Stainless Steel Seabee

North Tonawanda, New York

With a fierce expression and a sailor's cap, the Stainless Steel Seabee is ready to attack the enemies of America with its Tommy gun, hammers, and pipe wrenches.

Seabees are what the members of the U.S. Navy Construction Battalion call themselves, builders of roads, bridges, airfields, and pretty much anything else, often under enemy fire. The Battalion had originally planned to use a beaver as their mascot, but changed it to a bee when they learned that beavers avoid confrontations. Bees attack.

The Stainless Steel Seabee, designed by Seabee vet Al Kravitiz, was built by local welders Steve Skrlin and Victor Green, and unveiled on Veterans Day, 2010. Other memorials in its small park include a 2008 bronze statue of Seabee Joseph Darlak wielding a rifle and a sledgehammer, and a big yellow Seabee bulldozer.