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133rd NCB Iwo Jima


DOGFACE1944
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Outstanding dogface! I'm glad to see our unit isn't the only one who brings out everything INCLUDING the kitchen sink! GREAT JOB

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Armed 2 tha Teeth

I don't think this display was well thought out at all.

 

Iwo doesn't lend itself to summer events. The battle was fought from February-March, and the Marines were no longer fighting in the steamy South Pacific. It was common to wear a wool shirt under your HBTs (utilities) and a wool lined field jacket (M41) over them.

 

These seabees are from the 62nd NCB but they are wearing pricisely what I am talking about, utilities, wool sweaters, field jackets etc.

http://carol_fus.tripod.com/navy_hero_62nd_ncb.html

 

There are way too many guys just wearing white t-shirts, shorts, fiber helmets, and denim (more could be hidden because all the pictures have a sepia filter on them). I don't quite understand why there is so much bamboo around too, sand bags or foxholes would have been more appropriate.

 

It seems like you guys wanted to portray seabees, picked a campaign without checking what the seabees actually wore there or lived like and then applied what is considered cliche for seabee impressions to it (chambray, denim, bamboo, white t-shirts, etc.)

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DOGFACE1944

Basicly we were portraying the 133rd post battle. They were there for a total of five months or untill the end of June. Their job was basic, create infrastructure and maintain airstrip repair. In addition to an original scrapbook full of pictures of the 133rd that I used, there are also these links that typify uniforms or lack of uniforms used by Seabees during their time on Iwo:

 

 

http://www.angelfire.com/hi5/the8ball/chas...os/smalla02.jpg

 

http://www.angelfire.com/hi5/the8ball/kets...ameset_ket.html

 

http://www.angelfire.com/hi5/the8ball/lews...ameset_lew.html

 

And no... we do not own a quonset hut! Haa haa!

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Armed 2 tha Teeth
Hello, I have to say, the website looks great Dogface. Is that your group?

Yes, Iwo Jima does have quite a bit of foliage, bamboo, palm, etc. Of course, this was basically annihilated during the invasions, but only in fortified areas and at the beaches.

If anyone has done any research on the USN Construction Battalion, they will quickly realize how resourceful the Seabees were. It is a known fact that they loved bamboo because of the ease of working with it while it remained strong.

 

More sandbags would have been nice in that setup. The marston matting was an excellent touch and that stuff was used everywhere.

 

There are tons of pictures of sailors on Iwo wearing denims, khaki cuttoffs and even sandals and penny loafers.

 

The only unfortunate thing about Seabees is that they do not get enough credit.

 

Remember, the CB's built the infrastructure all over the island. Some areas of Iwo were extremely heavy with vegetation. Hence the need for Dozers and Dump trucks. Seabees also remained on the island through the end of the war.

 

Thanks for remembering such an unsung group!

 

 

My apologies I didn't know you were portraying a post-combat impression.

 

Still of the pictures you linked it is unclear how many are on Iwo, and how many were taken when the 133RD was in Hawaii. The two captioned pictures of the 133rd on Iwo show them in foxholes, and sandbags. The quonset huts add to the confusion because the 133rd had them at some point after the Iwo battle, as well as when they were in Hawaii. Ken Unger's album has a few more pictures of the 133rd on Iwo, but still no pictures of seabees in cutoff shorts, and penny loafers. Maybe your personal photo album has something different.

 

I don't see the relevance of bamboo or palm on Iwo, I doubt if it grows there or considering the feroicity of the battle if much had survived. Grady Gallant's The Friendly Dead talks briefly about Iwo's vegetation before the battle and how naturally very little grew on the island besides scrub brush, unfortunately I do not have the book in front of me.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Hello, I have to say, the website looks great Dogface. Is that your group?

Yes, Iwo Jima does have quite a bit of foliage, bamboo, palm, etc. Of course, this was basically annihilated during the invasions, but only in fortified areas and at the beaches.

If anyone has done any research on the USN Construction Battalion, they will quickly realize how resourceful the Seabees were. It is a known fact that they loved bamboo because of the ease of working with it while it remained strong.

 

More sandbags would have been nice in that setup. The marston matting was an excellent touch and that stuff was used everywhere.

 

There are tons of pictures of sailors on Iwo wearing denims, khaki cuttoffs and even sandals and penny loafers.

 

The only unfortunate thing about Seabees is that they do not get enough credit.

 

Remember, the CB's built the infrastructure all over the island. Some areas of Iwo were extremely heavy with vegetation. Hence the need for Dozers and Dump trucks. Seabees also remained on the island through the end of the war.

 

Thanks for remembering such an unsung group!

I agree. Though these are USMC you'll see how warmly dressed they are and also how little camoflaged Utility uniforms were used was use(only by 24th Marine Regiment I&R Platoon and some graves registration personel.

 

http://ww2reenactors.proboards.com/index.c...mp;thread=22565

(If you are not a member of the WW2 Reenacting Forum send me a PM and I'll PM you the Photos)

 

-Josh

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Sorry not ust Recon and Graves Registration but some 3rd MARDIV guys and a couple other units. Basicly out of 160+ photos that I have collected of the battle, pictures of Camoflage Utilities being used only compose of 10 of those photos, that means camoflage utilities only show up in 6.25% of the photos. If I would count the men pictured wearing them and not just the photos the percentage of men pictured weainging them would drop dramaticly.

 

-Josh

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