SEA6EES BUILD
SPRINGBOARDS
FOR THE ATTACK!
Navy's Newest Unit Fights,
Digs Under Fire of Enemy;
"Can Do" Boys Now Number
.More Than 260,000
"Believe me in all sincerity. I
ically mean the statement that the
navy will remember this war by the
Seabees." ? Vice Admiral W. L. Cal
houn. commander of the Pacific
?ervice force.
Like a flash, war burst at Pearl
Harbor, and almost immediately its
black clouds rolled westward to
Guam. Wake and the Philippines.
Caught in the outburst were many
civilian construction workers for the
navy, without weapons to defend
themselves, or subject to execution
t>y the enemy as guerillas if captur
< d bearing arms in civilian dress.
To Rear Admiral Ben Moreell of
the bureau of yards and docks and
the civil engineer corps came the
idea of organizing the naval con
struction battalion ? the heralded
Seabees of today.
"Can Do" Boys
Coining the name, "Seabees,"
Tom the initials of construction bat
talions, this newest branch of the
navy set out to create its own tra
iition. Tlie Seabees' first construc
tion jobs were vndertaken with
-ucli enthusiasm and such disre
gard for obstacles that other branch
es of the service began to refer to
the newcomers as the "Can Do"
hoys. The name caught on, and
soon '"Can Do" became the tradition
cf the Seabees.
As performance reports came in
*u establish the wisdom of the con
ception of the Seabees, it became
?mmediately obvious that the sights
had been set too low. The Seabee
quota rose from 0,000 to 20,000 to
'?0,000 to 100,000. and finally to the
, resen< quota of some 2G2.000 which
?s well in excess of the total com
plement of the entire prewar navy.
Today there are approximately 115.
<100 Seabees in battalions serving
overseas. Another 147.000 are com
pleting their training in this coun
try. Commanding the Seabees are
approximately 7,500 civil engineer
corps officers.
The first instance of "Can Do"
came when the First Naval Con
struction battalion was put to work
streirigthenirig with shore installa
tions our tenuous supply line to Aus
tralia. Despite inadequate equip
ment and organizational inexperi
ence. thosi- first Seabees built the
t:o.-.es which sent our warships into
i>ie critical Coral Sea battle in the
'-est of fighting trim.
Since then, every major amphibi
ous operation has found tin- Seabees
among the first to land. At Guad
alcanal. Ilu- fighting builders rode
*.he!r bulldozers in building roads
and airfields during the tliiek of tlio
fighting. Their feat in maintaining
Henderson Field despite incessant
tombing and shelling and their con
struction of a companion strip for
tighter planes were critical factors
in our defense of the island. Other
installations followed to make Guad
alcanal a major base for attacks on
the islands to the northwest.
Rendova, Munda, Vella Lavella,
Bougainville were subjected to Sea
bee "Can Do." Not only did the
sweating Seabees perform miracles
in repairing destroyed and damaged
Jap installations, but they complet
ed entirely new projects in days
rather than the weeks which nor
mally would be required. At Mun
da, for example, the poorly con
structed and bomb ravaged field of
the Japs was put in usable condition
in less than eight days.
Busy at Tarawa
Again at bloody Tarawa while Jap
machine gun bullets still whizzed
over their heads, the Seabees began
repairing the field that hours be
fore had posed a major threat to our
inland positions in the Pacific. Four
days after the initial landing, and
less than one day after organized
enemy resistance had ceased, the
field was back in shape and re
ceiving American planes.
In the Aleutians, too, the Seabees
proved their "Can Do." Not only
did they take over and complete the
huge projects begun by civilian
contractors, but they also moved in
with the assault forces at Attu and
Kiska. Before the last assault boat
landed, they were at work replac
ing poorly constructed Jap installa
tions with adequate roads, housing,
dock facilities and air strips. They
built these in spite of gales, bottom
less tundra and the world's most
awsome collection of bad weather.
On the othei* side of the world,
the Seabees have been equally ac
tive. After landing with the first
American forces in Africa, they im
mediately pounced on the job of re
building the enemy's bomb blasted
installations and the construction
of new airfields and docks for use in
the onslaughts against Sicily and
Italy. Later, during the invasions
they took on the unglamorous but
extremely important work of getting
guns, supplies and mechanized
equipment ashore. At Salerno under
the heaviest attacks by enemy bomb
ers and a hell of fire from shore
batteries, the Seabees unloaded some
10,000 piecs-s of equipment and
within two days had turned that
At Camp Wolters
Pfc. Ralph Carlton recently vis
ited his parents, Mr. and Mrs.
John Carlton, of Deep Gap. His
address is: Pfc. Ralph Carlton.
181 Station Hospital. Camp Wol
ters, Texas.
sanguinary beach into a temporary
base of operations.
The Seabees carry on the over
seas construction work of the navy's
bureau of yards and docks. They
are commanded by officers of the
civil engineer corps, the sam<- corps
which executor! the bureau's vast
naval shore construction program in
this country to provide for sevicing
the fleet and training naval person
nel. This active command by the
CEC, incidentally, is an innovation I
of this war. Previously CEC offi
cers had served only in ?taff capaci
ties; however, the creation of the
Seabees logically prompted the 1 igh
command to give full control of
these builder* to engineering train
id officers.
Building Trades Represented
Fifty-nine different building traiu-s
? re represented in the Seabees and.
until enlistment was halted last Oc
tober 31, men were given regular
navy rales commensurate with their
civilian experience. A journeyman
carpenter, for example, might ex
pect to have been made a sccond
class petty officer; a construction
foreman was given a chier petty of
ficer's rating.
A battalion consists of 1,079 men
and 32 officers, including 26 from
the civil engineer corps. The bat
talion comprises four construction
companies of 224 men each and a
headquarters company. It is a self
contained unit and all the construc
tion skills are represented, .50 that
tlie battalion can undertake any )
kind of base buildinf; jnb to which !
it might ho assigned.
Within I hi Scabees were organ
ised special battalions especially
trained ni the work of unloading
and loading ships. These battalions,
officered by men commissioned
from the ranks of highly trained ci
vilian stevedores, are breaking one
of the most serious bottlenecks ill
our supply lines. At one port in the
South Pacific where not many
months ago 06 ships lay idly at an
chor because of inadequate facilities
lor their unloading, a Seabee bat
talion went to work. They unload
ed them at better than one-n-dav
rate until the congestion was end
ed, and today, cargoes are being dis
charged as fast :is they arrive.
Another special branch within the
Seabees are the demolition units.
These, consisting of one officer and
four men, are given extremely rig
orous physical conditioning and
training in the handling of explo
sives.
Extra Corn Yields
By Better Methods
An extra 500,000 bushels of corn
can be easily and cheaply produced
in North Carolina this year through
improved farm practices, said farm
ers in a recent series of field meet
ings held in co-operation with the
State College extension service.
They suggested well prepared
seed beds in advance of planting, as
a means of reducing later cultivation
and saving on labor. They empha
sized the use of the best local variety
for seed and the planting of. the
crop as early as possible.
The use of about 300 pounds of
good fertilizer per acre at planting
was recommended for most lands
because fertilizer would give quick
growth to the crop and enable grow
ers to work out their corn without
interfering with other farm opera
tions.
About one-third of the entire
acreage in cultivation in North
Carolina is in corn and anything that
can be done to save labor on the
crop is of great importance. Aver
age corn yields run about 20 bushels
per acre and when all expense is
continued, the cost of producing a
bushel of corn reaches a relatively
high figure.
Don't COUGH
I iskfer MENTHO'MUISIO
IF IT FAIIS TO STOP YCU R
coj&m c >, e r: b:.DS ask
? -.a Mo*?* < ?. v : 75 ?
BOONE DRUG CO.
SIX-INCH SERMON
i REV. ROBERT H. HARPER.
JESUS ON MOUNTAIN AND
IN VALLEY
Lesson for Feb. 13: Mark 9:2-29;
Golden Text: Mark 9:24.
The transfiguration look place on
Mt. Hermon. which was in northern
Palestine and the most conspicuous
landmark in the country. As on
many another great occasion. Jesus,
had taken the chosen three with
Him. How the three knew the iden
tity bf the two who taiked with
Jesus, we do not know. It is strik
ing that the Law. trr Prophets, and
the Gospel were all concerned in
the transfiguration.
This transcendant occur ranee
siii-ngtbened the humanity of Jesus
and the faith ot the disciples con
cerning the heavenly mission of
Jesus, and it should confirm our
belief in His divinity.
The three disciples were doubt
less led to ask the question concern
ing Elijah because they had just
seen him in glory on the mount of
transfiguration. The answer of
Jesus may indicate that John the
Baptist had come in the character
of Elijah to be the forerunner of the
Christ.
The afflicted child was healed
through his own father's faith.
There are greatly needed at this
present time, fathers and mothers
whose iaith can save their children
from the evil that is in the world
In answer to the disciples' question
?s to why they could not heal the
body. Jesus said that that "kind"
could come forth "but by prayer and
fasting." Whatever may be our ap
plication of what Jesus said. His
words should encourage us to pray
in most difficult cases. Let each
of us come to the point of experi
ence reached by the distressed fath
er when he said. "I believe: help
thou mine unbelief."
State Will Get Rid of
Frame Schoolhouses!
I
Raleigh ? The estimated 1,400 one !
to three- room frame school houses
for some 200.000 negro school chil
dren in North Carolina will disap
pear just as soon after the war as
materials are available to replace
Ihem.
That's a part of a program be
gun more than a decade ago, and
temporarily halted by the war, to
put the white and negro races on
the same footing in educational op
portunity. physical equipment, sal
aries to teachers-, and graduate and
professional training.
The state's general assembly al- 1
ready has provided for elimination |
of salary differentials. Its general
fund, expected to show a surplus of
more than S70.000.000 by the end of
the current fiscal year, will take
care of the remainder of the pro- ,
gram. I
Be On Time ? Only One Showing ? 9:15 P. M
TAXI
Yearning foe Brook
lyn and them beauti
ful Bums!
FATHER DONNELLY
Notre Dame ail
American . . . ond
all-Americcn Man!
HOOK M ALONE
Hi? men jwore of . .
and by him!
You
Will Be
Glad
You I
Bought
Thai
Bond!
Ask for
Your
Ticket
When You
Purchase
Your Bond
What guys ! Whot guH !
What a victory!
Seats
Make
Your
Plans
How
To See
This
Unfor
gettable
Picture
Preston FOSTER ? Lloyd NOLAN ? Wfa 8M *
Rrcfianl CONTE ? Anthony QUittN
Thursday Evening 9:15 p. m.
APPALACHIAN THEATRE - Boone, H. C.
THIS ADVERTISEMENT SPONSORED BV
W. R. WINKLER
??MHWHnnmimHannBnaB
TONIGHT - - - 3S TluE BIG NIGHT!!
No tickets will be sold? admittance by Special Ticket Only . . . Let s
show a Bond for Every Seat . . . Back the Attack!
CHEVROLET OWNERS
We are receiving a steady supply of Chevrolet Parts, and our stocks are
Most Complete.
WATER PUMPS, CLUTCH DISCS. BEARINGS OF ALL TYPES
AND MANY OTHER CRITICAL ITEMS.
Accessories for all cars are available now ....
Truck Horns, Seat Covers, Car Jacks, Hot Water Heaters and
Tire Chains.
A Good Stock' oi New and Grade No. 3 Tires
For Immediate Delivery
QUALITY RECAPPING
olvard Chevrolet Co.
Colvard Oil Co.
Boone, N. C. Phone 164