Items from the service of Gunner's Mate Second Class Basil Delbert Hooker, who served as a member of the 8th Naval Construction Battalion, a 20-man demolition team dubbed 'The Tunnel Rats' on Iwo Jima, Japan. Hooker was born on 23 July 1910 in Florence, Colorado, and spent his young adulthood working as a drift miner. He was inducted into the United States Navy on 29 October 1943 in Los Angeles, California. In April 1944, he was transferred from the 89th Naval Construction Battalion to the 8th. Hooker shipped off for the Pacific Theater of Operations in July 1944 and his team landed on Iwo Jima in March 1945. Hooker's team's tasks were threefold: to clean out areas ahead of the construction crews, detecting and disposing of all traps and mines; to neutralize the Japanese remaining in the caves passed by the Marines; and to aid the Navy bomb disposal unit by destroying enemy stores and clearing out duds. In September, while still on Iwo Jima, Hooker was transferred to the 31st Naval Construction Battalion. He was then sent back to the United States in October. On 4 November 1945, Hooker was honorably discharged and returned to his life in California. He remained there until his death on 13 December 1997 in San Diego. The collection includes a unit history and photographs from Hooker’s time in Iwo Jima.