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Naval History and Heritage Command

S-579 Andrew Oddo Collection

Photo album (622 photos & documents) created by Andrew Oddo, who served in the 104th Construction Battalion (Seabees) in 1943-1945. The bulk of the album contains imagery related to New Guinea, Leyte, and Manus and Los Negros in the Admiralty Islands. There is a considerable amount of photos which depict construction, camp tents, base facilities (including Quonset huts), and airfield construction. The album appears to be organized chronologically as it relates to Oddo’s service in the Navy, beginning in 1943 with the commissioning parade for the 104th Construction Battalion at Camp Endicott, Davisville, RI and then January 1944 shipboard scenes of the 104th CB en-route to the Southwest Pacific (onboard activities include a band concert, church services, serving and eating food, and various locations and rooms aboard the troop transport ship; followed by the return to the US in 1945 with scenes including the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco, CA. The following ships are included in the imagery: USS Texas (BB-35), SS John Burroughs, USS Salt Lake City (CA-25), SS Zoella Lykes, USS LCT-1092, and various PT boats. There are excellent examples of Nose Art on B-24 Bombers, mainly at Los Negros. Overall the album is an excellent resource for research on a construction battalion (Seabees) located in the South Pacific during WWII.
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Title: Andrew Oddo Collection
Caption: Collection photo # S-579.01 - 104th Construction Battalion (Seabees) logo 
Description: Photo album (622 photos & documents) created by Andrew Oddo, who served in the 104th Construction Battalion (Seabees) in 1943-1945. The bulk of the album contains imagery related to New Guinea, Leyte, and Manus and Los Negros in the Admiralty Islands. There is a considerable amount of photos which depict construction, camp tents, base facilities (including Quonset huts), and airfield construction. The album appears to be organized chronologically as it relates to Oddo’s service in the Navy, beginning in 1943 with the commissioning parade for the 104th Construction Battalion at Camp Endicott, Davisville, RI and then January 1944 shipboard scenes of the 104th CB en-route to the Southwest Pacific (onboard activities include a band concert, church services, serving and eating food, and various locations and rooms aboard the troop transport ship; followed by the return to the US in 1945 with scenes including the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco, CA. The following ships are included in the imagery: USS Texas (BB-35), SS John Burroughs, USS Salt Lake City (CA-25), SS Zoella Lykes, USS LCT-1092, and various PT boats. There are excellent examples of Nose Art on B-24 Bombers, mainly at Los Negros. Overall the album is an excellent resource for research on a construction battalion (Seabees) located in the South Pacific during WWII.
Accession #:
Catalog #: S-579
Donor: Family of Andrew Oddo (via Veterans Affairs office)
Copyright Owner: Naval History & Heritage Command
Related Content

The 104th was attached to VII Amphibious group in 1943 and sent to Gamadodo, Milne Bay, New Guinea; Australia in 1944; and Leyte, Philippine Islands, 1945. During these two years, the 104th completed numerous land based construction projects ranging from an airfield on Los Negros Island, in the Admiralties, to Naval Air Station Cubi Point on island of Leyte in the Philippines. The battalion was eventually deactivated in Dec 1945.

Topic
Document Type
  • Photograph
Wars & Conflicts
  • World War II 1939-1945
Navy Communities
  • Seabee
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  • Image (gif, jpg, tiff)
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