The photos in this section are from a book that was probably a presentation piece that was handmade sometime after October 1945, based on the latest dated photo in the book. There is no text in the book just the text on each individual photo. All the photos are 4 x 5 inches and are glued 2 per page, with the cover being made out of an 8 x 10 inch photo.

The book appears to attempt to tell the story of some of the officers involved in the Naval Construction Troops and the construction projects on Okinawa that they oversaw. The commander of NCT was Commodore Andrew G. Bisset, below is a short history of CNCT on Okinawa. The photo dates span the time frame during which Commodore Bisset was first Commander of CCT and then Commander of NCT.

Commodore Andrew G. Bisset

As the war progressed and construction projects became larger and more complex, more than one battalion frequently had to be assigned to a base. For efficient administrative control, these battalions were organized into a regiment, and when necessary, two or more regiments were organized into a brigade, and as required, two or more brigades were organized into a naval construction force. For example, 55,000 Seabees were assigned to Okinawa and the battalions were organized into 11 regiments and 4 brigades, which, in turn, were all under the command of the Commander, Construction Troops, who was a Navy Civil Engineer Corps officer, Commodore Andrew G. Bisset. Moreover, his command also included 45,000 United States Army engineers, aviation engineers, and a few British engineers. He therefore commanded 100,000 construction troops in all, the largest concentration of construction troops during the entire war.

CNCT

The separation of joint Army and Navy commands in the Ryukyus became effective for construction troops on September 1, 1945. Commander, Construction Troops, was detached from duty under the Army Service Command and reported for duty to the Commandant, Naval Operating Base, Okinawa. Upon reporting, he was designated as Commander Naval Construction Troops, with the mission of constructing all base facilities designed primarily for naval use. Thus came to an end the largest joint force of Army and Navy construction troops ever assembled under one engineer commander.

Building the Navy's Bases in World War II: A History of the Bureau of Yards ... By Bureau of Yards and Docks