Zion-Benton High School was known as the Red Raiders when it officially opened its doors in northeast Illinois in 1939, but the start of World War II, coupled with the school’s proximity to Great Lakes Naval Base in neighboring North Chicago, prompted a change to a military-themed mascot. Many believe the inspiration for the new nickname came from John Wayne’s 1944 film The Fighting Seabees, which chronicled the creation of the Navy’s construction battalions, who are still known as “Seabees” to this day. The term served as the inspiration for the nickname, minus the slight alteration from “Sea” to “Zee” to take on the high school’s initials and avoid the confusion that would have accompanied pronouncing “Zea”.