File:Seabee Memorial - looking NW - Arlington National Cemetery - 2011.JPG

English: Looking northeast at the Seabees Memorial, located on Memorial Drive at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, in the United States. This image clearly depicts the free-standing nature of the pylons at either end, the depth of the curving wall, and the relationship of the wall to the statue.

When World War II broke out for the United States, the U.S. Navy created the Construction Battalion, or C.B., as a way of meeting the sudden and immense demand for new construction on naval bases. The initials "C" and "B" are pronounced "Seabee," and soon the members of the Construction Battalion were known as Seabees.

The monument is located at the eastern end of Memorial Drive, on the north side. A larger-than-life shirtless, muscular Seabee greets a small male child. Curving behind the bronze statue is a curving wall of polished brown marble, on which is attached a large bronze panel in bas-relief depicting many of the functions of the Seabees: Surveying, operating heavy equipment, jackhammering, building Quonset huts, and ironworking. Above, inscribed in gold leaf, are the words "Seabees - Can Do" -- the latter being the Seabee motto. On the ends of the wall are the Seal of the Construction Battalion and the U.S. Navy.

To the left and right are pylons of polished brown marble which face inward. Attached to either end is a bas-relief bronze plaque, the left depicting the Seabee on guard and the right depicting the Seabee crouching behind a machine gun. The front of the left pylon contains a memorial dedication. The rear of the left pylon contains a list of various military battles the Seabees engaged in from World War II through the Vietnam War. The face of the right pylon contains the "Seabee prayer," a Christian prayer asking God's protection for the Seabees.

The monument was designed and sculpted by Felix de Weldon. It was dedicated on May 27, 1974.