Rear Admiral Ben Moreell

Founder of the Seabees
Made You Look.

Navy Seabees on Guadalcanal

By Capt. Larry G. DeVries, CEC, USNR, Ret.

The events that led to the participation of the Seabees in the battle for Guadalcanal in World War II started with the actions taken by Rear Admiral Ben Moreell, Chief of Civil Engineers, and the staff of the Bureau of Yards and Docks (BUDOCKS) in the early weeks of the war. Captain John N. Laycock, Civil Engineer Corps, was in charge of the planning for Seabee units and expanded on the early work of Commander Walter H. Allen at the Great Lakes Naval Base who had pioneered the concept of construction units composed of naval personnel. When the war began, Rear Admiral Moreell expanded and acted on the planning that had taken place and began to organize several units of Civil Engineer Corps officers and skilled petty officers. On 5 January 1942, Rear Admiral Moreell's superiors directed him to begin recruiting the men that were to form the Navy's new construction battalions. Seabee enlisted men were recruited with skills needed in the battalions and came primarily from the construction industry. Civil Engineer Corps officers, many with prior military and construction experience, were commissioned to serve in the units.

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