units to clear the beach of steel and concrete obstacles. Most were the first ones to come ashore; so they suffered heavy casualties from German fire. They heroically worked on, planting their explosive charges, which breached the defenses. The Seabees also put up pontoon causeways on the beach for troops and armor to travel over; making the landing more swift. Guess who also was manning the transport ferries which carried troops and equipment from the large ships to shore? That's right, Seabees. The Seabees contribution in the invasion of Normandy was a huge one; maybe impossible to do without them.
Since their formation, the Seabees have been a part of every major war and every minor conflict the US has been in. More recently they have been called upon for support in Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo, and southwest and southeast Asia. The Seabees not only perform in combat, but also aid areas which have been hit by natural disasters, and do humanitarian work world-wide.
Sources:
http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq67-1.htm
http://www.seabee.navy.mil/welcome.htm