Seabees gather in Long Beach to mark 35th anniversary of Operation Desert Storm

LONG BEACH, Miss. (WLOX) — Veterans of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 74 gathered at the Long Beach Harbor Pavilion this weekend to honor their service and remember their role in the Gulf War.

More than 100 former Seabees gathered in Long Beach to mark the 35th anniversary of Operation Desert Storm.

“We really hadn’t been in any situation like that since Vietnam,” said Jeffrey Robinson, a Seabee construction mechanic during the Gulf War. “Most of our experience was from Vietnam veterans training us to go back over there.”

Robinson said he felt a mix of caution and confidence before deployment.

“A little fear in your mind, but you’re letting your training and stuff that you went through encompass you and make you strong to go,” he said.

Robinson turned the pages of photo albums from his deployment overseas. Each image pulled him back to that time and to what he still calls the mission that mattered most.

“You deploy, you complete the mission and you bring everybody back home safe,” he said.

Kenneth Cater was a Seabee for six years, serving as a construction electrician petty officer during Desert Storm.

“It was kind of tense. You know, kind of worried, kind of scared because of the unknown,” Cater said.

Cater said the memories are about the bond that kept them steady in the unknown.

“I watch your back, you watch mine, and if we ever get in a situation, we know that we have each other’s backs and everything is gonna be okay,” he said.

Cater watched silently as the bell tolled for the Seabees lost over the years.

As they mark 35 years since Desert Storm, the reunion was about reliving the closeness they shared and the brotherhood built far from home.

“It’s not only us coming together, it’s the families understanding a lot more about what we went through over there,” Robinson said.

“When you have your brothers, when you have that relationship and you have that bond that no matter what happens, if they need you, you be there for them,” Cater said. “Because if I was in that situation, they would be there for me.”

After decades, the bond between Seabees remains strong, forged in service and carried forward in the way they still show up for one another.

As they celebrate the 10th reunion next year, they hope to see more Seabees connecting with one another.

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