The Seabees Memorial is a sculpture and memorial to Seabees by Felix de Weldon, installed along Memorial Drive near the entrance of Arlington National Cemetery.[1] It is administered by the National Park Service as part of George Washington Memorial Parkway in Arlington, Virginia.[2]
Congress authorized the placement of a memorial on public land by the Seabee Memorial Association in September 1972.[3] It was dedicated on Memorial Day 1974.[4]
Description
The memorial features panels depicting Seabee missions since 1942. According to the CEC/Seabee Historical Foundation, the bronze[2] figure at the center of the memorial depicts a "bare-chested, muscular SEABEE, rifle slung over one shoulder, offering a helping hand to a small child."[5]
Gold-colored inscriptions above and below the panels read "SEABEES CAN DO" and "With willing hearts and skillful hands, the difficult we do at once. The impossible takes a bit longer!", respectively.[5] The base which supports the figure sculpture is the inscribed text: "With compassion for others / we build – we fight / for peace with freedom".[5]
