From Omaha to Okinawa: The Story of the Seabees (Bluejacket Books) from Naval Institute Press

In this rousing sequel to his timeless Can Do! The Story of the Seabees, William Bradford Huie continues the saga of the battle trained civilian plumbing technicians, carpenters, heavy devices operators, wharf builders, and civil engineers who served in the U.S. Navy construction battalions. The story starts in 1944 with the battle for Iwo Jima when the Seabees braved concentrated enemy fire and Iwo's daunting surface to rig floating causeways, blow up trashed landing craft, and drive their bulldozers up 3 balconies that rose from the ocean to protect the beachhead. This book completely narrates their heroism, consisting of the memorable efforts of the males of the 31st Battalion who crawled the length of a landing strip to get shrapnel as Japanese snipers fired away.Huie does equivalent justice to the historic actions of the Seabees on D-Day at Omaha Beach, where they manned fifteen hundred lorries during the very first wave of landings at Normandy. He provides fascinating accounts of the production and screening of numerous pierheads, floating steel bridges, and"Rhino "ferryboats. His story of Seabee accomplishments is greatly laced with vibrant stories of moonshining, brawling, and carousing juxtaposed with compassionate stories of the children in the detainee of war camps. His interest for the Seabees acquired instantaneous approval when this book was very first released in 1945 and is frequently mentioned as motivating being successful generations to rise to the same spirit of dedication and commitment to their task.