Military Veterans

Celebration of Freedom panel

Orville R. McCune

Date of Birth

26 May 1929

Brick Location

Liberty Side

Panel Number

19B

Biography

During the Korean War, Orville McCune served in the U.S. Navy Seabees unit known as NMCB7—Naval Mobile Construction Battalion SEVEN, the

"MAGNIFICENT SEVEN."

 

                        The Magnificent Seven—"We Build, We Fight"


The history of NMCB SEVEN begins at the very origin of the U.S. Navy "Seabee." The Seabees dates back to the beginning of America’s involvement in World War II when Rear Admiral Ben Moreell, then Chief of the Navy’s Bureau of Yards and Docks, was authorized to organize Construction Battalions in support of the long march to Tokyo and Berlin.

 

The name, “Seabee” evolved from the pronunciation of the initials “CB” for

Construction Battalion.

 

United States Naval Construction Battalion (NCB) SEVEN, one of the original ten battalions authorized, was commissioned on 17 June 17 1942 at the Naval Construction Training Center, Camp Allen, Norfolk, VA, under the

command of Commander Julius L. Piland, Civil Engineer Corps, U. S. Naval Reserve.

 

During World War II, SEVEN saw deployments to Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides;

Iroquois Point, Hawaii; Marianas Islands and Okinawa, Japan, during which the

battalion constructed a fighter field, bomber fields, numerous docks and piers, two

hospitals, communications towers, military camps, bridges, warehouses, ammunition

magazines and island infrastructure support for the advancing U. S. Marine forces.

 

During the Korean War, NMCB SEVEN had two deployments to Port Lyautey, French Morocco (October 1951 to March 1952 and January to June 1953), and one deployment to Guantanamo Naval Base, Cuba (May to October 1952).

 

At Port Lyautey, SEVEN’s main construction projects involved a Naval Air Station, a communications station, and an ordnance facility. At Guantanamo Bay the battalion constructed barracks, jet-fuel tanks, and a perimeter security road. Like other Atlantic Fleet Seabee battalions, NMCB SEVEN never deployed to the Pacific Ocean area during the Korean War era.  The five Atlantic Seabee battalions were all deployed to U.S. naval bases at various locations in the Caribbean; at Argentia, Newfoundland; and at Port Lyautey.

 

From May until December 1954, the battalion returned to Port Lyautey and worked

on roads, a ready-issue magazine, drainage for a tank farm, barracks construction

and rehabilitation, repairs and maintenance of quarters, and Seabee camp

rehabilitation.

 


Branch:

U.S. Navy

Years

Korean War—4 years

Duty

 

U.S. Navy Seabees Unit—NMCB7—Naval Mobile Construction Battalion SEVEN, the

"MAGNIFICENT SEVEN"