While working on a story about military veterans living in York, Maine and sharing their stories of their experiences with each other and their community, we met Natale (Nat) Bellantone. Nat had amazing stories to tell about his service with the Navy’s 78th Construction Battalion all over the South Pacific. As amazing as his stories were, his artwork was even more amazing. Nat dropped out of art school to join the Navy and carried his sketchbooks and paints across the Pacific, recording World War II as he saw it.

Nat Bellantone sketches the locals in New Caledonia

Nat has kindly given us permission to share his artwork here.

Click here to see a gallery of images.

The Seabees were the creation of Rear Admiral Ben Moreel, who led the Navy’s Bureau of Yards and Docks. In 1941, Moreel recommended recruiting sailors from the construction trades to build bases as required by the progress of the anticipated war. Because they were recruited from the trades, the average age in the Construction Battalions was 37. Nat Bellantone was 22 when he joined the Navy. His colleagues in the 78th Seabees called him “Kid.”

The Veteran’s History Project is a program of the Library of Congress to collect and preserve American’s stories, and pictures relating to wartime service in all America’s conflicts from World War One to the present. Every day, precious bits of personal and national history are lost as veterans pass away, their stories unrecorded and their letters and effects sometimes discarded. You can learn more about preserving your memories and history at:

http://www.loc.gov/vets/vets-home.html

You can see interviews with Nat Bellantone and some other participants in the York Veteran's History program on Time Warner New England on Demand - which is available on Digital Cable channel 950 in some areas.