There’s No Place Like Halavo (1943):

A Story of the First African American Seabee Battalion

February 22, 1943 (about 01:30 Hours)

It’s in the wee hours of a new day. A lone Japanese pilot flies his plane loaded with five 100 pound bombs on a course that takes him to the southern part of the Solomon Islands. His mission is to harass the Americans now occupying positions on islands recently wrested from Japanese forces following an invasion involving U.S. Marines, Navy and Army units. The night bombing, he thinks, should disrupt their sleep.

What should be the target for tonight? This thought likely goes through his mind. Should he go after the Marines and soldiers on Guadalcanal, Tulagi or the installations on Florida Island?

As he ponders the potential targets he spots light emanating from an island off his port wing. He decides to check it out. It is coming from Halavo on Florida Island. The pilot, dubbed “Washing Machine Charlie” by the American forces he’s been harassing on a regular basis, turns his bomber toward the source of the light.

As Charlie moves in for a closer look, he discovers quite a bit of activity in the harbor off Halavo. He sees barges ferrying materials and equipment from a troop transport ship to the island and personnel on shore unloading the barges. In order to allow nighttime unloading of the ship, floodlights were installed on the beach illuminating the area where the men worked. The floodlights also provided enough light to illuminate a storage area.

How nice of those Americans to light up a target for me. Charlie undoubtedly thought. He decided to make his bomb run on the storage area.

The first bomb hit the beach in the supply of unassembled pontoons. The second and third bombs hit the ammunition storage, starting a large fire. The fourth and fifth bombs dropped harmlessly on the hillside.¹

With the fire blazing and rounds of ammunition exploding, Charlie decided it was time to head for home. I really did my part for Emperor Hirohito and General Tôjô tonight, he likely thought.

Unknown to Charlie his bombs resulted in five men killed and 40 men wounded.

What’s So Important about Halavo?

To answer that question we need to go back in time about 15 months to December 7, 1941, then highlight a few of the significant intervening events.

On December 7, 1942, Japan declared war on the United States by bombing the Pacific Fleet as it lay moored at Pearl Harbor Hawaii.

After this opening salvo that brought the Unites States into World War II, the Japanese made rapid advances capturing territory in the Western Pacific area. The captured Guam on 10 December 1941. This was followed by Wake Island, which fell on 22 December 1941. They began their invasion of the Philippines began on 22 December 1941. American and Philippine forces resisted the Japanese conquest for about four months before surrendering on 6 May 1942. On 25 December 1941, Hong Kong fell to the Japanese. The Japanese then took Singapore in Malaysia on 15 February 1942. The Japanese took control of the Dutch East Indies when the resisting forces surrendered on 8 March 1942.

In an attempt to prevent a successful counter attack by the United States from bases in Australia, the Japanese developed a plan, code named FS. This plan called for seizing Port Moresby in the Australian Territory of Papua New Guinea, then across the Pacific Ocean to Fiji and the Samoan Islands. Port Moresby, Fiji, and the islands between them (the British Solomon Islands, the New Hebrides, and New Caledonia), would be heavily fortified by Japan and equipped with forward air and naval bases.³ From these bases the Japanese Navy could blockade American and British ships attempting to reach Australia. A second objective of Operation FS would be to force Australia to surrender to the Japanese.

On 3 May 1942, the Japanese seized the island of Tulagi in the Solomon Islands chain. Tulagi is one of a smaller group of islands in the Solomon chain known as the Florida Islands. Tulagi is just off the southern coast of Florida Island (where Halavo is located) and north of the island of Guadalcanal. On Tulagi the Japanese set about building a seaplane base to support the planned Japanese assault on Port Moresby.

At this point the U.S. Navy intervened. In the Battle of the Coral Sea, the U.S. Navy engaged the Japanese fleet containing the invasion force bound for Port Moresby. As a result of the battle, the Japanese called off the invasion.

The Japanese then sought to crush the American Navy by attacking Midway Island in the Central Pacific. Midway Island would give the Japanese a base within striking distance of Hawaii for their bombers. Midway Island would also provide a base to defend the Japanese home islands from an attack coming from the east. On 18 April 1942, bombers launched from the aircraft carrier, USS Hornet (CV-8), had bombed Tokyo destroying the myth that Japan was safe from air raids. The Japanese further hoped to lure the remaining U.S. carriers in the Pacific into a battle and destroy them.

The Midway operation backfired. U.S. Naval Intelligence had broken the Japanese Naval Code and U.S. carriers were waiting for the Japanese when they arrived off Midway. In the ensuing battle all four Japanese carriers in the battle group were sunk by planes from USS Yorktown (CV-5), USS Enterprise (CV-6, and USS Hornet (CV-8). This shifted the balance of naval power in the Pacific from Japan to the United States. For the second time a Japanese invasion force had been turned back.

The defeat at Midway prompted the Japanese to concentrate their effort to seize the territories slated for capture in Operation FS. One object was to build an airfield on the island of Guadalcanal. From this location, Japanese bombers could attack ships headed to Australia thereby cutting Australia off from support by the United States, The Japanese also wanted a base that would allow them to protect the eastern side of Bouganville and Truk in the Caroline Islands, and to act as an outpost for the Gilbert Islands, thus protecting Rabaul.²

On 8 July 1942, the Japanese landed on Guadalcanal to initiate construction on an airfield. In early July the Japanese also established a seaplane base at Halavo on Florida for their A6M2-N Rufe floatplanes (see below).

A6M2-N Rufe

Since a Japanese airfield on Guadalcanal posed a serious threat to Australia and U.S. operations in the South Pacific,

Admiral King, Commander in Chief of the U.S. Fleet, proposed an operation, code named WATCHTOWER, which was to be an offensive with the purpose of driving the Japanese troops of the islands they occupied in the Solomon Islands. The Santa Cruz Islands, Tulagi, Gavutu, Tanambogo, Florida, Guadalcanal, Malaita, San Cristobal and the Russell Islands were included in the first area targeted for assault by American forces.

On August 7, 1942, U.S. Marines landed on the islands of Guadalcanal, Tulagi, Gavutu, Tanambogo, and Florida. Tulagi was secured on 8 August 1942. Gavutu and Tanambogo were secured on the 9^th.

Guadalcanal was a different story, however. Although the U.S. Marines landed on Guadalcanal unopposed, the Japanese were determined to hold the island and sent reinforcements to the island in several convoys. The Japanese efforts to reinforce and resupply their troops initiated a series of sea battles which resulted in heavy losses on both sides. Unable to keep their troops on Guadalcanal adequately supplied, the Japanese chose to evacuate them. On 9 February 1943, Major General Alexander Patch, the commander of XIV Corps declared the island secure. XIV Corps was an U.S. Army unit that replaced the battle weary Marines of the 1^st Marine Division in December of 1942.

The battle for Florida Island also began on 7 August 1942. Marines of the 2^nd Marine Division landed on Florida Island, their initial objective being the seizing of Halavo. They encountered no resistance from the Japanese, but had to struggle through dense vegetation and stifling heat as they approached the village of Halavo. The Japanese from the seaplane base had moved inland to avoid the Marines. Other Japanese, including some who swam to Florida Island earlier from Tulagi to escape capture also sought refuge in the interior part of the island. The Marines spent their first night on the island in positions at Halavo.

Florida Island was essentially secure the day the Marines landed. Further encounters with the Japanese on the island consisted mostly of Marines locating and taking prisoner single or small groups of soldiers the natives reported to be on the island. The biggest confrontation took place when Marines caught 12 Yokohama airmen who had formerly been stationed at the Japanese seaplane base by surprise in the jungle. Five were killed when the Marines began firing and 7 escaped into the jungle. Three of the seven escapees were later captured by native Florida islanders. The others were presumed to have died of starvation.

With Halavo now free of Japanese, the U.S. Navy decided to construct their own seaplane base.

Enter the Seabees

In early 1942, seeing the need to construct bases to support U.S. Naval operations, Admiral Ben Moreell formed Naval Construction Battalions. He saw the need for skilled construction workers to build bases in areas such as the Solomon Islands. We worried that construction workers on these bases would be perceived by the enemy to be guerillas and shot on sight. He also felt these workers should be properly trained in the use of weapons so they could defend themselves when the need arose.

The 6^th Naval Construction Battalion was the first to arrive in the Solomons. The first priority for the 6^th NCB was construction of the airstrip on Guadalcanal, given the name Henderson Field. Other work performed by the 6^th NCB included:

• ·         Construction of a patrol-torpedo base on Tulagi
• ·   Telephone lines were installed and maintained on Tulagi, Gavutu, Tanambogo, the Halavo seaplane base
• ·         Construction of a seaplane base on Halavo
• ·         A complete topographic survey of Tulagi, Gavutu and Tanambogo
• ·         Construction of a radio transformer and receiving station back in the hills on Tulagi

On 5 January 1943 the 6^th NCB boarded the U.S.S. Hunter Liggett and sailed to Auckland, New Zealand for rest and recuperation.

The 34^th Naval Construction Battalion was sent to complete the construction of the seaplane base at Halavo. This Battalion was composed of approximately 850 men consisting mostly of Negro enlisted men.

At this time in history segregation was still practiced in the U.S. Armed Forces. Negros served in separate units from white units. This was based on prejudiced conceptions among white military commanders that Negros were only capable of doing menial labor and that mixed units of whites and blacks would lead to conflict among the races. Negros enlisting in the Navy, for instance, were assigned as messmen (cooks, waiters and kitchen staff). In 1942, however, under pressure from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, Knox decided that the Navy would enlist African Americans for the general service. As a result in this change in policy, the 34^th Naval Construction Battalion became the first Seabee unit composed predominately of Negro enlistees. While the construction workers of the battalion were all Negro, the leaders of the battalion were white. Therefore, while Negro sailors were offered new opportunities in the Navy, they served as a separate “black” unit.⁵

The men of the 34^th Naval Construction Battalion were trained at Camp Allen near Norfolk, Virginia then sent to Port Hueneme, CA. On 7 January 1943, the Battalion sailed from Port Hueneme in the transport M.S. Island Mail.

M.S. Island Mail

The 850 Negros of the 34^th were also assigned separate quarters on the Island Mail, being segregated from the white sailors. It took 20 days to sail from Port Hueneme to Noumea, New Caledonia, reaching Noumea on 26 January 1943. From 26 January to 4 February the ship remained there to renew its water supply and await further orders.

While the Island Mail remained at Noumea, the Commander of the 34th, Lieutenant Commander J. P. MacBean Jr., flew to Halavo to make a preliminary survey of the new seaplane base his battalion would be building there. Lt. Commander MacBean also met with the Commanding Officer of ACORN (Red) Four to which the 34^th Naval Construction Battalion was attached. The Commanding Officer of ACORN (Red) Four, Commander Silas B. Moore had flown to Halavo ahead of the other officers and men of ACORN (Red) Four who were also aboard the Island Mail.

The designation ACORN is a composition of the first letters of the following words: Aviation, Construction, Ordnance, Repair, and Navy. An ACORN was a unit that had all the necessary men, materials and equipment to construct and operate an airfield in a combat zone. An ACORN consisted of a Combat Aircraft Service Unit and an attachment of Seabees. Their responsibility was the construction, administration, operations, and maintenance of U.S. airfields on the islands such as Guadalcanal as U.S. Forces wrested territory from the Japanese. The Navy intended ACORNS to be pre-planned naval bases with similar compositions of men, equipment and materials. A man trained to a task in one ACORN could be transferred to another without the need to be retrained. The Navy could also take advantage of the efficiency of mass production which lowers the cost of construction materials.

ACORN (Red) Four which included the 34^th Naval Construction Battalion finally arrived at Halavo on 12 February 1943. Once there Men from the Island Mail began unloading the freighter, S.S. Alcoa Pennant which had accompanied the Island Mail on the voyage across the Pacific.

S.S. Alcoa Pennant

The Island Mail was the first to be unloaded. It contained all of the troops, provisions, and ACORN equipment. The officer in charge of the unloading made the unwise decision to set up floodlights so the unloading could continue around the clock. This decision would have dire consequences.

Washing Machine Charlie

Washing Machine Charlie was a title troops serving in the Solomons gave to a pilot who flew solo bombing missions at night. The plane he flew had unsynchronized engines which sounded like the motor on a washing machine manufactured before the war.

Washing Machine Charlie was something of a legend in the South Pacific. However, information available on him is rather confusing. First there are some veterans of World War II who think he was not a single person. Those who hold this view believe that the title of Washing Machine Charlie may have been given to more than one pilot who bombed alone at night in a plane with unsynchronized engines.

Next there are different reports on the type of plane Washing Machine Charlie flew. One account⁶ claims the plane was a Mitsubishi F1M2 seaplane.

Mitsubishi F1M2 Type 0 Observation Seaplane

Another source⁷ claims the plane was a twin engine Mitsubishi G4M long-range medium bomber.

Mitsubishi G4M Long-range Medium Bomber

Whatever plane or planes Washing Machine Charlie flew, another characteristic attributed to him was that he flew his bombing runs alone, usually inflicting little damage, but disturbing the sleep of the American troops below.

The author’s father, Elmer M. Schneider, was a radioman serving with ACORN (Red) Four. He had this to say about Washing Machine Charlie:

“Washing Machine Charlie, the original, I think, used to come up on our voice frequency and say, ‘I have four eggs; where should I drop them?’ We usually broke radio silence, which we should not have done, and told him, ‘Drop them on Tojo’s head, you old Oakie.' A few weeks later we would get an inquiry from the Federal Communication Officer in Noumea wanting to know who had made the statement. Fortunately, he never found out.”

In a letter to the author, Radioman Schneider claims that Washing Machine Charlie went to the University of Oklahoma.  George Gay, the sole survivor of Torpedo Squadron Eight, after an attack by the squadron on the Japanese carrier Kaga during the Battle of Midway claimed that Washing Machine Charlie had been a cab driver in San Francisco before the war.⁸ Both claims explain how Washing Machine Charlie was able to communicate in English over the radio. The two alternative explanations also support the conjecture that there was more than one Washington Machine Charlie.

Regardless of whether Washing Machine Charlie was one person or several different pilots, the men stationed on Halavo could expect a visit from Washing Machine Charlie on any night.

Washing Machine Charlie Attacks

At 1:30 on the morning of 22 February, men from ACORN (Red) Four including the 34^th Naval Construction Battalion busied themselves with unloading of the Island Mail. Floodlights illuminated their work area as the objective was to continue unloading process 24 hours a day.

There is no record of who ordered the use of the floodlights nor the reason the work had proceed during the hours of darkness. One possible explanation is the Captain of the Island Mail was anxious to get his ship out of an active combat area. The official report¹ does indicate that the first attempt of Island Mail and Alcoa to reach Florida Island had been aborted. About 8 February, the two ships were ordered to return to Espiritu Santos harbor from which they had sailed on 6 February. The order was given because of Japanese attacks in the Guadalcanal and Tulagi district. The report also states:

“The Officer in Charge of the 34^th Construction Battalion was instructed by the Commanding Officer of Acorn (Red) Four not to send ashore any men that could not be quartered and sustained on the beach permanently. Because of war conditions in this area, it was necessary to expect, in case of an air raid or a naval engagement, immediate orders for both freighter and transport to withdraw at a moment’s notice. No time, therefore would have been available to collect or assemble men set ashore on the beach, in order to return them to quarters and meals on the ships.”

This order, issued up the arrival on 12 February, indicates there was a sense of urgency among the commanders to get the ships unloaded and out of the combat zone.

Unfortunately the decision to use the flood lights also provided Washing Machine Charlie with an ideal target for his bombing run. The official report describes the attack as follows:

“At 1:35 in the morning, 22 February 1953, a Japanese bomber slipped past the District Headquarters Radar control and dropped five 100-pound bombs directly into the storage yard, from the beach back a distance of approximately 1500 feet. The first bomb hit on the beach in the supply of unassembled pontoons. The second and third bombs hit the ammunition storage, starting a large fire. The fourth and fifth bombs dropped harmlessly on the hillside. The casualties were five men killed and approximately forty wounded. One Negro storekeeper and a white storekeeper were killed in the Battalion. The other casualties were Acorn and Navy personnel. The fires in the ammunition dump were extinguished within two hours with the help of firefighting equipment sent over from Tulagi.”

James F. Allen Lieutenant, USNR, assigned to the ACORN unit describes the incident as follows:

“Around-the-clock unloading of both vessels began immediately. Early all the morning of February 22, 1943, we received a Washington's Birthday present from "Washing Machine Charlie" in the form of a string of bombs, one of which hit our ammunition dump. This resulted in a fire that reached several hundred feet into the air and a constant barrage of explosions that also sent projectiles of assorted sizes whizzing through the air in all directions. Most unfortunately, it also resulted in several deaths and many injuries. Needless to say, night operations under searchlights ceased. Sometimes we learn the hard way....”

Radioman Schneider has this to say about the incident:

“I helped fight the fire, the exploding ammunition, and we worked like robots to keep the fire from spreading to the 100 octane gasoline fuel. Ensign King turned my name in to receive a citation for bravery, but the Navy did not even enter the bombing in its records. Michael (the author) found the complete report of the (bombing) in an account submitted by the Construction Battalion, Sea Bees. That was the reason I could not locate a trace of the report when I returned to the United States so I could claim loss of all my clothing (except what I was wearing). The Navy apparently never entered the enemy action. One of our officers had the unloading area outlined with lights when the bombing occurred.

Now I understand why the bombing report did not appear in my records, and I even had possession of my records and that of another sailor was re-assigned to Philadelphia. I was senior man responsible for the records.

The Sea Bees, Construction Battalion, served under separate commands, and the report sent to Navy headquarters would have been in their files during the war. That was why no record could be found so I could claim loss of all my clothing except the ones which I was wearing.”

The author’s father also told the author that he, Radioman Schneider, Ensign King, and an unnamed black Seabee fought the fire for seven hours. During this time munitions exploded around them including 20 mm rounds. This conflicts with the official report that says the fire was extinguished in two hours.

The identity of the black Seabee is unknown, but it may have been the man referred to as “Lilly” in the following statement made by Lorne “D” Porter, CMM(AA), V-6, USNR:

“Chief Porter states that he was in bed near the mission when the bombs hit, and that he quickly dressed and ran to the scene of the fire. With a couple of colored men, he got into an empty truck and drove through the exploding shells to try to extinguish the blaze with carbon monoxide gas. Chief Porter claims he saw Albert N. Young CCM(AA), wounded with a 30-calibre slug, continue to fight the fire after being wounded. A first class man – Floyd F. Jones, WT 1c – assisted Chief Porter considerably with his work. Chief Porter saw Joseph A. Moore, CCM(AA) of B Company help several wounded men to a point of safety. He speaks very highly of a ‘little fellow from Tulagi”, which may have been Lilly of the 27^th Battalion. He also commends very highly a ‘big fellow, a petty officer of Acorn 4’, who dragged the hose up within 15 feet of the exploding ammunition in an attempt to extinguish the blaze. Chief Porter reports having worked under the direction of Lieut. Comdr. James G. Thwing, Lieut. W. W. Davis, Lieut. C. V. White, Lieut.(jg) R. N. Richardson, Lieut. Wiggins, Ensign R. J. King, and Warrant officer A. E. Myers.”

The photograph below shows three of the men of the 34^th Construction Battalion who received the Purple Heart for wounds received during the attack:

Left to right, 34th NCB members MM3c Joseph E. Vaughn, Cambridge, Mass.; CM3c Harry E. Lash, Gastonia, N.C.; and GM3c William A. Shields, Trenton, N.J., displaying Purple Hearts for wounds received during Japanese bombing on Feb. 22, 1943. Photo taken May 28, 1944, at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands

Aftermath

Following the bombing on 22 February 1943, unloading of the Island Mail and the Alcoa Pennant proceeded during daylight hours only. Unloading of the Island Mail was completed on 24 February and the ship left Halavo.

The 34^th Naval Construction Battalion went on to complete construction of the seaplane base on Halavo. They built roads despite the fact they had to work around heavy rainfall which made shaping the slippery clay soil difficult. They installed lights and telephones. The Seabees dammed streams and built reservoirs for water supply. They also installed an air raid warning system, dug foxholes and set up defenses throughout the area. The Seabees had to mill much of the lumber used in construction from native trees since the imported stock allotted to them was used up quickly.¹⁰

On 26 March 1943, 259 officers and men of the 34th were transferred to Guadalcanal, and on 20 April 1943, 180 officers and men were transferred from Florida Island to the Russell Islands.

On 24 November 1943 the battalion was reassembled on Tulagi and during the period 13 March – 25 March 1944, the entire battalion moved to Guadalcanal. 

Members of the 34th Naval Construction Battalion construct a timber pile bridge over the Teneru River on Guadalcanal using native lumber, July 10, 1944. Source: U.S. Navy Seabee Museum

On 1 October 1944 the 34^th arrived at Camp Parks, near Livermore, California for a break from the war.

On 21 May 1945, they arrived on Okinawa to resume their construction activities as the Army and Marines were struggling to wrest control of the island from the Japanese.

Radioman Elmer M. Schneider

Radioman Schneider caught malaria on Florida Island and had no memory of the two to three weeks while he sweat out the effects of the disease in a hospital tent there. Once recovered he was transferred to Guadalcanal for duty as a radioman there. He told this humorous story concerning the loss of his clothes in the fire caused by the 22 February bombing.

“I even had to ‘stand’ an inspection an inspection by Admiral King on Guadalcanal later wearing a discarded pair of Army trousers, a Marine fatigue jacket, but a sailor’s hat dyed blue.

Admiral King stopped by me and shouted, ‘What kind of uniform is that?’ I explained my predicament but stated the top piece was Navy. That put him in such a good mood that he issued an order to one of the base orders that I should be issued a complete uniform.”

While on Guadalcanal, Radioman Schneider observed aerial dogfights that occurred when Japanese planes attacked and the American fighters went up to intercept them. He told the author that the Marines and Naval personnel on the ground would wager on how many planes the U.S. fighters would shoot down. In one engagement they counted 93 Japanese planes downed.

After relapsing bouts of malaria on Guadalcanal, Radioman Schneider was transferred to sea duty aboard the French cruiser Cap Des Palmes. From March to August 1943 she escorted U.S. convoys in the Pacific, then served with the U.S. Third Fleet in the Guadalcanal area until July 1943.¹¹

Radioman Schneider had this to say about the Cap Des Palmes.

“The good news finally came that I would be assigned to the French Navy aboard the Cap des Palmes and the ship was going to the states. Changed orders (Cap des Palmes was given a change in orders) and I served as a Radioman aboard her doing submarine escort duty to Bouganville from the Russell Islands and back. We saw Jack Kennedy (Commander of PT 109 and later president) plow into the dock in the Russells, but did not know him.

There were some good friends aboard the French ship. Markkuso, the native North African mess cook, who chased cockroaches with a fire extinguisher; Casablanca, a Frenchman, who found out that I could speak German, and I never learned French; Drollet, a Tahitian Frenchman who was constantly punning, and Francois Salmon, the son (descended from) of one of the ancient Tahitian kings.”

Cap Des Palmes

Radioman Schneider was later transferred to the newly constructed aircraft carrier, CV-36 USS Antietam, which was being fitted out at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. There he met a beautiful Woman Marine whom he would marry after the war.

CV-36 USS Antietam

Bibliography

1. MacBean, Jr., J. P., Lt. Commander, (CEC) USNR, Officer in Charge, 34^th Construction Battalion (1943). Progress Report No. 2 of Activities of 34^th U.S. Naval Construction Battalion – 29 January through 19 March 1943.

2. Jersey, Stanley C. (2008). Hell’s Islands The Untold Story of Guadalcanal. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press.

3.  The Pacific War Historical Society, (2009). The Pacific War [On-line]. Available: http://www.pacificwar.org.au/battaust/AustInvasion/Throttle_Australia.html

4.  Naval History Heritage Command, 26^TH Naval Construction Battalion [On-line]. Available: http://www.history.navy.mil/museums/seabee/UnitListPages/NCB/026%20NCB.pdf

5.  Blazich Jr., Dr. Frank A. (2014). Building for a Nation and for Equality: African American Seabees in World War II [On-line]. Available: http://seabeemagazine.navylive.dodlive.mil/2014/03/06/building-for-a-nation-and-equality-african-american-seabees-in-world-war-ii/

6. PacificWrecks.com (2007). Japanese Air Raids against Henderson Field [On-line]. Available: http://www.pacificwrecks.com/airfields/solomons/henderson/henderson-raids.html

7. Kovitz, Joel (2012), World War II Scrapbook, the Life and Times of Joel Kovitz [On-line]. Available: http://wwiiscrapbook.com/book/washing-machine-charlie/

8. Klinkowitz, Jerome (2004). Pacific Skies American Flyers in World War II. Jackson, Mississippi: University of Mississippi Press.

9. MacBean, Jr., J. P., Lt. Commander, (CEC) USNR, Officer in Charge, 34^th Construction Battalion (1943). Report of Bombing, 22 February 1943.

10. Negro Seabees Speedy Builders on Jungle Isle. (1943, July 3). Marine Corps Chevron, p. 13.

11. ShipStamps.co.uk (2008). CAP DES PALMES and CHEVREUIL [On-line]. Available: http://www.shipstamps.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6325