National Museum of the U.S. Navy

Guadalcanal:  Seabees

Established in March 1942 by Rear Admiral Ben Moreell, CEC, USN, the first U.S. Navy Seabees to serve under combat conditions was during the Guadalcanal Campaign, arriving in September.  The 6th Naval Construction Battalion supported the invasion repairing Henderson Airfield and other facilities on the islands of Guadalcanal and Tulagi.    

Image:  80-G-39217:  U.S. Navy Seabees constructing a Quonset Hut at Guadalcanal, January 30, 1943.  Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.