Festival Helps Build a Case for America’s Seabees

One of the last times Harold Schell stood inside a plywood sea hut, it was the 1960s and he was in Chu Lai, Vietnam. Schell was in the Navy and the United States was at war.

On Saturday at the free military festival in Port Hueneme, the 54-year-old former Seabee electrician climbed the stairs of a replica hut and smiled as his sister snapped a photograph.

For Schell and nearly 200 other veterans who attend Seabee Days, the two-day event is much more than carnival rides, roasted corn and tours of giant ships.

It’s about honoring the men and women who serve in the less well-known construction arm of the Navy.

“It’s important to me that my family see what I used to do and see it up close,” said Schell of Tarzana.

During his service, Schell’s unit built hospitals, storage facilities, an A-frame church and a sea hut they named Camp Miller in honor of the first member of the group killed in action.

Schell’s reunion group came from throughout California to visit their former station. They were among the estimated 10,000 people who strolled by displays of weapons, buildings, models and various skills demonstrations.

“I wanted my kids to see what their father does,” said Leanne Borst, an Oxnard resident whose husband is a Seabee heavy equipment operator stationed in Alaska.

As her son, Jake, and three nieces and nephews giggled while sitting on four model indoor latrines, Borst said it was important for the children to get a little education before hitting the rides and junk food.

Part of that education could include tours of two ships, the McClusky and the George Cobb. In line for the a tour, 3-year-old Cloey Vertin squealed as she watched her father inside a giant tank filled with water.

“She’s telling everybody she can find her daddy,” said Christy Vertin of Port Hueneme, whose husband, Jason, is one of about 60 underwater Seabee construction divers on the West Coast.

Many Seabees build roads or work as electricians or plumbers, but others, like Vertin, specialize in one of the unit’s most dangerous tasks.

On any given workday, Vertin may be working 60 feet under the ocean’s surface, bolting down cables, repairing floodgates or doing other repairs.

“It’s pretty intense work, but it’s great,” said James Hodge, another Seabee diver.

Seabee Days 2001 at Naval Base Ventura County, Port Hueneme, runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, with the carnival rides operating until about 10 p.m.