“Construimus, Batuimus” “We Build, We Fight”

43rd Naval Construction Battalion

Historical Information

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11-17 tine t lroquoia Pt.. ipl0 l'en.. t Loch. of Jr •• nt e... lgnment is 15 Jan'45. Report r c

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16 pr'45 d58 n. oved to r 1. in t Iroo~oi8 Pt to load ~1 to be

to 'ui. Re rt ro ted via 7th Reg. end 8th Erg.

5-1 - 1 Mar' report ot 98 h OB .tat•• that 90 t~ 98th dB are worlr:1.ng at A.BRD wi the 43rd OB IIQ of 1 MarI.5.

5-19-~ - 1 Mq'4,5 report of 8th Br1«. ,.. t 43rd CB ie 10 ted at M&1i1• ... 1.-45-1 '45 report oft _~rdCB- lOClltedatO of1 '4~.

5-21-45 - 1 '45 report of 7th R g - One detaChm t of 43rd as .tl11 on an adJ ba: should rejoin the Batt. & ., earl,. in Ma¥.

-7 h 10 t 1 lth ~th 'Div, 5th P co s. c co 01Itt' O~787 dtd y' 5 to ro)

6-15-45 - I Jun 14.,"> report of th 4:3rd CB - 10 ated rt !AUI 14'7 en reed. 7 otf. end n ratd B Py from duty et K nat. g.

7-16-4 - 1 Jul l 45 r ort of 43rd OB - loe 7- ,7- 5 - 1 c _ of 10 July how gn

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10-24-45 - report of ,"I'd Cl3 - leee:tieB Bet 8~at(llQ. iieport vie. 7th Reg. 124 men released ~ur1ng the conth for discharge under the point syRtem. 43rd Cl3 e.rr1~ed at . lpan on 3 ept'45 from iRU1. Lett S inan on 16 pt'45 & rr1ved t Nag saki. J pan on 23 Sept' 45.

10-30-45 - 43rd CE landed in the Naga ak:l area on 24 Sept '45. s etated 1n 1 Oct '45 r8'Dcr t 0 7th Reg.

11-3u-45 - 1 Nov'45 report of d. rd CB - 1')c t10n not a.t d. art 306 "'n trans! rr d to U.;,). for disc e. 00." At' h moved to I • KY't shu with th lOt.h • rin s. 1 c'45 r rt of 43rd CB - loc ti n not 3enort vi 7th transferred 0 U•• fn di c rg. d3. en 0 ~lst CB re orted 1 cements Co. It II nn consists of 1 off. &: j;.4 m n still t Ienhe

wi th the 10th arinp:leg. 12-2 _4 • rd OB is illl!ctivat d s ot 5 Dec t 45. ser 05'-31 a.td 5 Dec'45

to OinO. 4" rrt nIl). (Per • t!' 1-lS~6 - On in ctiv tion _49 nIl t~e~~~~ t Co t~

(Dine ~rd 03 It er ~.~>5 to

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or U.S departed for U.O). lett f?r U. s. 1N,,. I.

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1 Oot'441 ovt

1 J 44

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b t1/ ~,,/t.. P 19 MoB.261 ,q,r'45 1 ley'45 27 1 Jun l 45

281 Jul'

'45 25 10431

1 Sept t45 25 1026

26 9141 Oct' 5 26 "'931 ov'45

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43rd Oon truction Battal 10n

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rom th Chronologi 1 H ' .,to17 l)f t A 1st i.e d _ 1 Jen' 3 - Arrived Krxli :k ~ro U••

1 '43 - On., Co. at sand Point. 1 Jul' 3 - Co. D (4 off. n) -and Point.

Jul'43 - D~t. retld from S nd Point to Y.odt±19 ug'43 - Det. of _ oft & 96 en at and Point ( or

about 30 a1's) 5 Je.n'44 - 5 Off . & 237 men departed Kodhk

15 Je.n'44 - f. Off . &: 225 men 113 Jan' 44 - 2 Ot~ . 160 III n

9 Jeb'44 - 1Rl en let tor U. S. 9 .:3b' 44 - 200 men Ip.tt for tT. •

1 eb' 44 - 2 Ott. ,1' n 1 1t 'for TJ.

(0 17 c. ~-l!L? over er 0096 to BudQCc:ttc. 6 OV'

History of ~ Forty-Third U.S. Naval Construction Battalion

Some of the men of the newly activated 43rd aval Construction

Battalion saw snow for the first tim.: on 12 November 1942, the day

they II broke bootll at the Davisville, Rhode Island, Naval Training

Center. By the time they returned fran their first tour of duty,

they were all seasoned Arctic workers.

Kodiak Island

The Battalion left Da~~i11e in mid-December, stopping over

for two weeks at the Advanced Base Depot Port Hueneme, before boarding

the U.S.S. rton with 27 officers and 1004 enlisted men for trans

portation to Kodiak Island at the base of th Aleutians. The

original plans for odiak, ojecte by Congress in 1939, called

for a large naval oper ting base, naval air Etation with f cilities

for seaplanes as well as landplanes, and a subro ine bas • ost of

these facilities had already been built by the civilian contractor

before the riwl of tb Fourth Construction Re i.m nt, to bicb th

43rd C struction Battalion belon ed, ani any of the projects

originally planned for Kodi.!lk were soon to be cancelled as war strategy

shifted the scene of action in the Pacific to the southern hemi

sphere. Yet a large n'Wllber of structures were still to be canpleted

on the island, and more importantly, the outlying defense installations

whioh protected the main bas needed to be strengthened. These tasks

occupied the 43rd Batta1.ion for a little more than a year.

It was still the middle of winter When the Battalion moved into

split up into details and its barracks on Vimy Ridge. Most of the men were/set to work on

miscellaneous jobS in the vicinity, including buildin their

own mess hall. A laundtry- and a garage were bu.ilt for the contractor

,4epair and storage facilities for Arrrry lamplanes were built\. Tf:te -thc-

Seabees worked on hangars for Naval Air Station, as well as adjoiningtf

personnel structures (officers I qaarters t aarages, a mess hall). One

detail soIted and stacked lumber and loaded in into boats; another

unloaded cargo craft at the wharf.

Company II f1 was det.ached shortly after the urival of the

Battalion t odiak a d sent to Sand Point on Popof Island to

work on the Regimental headquarters at the Naval uxiliar,r Air tation.

When the air facility was completed in September 1943 it accomodated

410 officera and men. With the spring thaw, other detachments were

BE:Ilt out to work on t outlying positions: a warehouse and other

facilities were built at the Radio Range Station on Woody Island,

six miles northeast of Kodiak; an entire camp was constructed at

Entrance Point, on Kodiak Island, where an anti-aircraft training

center waf' locatedj and Army Gun Emplacements, complete with

personnel facilities,ftii1l@l•• were built at Miller's Point and Cape

j"(lJ,,,ic. . Chiniak.J CHi the ieiand.·

Aside from the problans associated with _.~•• strenuous work

in cold eath er, whi d1 took its toll in a high rate of illness,

construction was c anp1icated by the unusual terrain on the islar¥i.

-iuch of the land was _ marsh, covered over with a blanket of volcanic

ash from the eruption of ount f.atmai in 1912. This created

constant problem$of unstable faun ations, groundwater seepage, and

mud Gnats d mas itos infested the danp areas and added to the

sick list. Machinery wore out quickly under these conditions,

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and much of the equipmp.ot,. the L3rd. Batt,alion inherited had seen

considerabl previous use. Breakdown of eqU#apnent proved to

be the major headach~df- 4w ~_~6~ ~daV, ~__.H~ p~"" ,4. ~If{.a/ •

Despite these problems the Battalion completed its assignments

before the end of 1943. While Camp Parka made ready for their

return, the Battalion occupied itself ~1m.~W1i1j) bY' fu-T'lliahing sssis

tance to the L,lst Construction Battalion, building at d-by storage

uncritical mase improvements, tanks and other and by holding extra

training classes. To add to tte tedious waiting, the battalion went

home in dribbles: five echelons, soread out over a month, made

fltoe",4/(1.J"', GtLtfrJ'W~,

the trip from Kod:ia.k to Camp Parks,;,the last arriving 22 February 1944.

The Pacific

After two months of fest and retraining, the Battalion was

ready for

-->..,ctea!:;:@ gave the

Battalion an added onth of rest in Calif'ornia, nd t en it hipped

out 5 July 19L1J, bound for P r rbor, Oahu. ed jn th

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Hawaiian Islands uDtil after the surrender of J pan.

in Od/tU The first work was to turn a Iai.:ii.~. camp of half-completed

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quoDset huts ana tellts into livable quarters for the battalion ,

__ complete with barracks, showers, a mess hall, theater, chapel,

recreation hall, officers' quarters, etc. Besides the camp there were

three major areas of work for the 43ra Battalion: the Advanced Base

Construction Depot, Iroquois Point; the aval Salvage Depot, aipio

Point· and the Naval Ammunition Depot, est Loch. 43~ lkll4u"" '5

where the" ... camp was located l t*t!. f~4~$' At Iroquois pOintj'h ' 3 d PnU ..".. took over frotl the 98th

Battalion the building of a supply annex. A huge aircraft parking

area, 342 acres, was graded and paved with crushed coral. A prisoner

of war camp was bullt • Miscellaneous jobs included an equipxnent repcur

shop, a uumber of ware cuses, and a 10,000 bbl. bitumals storage tank.

The ~lvage Depot at ip 0 Point, Which reclaimed usable parts

and metal frOITl damaged ships, required improvements in wa~erfront

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facilities. The 43rd onatructi n Battali Ibuilt a lOOO,.foot wharf,

a small boat pier and a 60-ton gantry cr e.

Personnel buildings were r quired at West Loch, in addition

to . m:ine-assE'.mbly buildings, railroads, and various safety

structural features _El@ril~ required at &mnunitioD depots. The

J.:3r Battalion also built a sw:l.mming pool for the enlisted men.

""r ~':~.i. _ Taken together it was a sizable assignmenrand the cOIlD'llanding

officer had considerable difficulty stretching his limited manpower

to cover so many _tall tasks. "This battalion has been given so

many different jobs, II he noted ane report, Ilthat we have ha:l

trouble getting enou h men and equipment to keep all of the jobs and

eouipment oing at the same tjme." Equipment fa:ilmre was again the

conunon complaint. Much of the equipment was oM, spare parts were

scarce, and use was heavy.

On 28 .l.'ebruary 1945, with moot of the work canpleted, the

Battalion received order to cease work. Most of the men then began

jungle training and. other military exercises in preIl8.l'atiOD for

movement to a fOI"llard ea. During the me th of April, and "D

Comnaniea and part of Headquart rs Comp y, ov to NaYiliwili

on the island of auai. The rest of the Battalion joiJ'led the Lth

Harine Di ision on the island of Maui. The Kauai detachment spent

a month readying a rine camp r Ir the r6turning marines ane.

erecting some temporary etorehouses. They then rejoined the main

Battalion, which was engaged in general clearling-up operations at

the huge 30,OOO-man center on MauL Structure5 built dUring June

and July, 19115, were mostly recre tional. facilities--handball court«-,

a chapels, theaters, library, cl~b houses, etc.

TOIiard the end of July Ue Marines prepared to move across the

Pacific for the invasion of the Japanese islands, and the 43rd

Construction Battalion began loading eqUipment aboard ship. Leaving

lau! on 13 August 19lJ5 aboard the U.S.S. Prince George, th batl:.alion

headed first for Honolulu, aITivin~ only a few bours before t e news

of peac.i••• was received. on August 14. Nevertheless, construction

workers were still needed in the Pacific, and the eabees proceed

/It ~ j1-(4rrtl/f/IS on to Span, tl e sch ul at ging area. Ai'ter a st ort st y,lf

th~y were sent to NC>.hc,""cU\,04: th d stated J pane port city on

the 1sI d of 'yushu .

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Du in their two month stay in the abasaki area, th 43rd

IIndt?I-tock

Battalion wele Cl'Jitit;ed ill glneral repair work on buildings &nd

-. ;119 warehou es, grading and maintam:n~ roads,.,.repaVthe DejiIri Wharf

and unloaciiJ g supplies at the barbor. Tbe Battalion extended an

airfielc, dubbed "Atomic Field," fran 800 feet to 1800 feet. It

also bullt 31 Butler huts and a two-storey quonset hut for the

2nd Marine Division. Company "AI moved to Isaha.ya, northe s of

Na asaki., to assist tl e loth Marine Division during ovember.

its All during _~_ stay in Japan, the 43rd Battalion was oeing

depleted by discharges. By November it was __D at balf strength,

with the most experienced ell absent from the ranks. The commanding

officer urged that the entire oattalion be sent home. This deci~ion

was reach on 30 November. Most of the men had been detached and

sent home for discharge by this date, including Commander Williams

and thirteen other officers. Lt. Commander P.R. O'Donnell, the

acting Officer-in-Charge, inactivat d the battalion on 5 Dec~ber 1945.

inco orated in The rer.mant of th b ttali n was then e-=~m~~· the 31 t al

Conshruction B tt lion.

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12 Nov 1942

17 Dec 1942

2 Jan 1943

10 Jan 1943

23 Jan 1943

Jul 1943

19 Aug 1943

20 Jan 19l.t4

1 Feb 1944

11 Feb 19U4

20 Feb 19lJh

22 Feb 19l.tb

Chrono1opy

The battalion was activated at the Naval Construction

Tra:ining Center J Davisville, R. I.

The battalion departed Davieville for the Advancet

Bas Depot, Port Hueneme, California.

The battalion left Port Hueneme for Kodiak Island,

Alaska, aboard the U.S.S. Wharton.

The battalion arrived at the Naval Operating BaBe,

Kodiak.

Company nDn consisting of 4 officers and 236 men departed

for Sand POint, Popof Island.

Company liD' returned to Kodiak.

4 officers and 96 men were detached to ~d Point for

30 days duty.

1st ~chelon of 7 officers and 305 men arrived at

the Construction Battalion Rep1acemen~ Depot, Camp

Parks, Shoemaker, California. (Depart~re dates from

Kodiak for all sahelons are not known.)

2nd helon of 05 men arrived at Camp Parks.

3rd che10n o~ 1 officer and 80 men arrived at Camp

Parks.

4th Echelon of 7 officers and 286 men arrived at

120 me arriv

Parks.

5th helo

7 l"l3.y 194L

8 May 1944

5 Jul 1944

1l.Jul 1944

28 Feb 1945

4 Apr 1945

8 Apr 1945

12 Apr 1945

16 Apr 19L5

8 lay 1945

13 Aug 19L5

14 Aug 1945

3 Sep 1945

16 Sap 1945

'file battalion left Camp Parks, Construct_on ttalion

Replacement Depot.

The battalion arrived at the Advance e Depot,

Port Huememe, Cali.fornia.

The battalion departed from Port Hueneme far Oahu

Territory of Hawaii.

Tbe battali on arrived at Pearl Harbor, Oahu.

The battalion was secured from work at Oahu, and

prepared for mOVe!'lent.

/efr Oahu for

Company "A" 3 officers and 197 men,

Fourth Marine Division Camp, Maui, Territory of Hawaii.

(Arrival dates at Maui and Kauai are not known.)

Company "B", 6 officers andm 195 men, rnove4to Malli.

cOl1sisting of 7 officers and 350 men, COIYIpariies nc" and "D" and part of Headquarters Company,/

moved @fiiiiii:@ to Nawiliwili, Kaua:i, Territory of Hawaii.

Remain er of Headquarters Compa1l1, b officers and 58

left Oahu

men, for Maui.

ed

7 0.f1 ieers and 350 men fran Kauai arrivf at 'laui.

ed

Th battalion departi J1aui aboard the U.S. • Prince

George.

The battalion arrived. at Honolulu, Ha: ii, en route to

Saipan.

The battalion arrived at Saipan, Mariana Islands.

T batt ian departed fro Saipan.

11

23 Sep 1945 The bat talion "'rrived at Nagasaki, Japan.

24 Oct 1945 306 men left 'agasaki for discharge.

30 Nov 19u5 91 men were detached for discharge at I agasaki,

including Commander A. F. Williams.

1 Dec 1945 11 officers and 364 enlisted men (the vast ~ority

made

bejng seamen) up the 43rd Construction ~ttal1on

at Nagaaaki-Isahaya. took

5 Dec 19L5 Inactivation place at Nagasaki at 2400.

10 Oct 1960 A reunion of the 43rd Na'\:al Co truction Battalion

was held in \ ashington, D.C.

Commanding Officers

Officer-in-Charge was

COlTUllander Hugh A. DunJ.ap, CEC, USNR,/assigned. to the still u.nactivated

L3rd Construction Battalion, 26 October 19L2. He

is officially deta.ched 11 .1ay 1944.

Comrnal'Iier Alan F. ill1ams, CEC, U.;)lffi, was assigned. to the battalion

on 9 I-iay 19u4. He was detached 30 November 1945.

Commarrler

Lteutenant/p.R.. OIDonnell, CEO, USHR, relieved COl11lll1Ulder illiams and

served 8S Bcting Officer-in-Charge until .5 December 1945.

Execut 'va Officer ..a

Lieutenant J. W. Jonea CEC, USllR,/ass1gneci: to the new battalion along

with amrnand r Dunlap, 26 ctobf!r 1912 . He was d t cll d

7 .

pr:i 1 1943.

Co, r ill sekE.. , 0, us , li d Lt . Jones

7 r1l 1943 and aiD until .5 De

12 Nov 1942 17 Dec 1942

02 Jan 1943 10 Jan 1943 23 Jan 1943

Jul 1943 19 Aug 1943 20 Jan 1944

01 Feb 1944

11 Feb 1944

20 Feb 1944

22 Feb 1944

07 May 1944

08 May 1944 05 Jul 1944

11 Jul 1944 28 Feb 1945

04 Apr 1945

08 Apr 1945

43 rd Naval Construction Battalion

Chronology

Activated at Naval Construction Training Center, Davisville, Rl. Departed Naval Construction Training Center, Davisville for Advance Base Depot, Port Hueneme, California. Departed Advance Base Depot, Port Hueneme, for overseas. Arrived at Kodiak, Alaska. Co. "0" consisting of 4 officers and 236 men departed for Sand Point. Co. "0" returned to Kodiak. 4 officers and 96 men detached to Sand Point for 30 days duty. 1st Echelon of 7 officers and 385 men arrived Construction Battalion Replacement Depot, Camp Parks, Shoemaker, California. (Departure date from Koidak not known). 2nd Echelon of 65 men arrived Construction Battalion Replacement Depot, Camp Parks. (Departure date from Kodiak not known) 3rd Echelon of 1 officer and 80 men arrived Construction Battalion Replacement Depot, Camp Parks. (Departure date from Kodiak not known). 4th Echelon of 7 officers and 286 men arrived Construction Battalion Replacement Depot, Camp Parks. (Departure date from Kodiak not known). 5th Echelon of 1 officer and 120 men arrived Construction Battalion Replacement Depot, Camp Parks. (Departure date from Kodiak not known).

Second Tour of Duty

Departed Construction Battalion Replacement Depot, Camp

Parks.

Arrived Advance Base Depot, Port Hueneme.

Departed Advance Base Depot, Port Hueneme for Oahu, Territory

of Hawaii .

The battalion arrived at Pearl Harbor, Oahu.

The battalion was secured from work at Oahu, and prepared for

movement.

Company "A", 3 officers and 197, left Oahu for Fourth Marine

Division Camp, Maui, Territory of Hawwaii. (Arrival dates at

Maui and Kauai are not known)

Company "B", 6 officers and 195 men, moved to Maui.

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1 pr 45 till 1 cat

13 u 45 D rt Ha S 1nce Georg •

3 S 45 , rlana I 1 nd

16 ep 45 D

23 ep 45 rriv , J n.

5 Dec 4' lnacUv ted at ald. J p n.

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