Building the Bases The History of Construction in Southeast Asia

by Tregaskis, Richard; Sheridan, Edward J

• ISBN13: 9798337200453
• ISBN10: 8337200456
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2025-07-29
• Publisher: Open Road Media

Summary

A detailed account of the civil engineering work done to assist US forces during the Vietnam War by the New York Times–bestselling author of Vietnam Diary.

To fuel their efforts in the Vietnam War, the US armed forces needed reliable infrastructure. For a modern military machine to function properly in a less developed region, a massive construction effort was required. Roads, bridges, ports, airfields, hospitals, and more were needed, and the results helped propel the nation into the modern age.

In Building the Bases, veteran war correspondent Richard Tregaskis documents one of the largest wartime construction undertakings in history, a feat accomplished by the US Navy Seabees and other military and American civilian engineers from 1962 to 1972. Using photos, maps, and charts, as well as extensive travel research, Tregaskis looks at every major piece of infrastructure built for the war effort. Through the backdrop of battles and political intrigues, he weaves a compelling human-interest story of courage and hard work.

First published in 1975.

Author Biography

Richard Tregaskis (1916–1973) was a journalist and award-winning author best known for Guadalcanal Diary (1943), his bestselling chronicle of the US Marine Corps invasion of the Solomon Islands during World War II. Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Tregaskis graduated from Harvard University and reported for the Boston American before joining the International News Service. Assigned to cover the Pacific Fleet operations after Pearl Harbor, he was one of only two reporters to land with the Marines on Guadalcanal Island. His dramatic account of the campaign was adapted into a popular film and became required reading for all Marine Corps officer candidates. Invasion Diary (1944) vividly recounts the Allied invasions of Sicily and Italy and Tregaskis’s brush with death when a chunk of German shrapnel pierced his skull. Vietnam Diary (1963) documents the increased involvement of U.S. troops in the conflict between North and South Vietnam and was awarded the Overseas Press Club’s George Polk Award. Tregaskis’s other honors include the Purple Heart and the International News Service Medal of Honor for Heroic Devotion to Duty. He traveled the world many times over, and wrote about subjects as varied as the first space ship (X-15 Diary, 1961), John F. Kennedy’s heroism during World War II (John F. Kennedy and PT-109, 1962), and the great Hawaiian king Kamehameha I (Warrior King, 1973). On August 15, 1973, Tregaskis suffered a fatal heart attack while swimming near his home in Hawaii. After a traditional Hawaiian funeral, his ashes were scattered in the waters off Waikiki Beach.