Colonel
Mitchell Paige
U.S.M.C. (Retired)
"Guadalcanal"
The United States was a peace with the world when the
1st Marine Division was formed on February 1, 1941, and it was assumed that we
would have plenty of time to organize, train, and otherwise ready America's
first and only division of Leathernecks for the defense of
freedom. When Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941 America was
plunged into war. In the weeks and months that followed, American bases
in the Pacific quickly fell until it seemed that the enemy would control the
entire region. 
In June of 1942 our division was scattered over half the
Pacific Ocean. The 5th Marine Regiment was in New Zealand, the 1st
Marines were en route from San Francisco, and the 7th Marines were based in
British Samoa. Our commander, Major General Alexander Vandegrift expected to
have six months to get his Marines prepared for the first ground offensive in
the Pacific. In July American reconnaissance over a small island in the
Solomon Island chain was to change all that. In the end, the 1st Marine
Division would have only six weeks to prepare for our first invasion.
With the exception of the Allied headquarters at Port
Moresby on the west coast, the Japanese already controlled most of the big
island of New Guinea. If they could take Port Moresby, it would leave
them unrestricted access to nearby Australia and total control of the South
Pacific.
The Solomon Islands lie just west of Port Moresby, and
were controlled by the Japanese in 1942. During the summer an American
reconnaissance flight noted construction of an enemy airfield on the island of
Guadalcanal in the Solomons. When completed, the airfield would pose a
major threat to Port Moresby, Australia, and any Allied effort in the
Pacific. General Vandegrift was ordered to prepare his marines, many of
whom were young and inexperienced, for an immediate invasion.
The Invasion
On the night of August 7, 1942, General Vandegrift landed 10,000 of his
marines at Guadalcanal in the first ground offensive of World War II.
Simultaneously 1,000 marines landed on nearby Tulago, Guvutu and Florida
islands. Fighting on these nearby islands lasted two days costing nearly
500 American casualties. Only a dozen Japanese survived the swift
American victories that became the prelude to an island-by-island campaign of
warfare that would require three years to complete.
At Guadalcanal the landing force met little resistance,
the Japanese retreating quickly into the jungles to regroup and plot their
counter-attack. At the time, the enemy was outnumbered nearly
five-to-one. The following night Japanese war ships steamed in close
enough to rain a deadly bombardment on the marines in what would become an
almost nightly routine of terror and death. For weeks the Japanese fleet
prevented the landing of additional marines as well as needed supplies.
Forces on the island were cut back to two rations a day and they struggled to
survive the jungle warfare, tropical disease, and nightly
bombardment.
Ignoring the nearly inhuman climate, terrain and living
conditions, Vandegrift's marines quickly command of the unfinished airstrip at
the north side of Guadalcanal, completing construction by August 19.
They named it Henderson Field after Major Lofton Henderson who had been killed
earlier at Midway. On the day after the runway was completed, the first
Marine F4F Wildcat fighter planes began arriving to fly missions against enemy
shipping in the area. Three of those brave pilots: John L. Smith,
Joe Foss, and Robert Galer, earned Medals of Honor for their heroism in the
skies.
The Japanese commanders at enemy headquarters in Rabaul
estimated the American force on Guadalcanal to number fewer than 2,000
marines. On August 18 under the cover of night nearly 1,000 Japanese
soldiers under Colonel Kiyono Ichiki landed at Taivu Point less than 20 miles
east of Henderson Field. In the early morning hours of August 21 they
launched the first of repeated efforts to retake Henderson Field by attacking
the Marine line at the Ilu (Tenaru) River. The Banzai charge
lasted well into the day, and when it ended more than 800 enemy bodies
littered the area. Disgraced that the humiliating defeat, Colonel Ichiki
burned his regimental colors and shot himself. General Vandegrift, after
witnessing the resolve of his young marines, wrote Marine Commandant, Lieutenant
General Thomas Holcomb to report: "These youngsters (American marines)
are the darndest people when they get started you ever saw."
Despite their losses and the realization that the young marines on Guadalcanal
had quickly progressed from raw recruits to seasoned jungle fighters, the
Japanese were determined to retake Guadalcanal. Naval bombardment of
Henderson Field and other marine positions continued nightly, while additional
enemy troops slipped in under darkness to supplement the enemy strength.
Marines on the island gave called the regular influx of enemy soldiers the Tokyo
Express.
Bloody Ridge
At Japanese headquarters at Rabaul General Kiyotake Kawaguchi had
3,600 soldiers poised to land on Guadalcanal and retake the airfield. On
August 31 he landed with 1,200 soldiers at Tuvalu Point and waited out the day
for the arrival of 1,200 additional men. The remainder of his troops
landed under Colonel Oka ten miles west of the airfield. The plan was to
meet in the middle, at Henderson Field to strike from both directions.
By a fortunate stroke of fate, Colonel Oka's strike force was delayed.
As
darkness fell on September 12, Japanese warships off the coast began a heavy
bombardment of marine positions in and around Henderson Field. The
deadly shelling was promptly followed by General Kawaguchi's attack from the
east with a force now numbering more than 3,000 men. Waiting to meet him
was Colonel Merrit Red Mike Edson and his 1st Marine Raider
Battalion. Edson and his marines had been sent to a ridge overlooking the
Lunga River to stop the enemy forces from reaching Henderson
Field. Again and again the enemy hit Edson's marines, outnumbered
by a three-to-two margin. Again and again throughout the night the
marines held out, often fighting hand-to-hand to repulse the attack.
When morning dawned General Kawaguchi pulled his forces back. "They
were just testing," Colonel Edson advised his company
commanders. "They'll be back!"
During the day Colonel Oka's 1,200-man force attacked
from the west but the determined marines continued to hold. There would
be no respite for the weary defenders beyond Henderson Field however, for when
night fell General Kawaguchi indeed returned.
Major
Kenneth Bailey commanded Company C of Edson's Raider Battalion and was taking
extreme fire to the right flank where the enemy penetrated a gap in the main
line. The fighting was hand-to-hand as marines who had already fought
for twenty-four hours continued their valiant stand. Major Bailey
received a severe head wound but remained at the front in command of his
marines as they repulsed each frenzied attack for more than ten hours.
When the battle ended there was little left of General Kawaguchi's force to
withdraw back into the jungle. More than 600 Japanese bodies lay across
the ridge where Edson's marines had fought through two nights, another 600
enemy were wounded. The price was heavy for the Americans however.
Fifty-nine marines were dead, ten were missing in action, and nearly 200 were
wounded. Only 89 of the Raider Battalion's original complement walked
off the ridge that became legendary as Bloody Ridge.
For their heroism and leadership, Colonel Edson and
Major Bailey were submitted for Medals of Honor. Major Bailey never
lived to receive his high award. Two weeks after the battle at Bloody
Ridge, while fighting in the jungles of Guadalcanal, Major Bailey was
struck down by enemy machinegun fire.
Rescue on the Beach
On September 18 our 7th Marine Regiment landed on
Guadalcanal with more than 4,000 men. The first battalion was commanded
by a young Lieutenant Colonel named Lewis Chesty Puller. My own
second battalion was under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Herman Hanneken
who earned the Medal of Honor in Haiti in 1919, and who I have always believed
was the greatest jungle fighter who has ever lived.
With fresh marines, General Vandegrift became more
offensive, sending patrols deep into the jungles to find and rout the enemy
forces that were a constant threat. On September 24 Lieutenant Colonel
Puller's first battalion was moving inland near Mt. Austen in efforts to seize
control of the Matanikau River area when he came under attack. Seven
marines were killed and 25 were wounded. Under fire, a slow movement was
initiated towards the sea, Puller's marines reaching the beaches near the
mouth of the Matanikau on the morning of the 26th where he again came under
heavy enemy fire.
On the morning of the 27th five-hundred marines of the
1st Battalion, 7th Marines were landed in Higgins boats at a small cove on the
eastern side of Point Cruz in support of the operations near the Matanikau
River. When the marines were ashore, one boat remained as a water-borne
ambulance for any wounded while the remaining LCTs returned to Lunga Point
near Henderson Field. Soon thereafter these received word that the
Marine battalion they had just sent ashore was under heavy attack by a force
so superior in numbers, the entire battalion might be wiped out. The
Coast Guard Higgins boats promptly returned to try and evacuate the marines
before that could happen.
As the first landing craft moved in to load the
withdrawing marines, two remained empty just off shore to provide cover
fire. Commanding one of these was Raymond Evans while the other was
commanded by Signalman First Class Douglas Munro. Both men were boyhood
friends.
Munro then went in under fire, loaded thirty wounded
marines before withdrawing to transfer them to another craft. Then he
led three of his boats back into the beach for more. As marines raced to
reach the landing craft, enemy fire raked the beach. Signalman Munro
moved his own craft between the enemy gunners and the other boats to draw fire
and to create a shield.
As the boats
withdrew, filled with wounded marines, one LCT became stuck in the
coral. Munro ordered his boat alongside while Japanese gunners set up a
machinegun directly on the beach. Despite heavy fire that wounded two of
his own crew, Munro fixed a line to the stranded boat and pulled it
free. He then continued to man the machineguns to hold the enemy at bay
and cover the evacuation, until struck himself. In a dying voice he
asked one of his crewmen, "Did we get them off?"
"Yes." was the simple response
Douglas Munro had hoped to hear. And then he died.
For his heroism on Guadalcanal, Douglas Munro became the
first and only member of the United States Coast Guard to receive his nation's
highest award, the Medal of Honor.
Throughout the remainder of the month of September and
the first three weeks of October, the Tokyo Express continued its
nightly runs. Japanese commanders were determined to reclaim
Guadalcanal, and tried to reinforce with with the full might of Lieutenant
General Masao Maruyama's Sendai Division. Enemy presence grew constantly
with nightly landings of up to 1,000 fresh Japanese troops.
By late October General Maruyama had amassed a large
concentration of troops west of Henderson Field with which he hoped to launch
two thrusts into our lines. While our forces were rocked by this
surprise attack, his bold battle plan called for a simultaneous attack from
the South to deliver the final crushing blow. The site of that attack
would be the place that had provided the Japanese their first major defeat of
the ground war, Bloody Ridge where Lieutenant Colonel Edson's marines
had beaten back a superior force only a month before.
On the night of October 24 the ridge was defended by
three companies of Chesty Puller's 1st Battalion, 7th Marines. Among the
defenders was a young man from Raritan, New Jersey named John Basilone.
John had previously served a three-year hitch in the US
Army, two years of which were in the Philippine Islands where he fell in love
with the country and its people. During three years of civilian life
that followed his Army service, he never got over his fascination with the
Philippines and became known as Manila John. Bored with civilian
life, in 1940 he returned to military service, this time with the United
States Marines. (He believed he had a better chance of returning to the
Philippines as a marine.)
For his
heroism in an all-night stand Manila John earned the Medal of Honor. He continued
his valiant defense throughout the day and into the following night of October
25 as the few remaining Japanese tried to find some small victory in their ignominious
defeat. All the while elsewhere on the periphery of Henderson Field,
other of General Maruyama's Sendai Division were assembling by the thousands
for an early morning attack. Waiting to turn them back was a platoon of
34 marine machine gunners under the command of a 23-year old platoon sergeant
from Pennsylvania.
My time had come!
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