Born in Framinham, MA,  Richard Varnum moved to Hopkinton when he was 6 years old and lived the rest of his life in Hokinton.  Richard served as a 3rd class petty officer, drill instructor and squad leader in Okinawa for the Sea Bees (Construction Battalions from which the abbreviation "C.B." became Seabee) during World War II. Dick served in the 19th Naval Construction Battalion – “We Build, We Fight” - comprised of 1,067 men and 25 officers who were assigned to the 11th Naval Construction Brigade, 46th Naval Construction Regiment.

 

On 12 June 1945, the 19th embarked from California on the attack transport ship USS Heywood and landed on Okinawa on 24 July 1945 and set up camp on Chimu Wan. While camped at Chimu Wan, one of the main missions of the 19th was to convert Tengan, Okinawa to a huge supply and warehousing area and to rebuild physical facilities that had been previously destroyed by a typhoon.