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derivative filename/jpeg
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363-03934 to 363-03936.pdf
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Digital Object Identifier
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363-03934 to 363-03936
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Title
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Seabees Work Toward Goal of New Asia
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Description
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Original title: "Seabees Work Toward Goal of New Asia." Seabees press release 32-67 (57)
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Date
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1967
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Subject
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United States. Navy. Seabees; Vietnam War, 1961-1977; Construction projects; Press releases
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Location
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Washington, D.C.
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Coordinates
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38.9072; -77.0369
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Container
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B65, F12
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Format
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press releases
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Collection Number
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MS 363
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Collection Title
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Beverly Deepe Keever, Journalism Papers
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Creator
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United States. Navy. Seabees
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Collector
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Keever, Beverly Deepe
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Copyright Information
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These images are for educational use only. To inquire about usage or publication, please contact Archives & Special Collections.
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Publisher
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Archives & Special Collections
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Language
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English
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extracted text
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UNITED STATES NAVY
CONSTRUCTION BA TT ALIONS
SEABEES IN ACTION
"CONSTRUIMUS, BATUIMUS - WE BUILD, WE FIGHT "
"CAN DO!"
U.S.NAVAL MOBILE CONSTRUCTION BATTALION SEVENTY ONE
FLEET POST OFFICE
NEW YORK, N. Y. 09501
Release No. 32-67 (57)
By Lieutenant (junior
grade) J.A. Smith, USNR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEABEES WORK TOWARD GOAL OF NEW ASIA
First hand experience has convinced Navy Seabees of the need to win
Vietnamese allies to a better way of life if we are to triumph in the war
against communism.
The Seabees, those legendary fighter-builders of World War II and
Korean War fame, have a prime mission in Vietnam to construct bases,
airstrips and facilities in support of combat troops.
In addition, they are spending all the time they can spare in helping our Vietnamese friends improve their way of life.
This is done by Seabee battalions and by 13-man Seabee teams, termed
the "Navy's Peace Corps," which serve full-time as teachers, helpers, and
friends to the people of South Vietnam and Thailand. These teams work
side by side with allies in building community improvements such as roads,
bridges, dams, schools, hospitals and water and sewer systems.
Similar to people everywhere, the South Vietnamese want things and
,.-crave to learn how to produce them. Seabees, with their many building
skills, possess the very kind of knowledge which the citizens of under,..
developed and war-torn nations need and want so mucho
Help supplied by Naval Mobile Construction Battalion SEVEVTY ONE,
stationed at Chu Lai, South Vietnam, generally illustrates the effort
being made by all Seabee units in Southeast Asia.
For instance:
One morning a UoS. Army Lieutenant telephoned to say, "the village
-more-
DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY • NAVAL FACILITIES ENGINEERING COMMAND • WASHINGTON , D. C. 20390
of Ly Tra was razed last night by the Viet Cong.
Can you help?n
The next day, a truck bursting to the seams with scrap lumber
rolled out of the MCB-71 camp for the 45-minute trip to Ly Tra. To the
Americans a truckload of scrap lumber seemed somewhat insignificant, but
to homeless Vietnamese it offered the opportunity to build a new home-to replace what had been destroyed.
This is civic reaction. The Americans coming to the rescue! A gift
to the hapless farmer to fulfill his immediate need by replacing what
had been destroyed by the enemy.
But, more important and exciting than civic reaction is the daily
Civic Action program conducted by Seabees and other units of the Armed
Forces in Vietnam.
The road that Americans help build to link a village to nearby markets,
the Medical Civic Action Program (MEDCAP) which may save the eyesight of a
young Vietnamese child, the fresh-water wells drilled in remote areas, these
are some of the things that make up Civic Action.
On a regular basis, Chaplain Bill Dennis, who is MCB-71's Civic Action
officer, Battalion Medical Officer Jerry Hubbell and Dr. Sam Winsper,
battalion dentist, and their staffs travel by truck to nearby villages.
On arrival, they set up offices near trucks and, with the help of
Seabee hospital corpsmen, treat the myriad of ills prevalent in villages
not previously exposed to modern medical science.
The people mostly need remedies for skin infections. With each treatment, the medicos dispense soap bars and instructions in personal hygiene.
Doctor Winsper and assistants settle down to the extraction of teeth
beyond repair. For some of the patients, it is the first relief ever known
from the consistent pain in their jaws,
The chaplain's course is not so clear. As Civic Action officer, he
is involved in the socio-political field. He is the man who the village
chief must look to for that new road, the rebuilt school ••• the opportunity
for pure drinking water.
Yet, his is not a simple task, for Seabee ·Chaplain Dennis, above all,
must be tactful. The guise of American defender will not win these people
to our side. Instead, the chaplain must foster a community spirit by
stimulating the villagers into wanting to help themselves. This is Civic
Action.
The chaplain knows that the impetus must come from the Vietnamese with
the Americans prodding as unobtrusively as possible, If the Americans
build a road and give it to the Vietnamese, it is still the Americans'
road. But, if Americans help the Vietnamese to build a road, it is a road
that belongs to the South Vietnamese people.
-more-
The Viet Cong would have a tough time mining the latter road, but
would probably find it much easier to mine a road which was an outright
American-built gift.
It is Chaplain Dennis' job to cajole, inspire, prod and aid the
friendly Vietnamese in their drive for a better life. This is Civic
Action- -the day-to-day competition with the Viet Cong for the lives
and minds . of the people.
The struggle isn't easy as Vietnamese allies sometimes question
our motives and American commanders must devote men and material to battle
as the first priority, Civic Action second.
But, Seabees have found if they do their Civic Action job well, an
intangible somethings occurs within each hamlet which binds it closer to
ouy:- side.
If Civic Action falters, the Viet Cong will return to the hamlet
each night to find encouragement or, at the least, acceptance.
Civic Action is as simple--and important--as that.
-301967 marks the 25th anniversary of the U.S. Navy Seabees; the 100th
of the Navy Civil Engineer Corps whose officers lead the Seabees in action;
and the 125th of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (formerly Bureau
of ,;Yards and Docks).
(DEAR EDITOR~ We Seabees hope you can use this copy and we would
appreciate a tear sheet mailed to ~)
PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE 09Dl
Yards and Docks Annex ZB-35
Washington, D. C. 20390
