Military members welcomed home from deployment on 82nd birthday of Seabees. See photos

Mar. 5—The gray weather didn't match the beaming smiles as military families reunited with their loved ones in an emotional homecoming Tuesday.

Approximately 140 members of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133, who were packed into white buses and escorted by police, were greeted by homemade welcome signs and American flags outside a movie theater at the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport after being deployed overseas for several months.

The reunion Tuesday also fell on the 82nd birthday of the United States' Naval Construction Battalions, also called Seabees, which are a subset of the Navy responsible for construction and engineering work all over the world. The Seabees were established in 1942 to replace civilians who were building facilities for military use overseas in World War II.

Among the people waiting for their loved ones were a pregnant woman waiting for her husband and a woman who had given birth while her husband was deployed.

Heather Pinkston, accompanied by her older daughters Gracie and Maddie, held her newborn, Elizabeth, as her husband James got off the bus to embrace the family. James had missed Elizabeth's birth as she had been born a few months into his deployment in Spain.

"I'm just grateful that he's home safe," Heather Pinkston said.

One of the other spouses waiting for their partner to return was Lindsay Arellano, 24, of Long Beach, who won the "first kiss," meaning she was the first military spouse to reunite with their Seabee. Arellano was embraced by her husband Dylan, who had been deployed to Spain for 7 months.

"This just shows how strong our marriage is and our love to be able to endure this time apart and make more memories before he has to leave again," Arellano said.

According to Bob Smith, a retired Seabee who helps manage the Heritage Center adjacent from where the reunion was held, there are now fewer than 15,000 Seabees, down from the 325,000 that were serving in World War II following the establishment of the Seabees.

Smith says the birthday of the Seabees is important because the Seabees "are trying to live up to the greatest standard [of those that served in WWII], they weren't called the greatest generation for nothing. We're preserving out heritage and legacy as Seabees today."

This story was originally published March 5, 2024, 1:54 PM.

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