36th U.S. Naval Construction Battalion, "Seabees" World War II

On this day, August 6, 1945, the world entered the atomic age when the first nuclear weapon used in warfare was dropped on Hiroshima.
The mission began on Tinian in the Mariana Islands, where the United States had built a major air base. In the early hours of that morning, the B-29 bomber Enola Gay took off carrying the uranium bomb known as “Little Boy.” After a flight of several hours and a rendezvous near Iwo Jima, it reached Hiroshima and released the bomb over the city at 8:15 a.m. local time.
Three days later, on August 9, another B-29 named Bockscar left Tinian carrying the plutonium bomb “Fat Man.” Its primary target was Kokura, but cloud and smoke obscured the city, forcing the crew to turn toward its secondary target, Nagasaki. Running critically low on fuel after the mission, Bockscar landed on Okinawa before returning to Tinian.
The two bombings killed tens of thousands of people immediately, with many more dying later from injuries, burns, and radiation exposure. Most of the victims were civilians, and survivors, known as hibakusha, lived with the physical and psychological effects for decades.
Japan announced its surrender on August 15, bringing World War II to an end. The bombings remain among the most consequential and debated military actions in history, marking both the close of a global war and the beginning of the nuclear age.

On August 6, 1945 at 8:16 am in Hiroshima (7:16 pm August 5th on the US East Coast), after falling for 43 seconds from the B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay, the Little Boy atomic bomb detonated 1,968 feet (600 meters) above the city, 550 feet (168 meters) from the Aioi Bridge. One second later the fireball reached maximum size, 900 feet in diameter (274 meters). The mushroom cloud began to form.

As temperatures on the ground reached 7,000 degrees Fahrenheit (3871 Celsius), buildings melted and fused together, human and animal tissue vaporized. The blast wave traveled at 984 miles per hour in all directions, demolishing over two-thirds of Hiroshima’s buildings in a massive, expanding firestorm. Eighty thousand people were instantly killed or grievously wounded. Over 100,000 more would die from the bomb’s effects in the coming months.

Image Credit: US National Archives & Records Administration

Hey Mac! Happy Independence Day from the officers and crew of the 36th USN Seabees! Grab some fireworks and clear the beach! God bless the United States of America!

D DAY: SAIPAN.
On June 15, 1944, American forces initiated the pivotal Battle of Saipan during World War II. U.S. Marines and Army forces launched an amphibious assault to capture the island, successfully securing it on July 9, 1944, and establishing a critical air base for B-29 bombers.
Over 20,000 U.S. Marines from the 2nd and 4th Divisions stormed the southwestern beaches on the first day, facing an unexpectedly large and heavily fortified Japanese garrison.
The capture of Saipan was a major turning point in the Pacific Theater. It provided the U.S. military with an airfield close enough to launch direct, long-range B-29 bomber strikes on the Japanese mainland.
The month-long battle was one of the most brutal in the Pacific. More than 3,000 Americans were killed and 10,000 wounded. Over 30,000 Japanese soldiers and an estimated 8,000 civilians perished, with many troops and civilians committing mass su***de on the northern cliffs rather than surrendering.

Hoah! Our crew travelled to the USS Yorktown in honor of the Battle of Midway in June 1942, which saw the defeat of the Japanese Imperial Navy by the U.S. Navy. We slept in racks, ate chow in the mess hall, and worked on deck for the weekend. The hardest part was rising early for reveille! Hundreds of people visited us to see our displays and we spoke about the efforts of each and every sailor in that epic battle. It was an honor to memorialize the Greatest Generation as well as this old ship, CV-10, which was built by Newport News Shipbuilding in 1943. We are very grateful to Patriot's Point for your hospitality! Thank you to everyone who joined us and made this a great event! Seabees! Can Do since '42!

Reporter: "Hey Mac! How did you get to Normandy? Did you land with the army or parachute in with the airborne?
Dirt Sailor: "Neither. We swarmed with the Seabees."

Seabees in Normandy - CBs in Normandy on D-Day 80220 HD Originally classified restricted and bearing a title marked "Secret...