This prayer is another of my explorations into history resulting from a historical occasion, in this case relating to the Navy Construction Battalions, or Seabees. Seabees tend to move in their own circles and have less interaction with other Sailors like the ones who man the escort fleet of cruisers and destroyers, so I thought an introduction was appropriate. I became more closely familiar with the Seabees while stationed in Okinawa, where the Construction Battalions regularly deploy to be ready to respond to needs in the Pacific theater. They spend those deployments in Okinawa on Camp Shields, the base named for the hero of this story. The Seabees are admirable for the can-do attitude they cultivate in their battalions, exemplified in the call and response often heard when they are out training: “Are you READY?!” asks the Petty Officer in Charge. “ALWAYS READY!!” is the unison response. I pray we are as watchful in our Christian walk.
What seems impossible often isn’t.
The jungle was dark a half hour before midnight, when 2000 Viet Cong attacked the 420 defenders of the U.S. Special Forces base at Dong Xoai, 50 miles north of Saigon. Among the defenders were nine Sailors of Navy Construction Battalion 11—called Seabees—who hadn’t yet finished building the base. Within three hours more than 400 mortar shells had fallen on the base, reducing its force—mostly local tribesman who fled—to nine Green Beret Soldiers and eight Sailors.
One Seabee was shot in the face, after having already been wounded while resupplying his gunners with ammunition, yet managed to continue fighting for four more hours, stopping only to carry another wounded man to safety. During the fighting, Special Forces 2nd LT Charles Quincy Williams asked for a volunteer to help him eliminate Viet Cong machine gun that had been set up within deadly effective range of their position. The twice-wounded Seabee—always ready—stood up. “I’ll go,” he said.
The two men carried a 3.5” rocket launcher and its ammunition over open ground to within 165 yds of the VC machine gun. The Seabee reloaded the launcher as the Soldier fired it until the enemy gun was destroyed. As they recovered their previous position both men were hit, the Seabee’s third wound, and the Soldier had to carry him the remaining distance to relative safety.
The fighting continued for another seven hours until the Americans could be evacuated by helicopter. The heroic Seabee, Construction Mechanic 3rd Class Marvin G. Shields, wounded three separate times, died on the battlefield.
On June 23, 1966, 2ndLT Williams was called to the White House where President Lyndon Johnson awarded him the second Congressional Medal of Honor, the second of those earned during the Viet Nam War. For his actions on that day, CM3 Marvin Shields was also awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, and he remains the only Seabee to be so honored.
On this date, March 5th, in 1942, the U.S. Navy’s Construction Battalions were officially given the name “Seabees” along with their own insignia. The official motto of the Seabees is “We build, we fight,” but I really like one of their unofficial mottos: “The difficult we do at once, the impossible takes a bit longer.”
I like it because it reflects a truth of human nature, that what we often think is impossible really isn’t. There was a time when no one thought mankind would be able to travel faster than 35 miles per hour, and that speed was thought to be terrifying. Most people thought it was impossible to go to the moon. “No one can build an airstrip on a Pacific atoll while under fire,” they said, “or an airbase in the middle of a jungle.” Well, Seabees can, and did.
I’d be willing to wager that most of what we think is impossible in our personal lives really isn’t, if we can only change our perspective, or try new things, or simply stop saying “I can’t” and begin asking “how do I?” I am sure Petty Officer Shields had some doubts about taking out that machine gun, but he didn’t let his doubts stop him from attempting the impossible. Don’t let your doubts or fears keep you from doing the impossible—even if it takes a bit longer.
LET US PRAY
Father, help us not fall victim to imaginary limitations. Give us a clear vision of our abilities and the courage to try, and then to keep trying even in the face of nagging doubt. Give us the strength we need to sustain our efforts, for You, O God, are our strength, our foundation, and our strong tower, now and forever, and to the ages of ages.
AMEN
An Orthodox Priest Abroad 