history of the u.s. marine corps in wwii vol i - pearl harbor to guadacanal
TRANSCRIPT
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PEARL HARBOR TO GUADALCANAL
History of U.S. Marine Corps
Operations in World War II
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P ea r l H a rbor
t o G ua da lca na l
HISTORY OF U S M RINE CORPS
OPER TIONS IN WORLD W R II
VOLUME I
.
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:I,ibrary of Congress C atalog Card K o. 58-60002
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Foreword
With t,he recent completion of our bistoricnl monograph project,, the
Marine Corps historical program entered a new phase. This book is the first
of a projected five-volume series covering completely, and we hope definitively,
the history of Marine operations in World War II.
The fifteen hist,orical monogmpl~s published over n period of eight years
have served to spotlight the high points in this broad field. The basic resea~rch
which underlay their preparat,ion vi11 be utilized again in this project. But a
monograph by its very nnt,ure aims at, a limited obje ve, and in its comxntm-
tion on B single ba t,tle or campaign necessarily ignores many related sub jects.
All too oft,en it has been dificult~ to avoid conveying the impression that the
specific operation under discussion was taking place in a vuc~um. Thus, while
mu valuable tory has been writt,en, the st,ory as R wlrole remains untold.
This lack the present project aims to rectify. The story of individual
b;rttlrs or rnmpaigns, now isolated between tire covers of separate publications,
will b e, l;w y rewrittrn and woven tog her in an att,empt to show events in
proper relation to exh other and in correct perspect,ivo to the war as a whole.
In addition, new mat,erial, especially from .Jalmnese sources, which has become
available since the \wit,ing of the monographs, will be integrated into t,be story.
Only ~lren t,he broad pict,ure is awibd~le can tbo significance of the Marine
Corps’ cont,ribnt,ioo t,o t,lx final victory in tlw Pacific be fairly evnluated.
Non a word about Vo111me I wbicb sket,cbes briefly the development of the
Marine Corps’ nmphibions mission from its incept,ion and then carries t;he story
of orld ar II t,broupb Guadnlc;~n;~l. ;Yis logistirnl officer of t,he 1st Marine
Division, I was privileged to take part, in this, our first, eflort t,o st,rike back
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valueble assist~ance is gratefully acknowledg ed. Special t,hanks nre due to t,hose
people who read and comm ented on t,be ent,ire volum e: l&utenan t General
Edward A. Craig, I?. S. Marine Corp s, Retired; Dr. .John ;\Iiller, Office of t,hrC,hief of Military Hist,ory, Departm ent of t,he Army ; Captain Frederick Ii.
Loom is, Ii. 9. Navy, N:~val History Division. Ofice of tlw Chief of Naval
Operations, Departm ent of t,he Navy; and ~‘olonel H&l. who initict,ed the
original program o f mon ograph s dealing with &rine actions in World W xr 11.
Mrs. Edna Clem Kelley and her successor’ in the Adm inistrative and I’m-
duction Section of t,he Historical Bmn cb, Miss Kay I’. Sue, ably handled t,he
exacting duties involved in processing tlre volum e from first drafts tlrrougb
final printed fo rm. The many preliminary typescripts nod the JxGnst~alting
task of typing the final manuscript, for the printer were done by Mrs. MiriamR. Smallxw od and Mrs. Billie J. Twker.
Most of the maps wxe prepared by tire Reproduction Section. Marine
Corp s Schools, Quan tico, Virginia. How ever, we are indebted to the OtIice
of t,he Chief of Military History, Departm ent of the Army , for permission t,r,
use Map s Nos. 3. 14, 15, 20, 21, and 2.3-27. which were originally draft,ed by
its Cartograp hic Branch. Officinl Defense Ikpwtm rnt~ photogr;\p hs bavr
been used t~hroughont~ he test.
1 W’. SNEDEKER
WAJCIH ENF.RAL, . 8. MARI&-ECORPS
ASSr8~ANTCHIXF OF WT AFF. F-3
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Contents
PART 1 INTRODUCTIOX TO THE MARTNE CORPS
CHAPI‘F.R PACX
1. Origins of a, Mission 3
2. Evolution of Modern Amphibious Wnrfuy 1920-3 941 8
3. Dcvrlopment of Landing Craft,. 234. Marine Occupation of Jrelrtnd 35
5. Thr Marine Corps 011 the Eve of Wa,r. 47
PART II W AR COME S
1. Prrver Situat,ion in the Pacific. .............. 59
2. JapanStrikes ...................... 70
3. Thr Sorrthcrn T,ifcline. .................. 84
PART III THE DEFENS E OF WAKE
1. Wa,ke.in the Shadow of War ...............
2.. The Emmy Strikes. ...................
3. Wake Under Siege ....................
4. The Fall of Wnkf .....................
95
106
121
132
1.50
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PART VI THE TURNING POINT: GUADAXIANAL
CHAPTER
I. Background and Preparations
2. Guadalcanal, 7-9 August 1942
3. Tulagi and Gavut,n-Tanambogo
4. The Bat,& of t,hr Tenaru
5. The B&e of the Ridge
6. Act,ion Along t,he Matanikan
7. Jspa~nese C?ount,eroffensivc
8. critical Novemb er
9. Final Period, 9 Decembe r 1942-9 February 1943
PAGE
235
254
263
274
294
310
322
341
359
APPENDICES
A. Bibliographical Notes 375
B. C~xlronolog>- 382
C. Marine T ask Organizntion and C’ommand I,ist,s 387
D. Marine C~asualties 395
E. First, Marine Division Operat,ion Order-Gusdalcanal 396
F. Milit,ary Map Symbols 399
G. Guide to Abbrevist,ions400
H. Unit, Commendat,ions 404
Index 413
1LLUSTRATIONS
C:ontinental Marines 6
Marincs of Huntington’s B&t&n 6
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II,LUSTKI1TIONS--Continucrl
( anmlmagrd lmkout ‘I’mrrr nt SWld ISliLUd ............
Japane se (‘ruisrr Mi~wna ....................
Crude Sk&b Mnp of Gundnlrarml ................
Eqnipmmt~ for the 1st Marine Division ..............
Murinc Rnidcrs and thr Cww of the Snbmarinr Argonaut
The Original Hmdrrso n Field ..................
Unloading Supplies nt Guadalcnnal ................
Tulagi Island .........................
Tann mbog o nnd Gnvrrt,u Islnnds .................
Marine Comm nr~ders on Guadnlcarml ...............
LVT Bridge Built, hy Marine Enginrrrs ..............
Solomons Nat,ives Gu ide a Patrol .................
BOmm Antinircrnft, Guns o f tbr 3d Drfcnsc Bnt,talion ........
105mm Howit~zrr of the 1 I t,ll Mnrin~s ...............
Rnidrrs Ridge .........................
~Iarincs of tlw 211 Rnidm Battalion ................
The Pagoda at IImderson Field .................
ladus Air Forcr Planes .....................
Five Blasted J~~pnncse Talks ...................
hlarinr Light, Tanks. ......................
Japnncsr Torpedo Planr .....................
lNavnl Gunfire support, .....................
:37mm Guns of t,bc Ammirnl Division ...............
1st Division M arinrs L ravc Guadelrannl ..............
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x COhTENTS
MAPS+Cont,inued
PAGE
17. Battle of t,he Tenaru, 21 August, 1942 289
18. The Perimeter, 12-14 Scpt,ember 1942 300
19. Edson’s Ridge-First Phase, 12-l? Sept,ember 19 42 304
20. Edson’s Ridgo~Final Phase, 13 Scpt,rmbrr 1942 307
21. hlat~anikau Action, 24-27 Soptcmbrr 1942 314
22. Matonikati Offensive, 7-9 October 1942 318
23. October At,tacks on t,he Perimeter Map Srct,ion
24. Push Toward Kokumbona, l-4 Kovembu 1942 344
25. Koli Point, 4-9 Novemb er 1942 Mnp Section
26. Bat,& Area, Dewm ber 1942~Jnnnary 1943 Map Sect,ion
27. XIV Corps Plan-~~-First January Offensive 1’fa.p Section
28. Capt,urc of Kokumbonn and Advance t,o t,he Poha R iwr, 23-25
January 1943 .CIap &&on
29. Final Phase, 26 January-9 February 1943 370
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PART ON E
I n t r oduct i on to the M ar i ne Cor ps
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4 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD AL C ANAL
ever , for ei gn pr essu res br ou gh t t he N avy
back i n to exi stence i n 1798 under the r e-
cen t l y adopted Const i tu t i on , and on 11
J u l y of that year the M ar i ne Cor ps was
r eact i vated as a separ ate ser vi ce w ith i n
t he nava l est abl i shmen t .
Si nce that date M ar ines have fought i n
ever y off i ci al war the U ni ted States has
had—and scor es of obscur e af fai rs that
l acked off i ci al bl essi ng but i n wh i ch , to
qu ote the em inent M ar ine wr iter , J ohn W.
T hom ason , J r ., “. . . a m an can be ki l l ed
as dead as ever a chap was i n the .4r -
gonne.”’ T hey have ser ved as str ict l y
n aval t r oops, both ashor e an d afl oat , and
par ti ci pat ed i n exten ded l an d oper at i on s
under Ar my com m and, notabl y i n the
Cr eek -Sem i nol e I n di an War s of t he 1830’s,
the M exi can War , both Wor l d War s, and
i n Korea .
A l l over the wor ld , B r it i an ’s Royal M a-
r i nes wer e seei ng m uch the sam e type of
ser vi ce. F or a cen tu ry or m or e th e cou rses
of the two cor ps r an par al l el , and they
w er e as fu nct i on al ly al ike as i t i s possi bl e
for any two m i l i tar y or gan i zat i ons to be.
I nd ivi du al m em ber s of t hese ser vi ces h ad
so m any i n ter ests i n com mon that , as one
at top l evel , as wel l , and over the year s
the two or gan i zat i ons devel oped a ver y
cl ose and m ost cor di al r el at i onsh i p that
exi st s t o th is d ay, d espi te t he str an ge evo-
l ut i on ar y d iver gence that set i n betw een
them:
T he t r ansi t i on of navi es fr om sai l to
st eam began evol ut ion ar y d evel opm en ts
wh i ch pr ofound l y al ter ed the natu r e of
al l sh i pboar d du t i es, and tem por ar i l y
th r eatened both cor ps w i th ext i nct i on .
F r om th i s the Royal M ar i nes em er ged
bur dened w i th a m i scel l any of of ten i n -
congr uous dut i es never en vi si oned i n the
ol d d ays, a nd con si d er abl y em ascu l at ed by
l ack of a si ngl e m issi on of over ri di ng im -
por tance. T hat the efl ect on the U . S.
M a r i n es w -a s pr eci sel y t h e r ev er se r esu l t ed
fr om the fundam ental d i f fer ence i n the
pr obl em s faci ng the txvo nat i ons wh i ch
r equ i red L ’. S, M ar ines to car ve out a spe-
ci al m issi on for them sel ves, though they
tr avel ed a l ong, uneven r oad i n br ingi ng
th is to fu l l fr ui ti on .
T he basi c pr obl em that con fr on ted the
ear ly steam navi es w as th at of obtai ni ng
fuel . Sai l -pr opel l ed m en-of-war , on
w hi ch al l naval exper ience and tr ad i ti on
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E VOLI J TI ON OF MOD E R N AMP HI B I OU S WARFARE , 192&l Ml 11
i ng r eached i n the tw ent i es. I t m ar ked
the advent of ser ious exper im entat i on
w i th adequate l and i ng cr af t for t r oops
a nd equ i pm en t . H owever , i t was m ost
notabl e for th e gr eat num ber of m istakes
m ade i n the cour se of the exer ci ses, such
a s i n ad eq ua te a tt ack i n g f or ces, i n su ff i ci en t
an d u nsu it abl e boats, l ack of or der am on g
the l and i ng par ty, super fi ci al naval bom -
bar dm en t, an d poor j ud gm en t i n th e st ow -
age of su ppl ies an d equ ipm en t aboar d t he
si n gl e t r an spor t u sed .8
T he l ast l and i ng exer ci se of th e er a w as
a joi n t Ar my-N avy affai r hel d dur ing the
spr i ng of 1925 i n H awai i an water s. I t
was actual l y an am ph ibi ous com m and
p ost exer ci se, u nd er t ak en a t t he i n si st en ce
of Gener al L ejeune to pr ove to skept i cal
A rm y of f i cer s t hat t he M ar in e Cor ps cou ld
p lan a nd execu te a n a mp hi bi ou s op er a ti on
of gr eater than br igade si ze. A for ce of
42,000 M ar in es w as si mu lated , al th ou gh
on l y 1,500 actual l y par ti ci pated . I t r an
m or e sm ooth l y than had the pr evi ous
exer ci se, bu t st i l l was hand i capped by a
l ack of ad equ at e l an di ng cr aft }
E ven th i s m eager am ph i bi ous tr ai ni ng
cam e to an end after 1925. N ew comm i t -
Wh atever t he sh or tcom in gs of t he w or k
i n am ph ibi ou s d oct ri ne an d t ech ni qu e d ur -
i ng the 1920’s, the M ar ine Cor ps scor ed
a m ajor t r ium ph w hen i ts speci al i nter est
i n the fi el d becam e par t of the off i ci al
m i l i tar y pol i cy of the U n i ted States.
~okt Action of the Ar m y and N avy, a
d i r ect i ve i ssued by the J oi nt Boar d of the
Ar m y and N avy i n 1927, stated that the
M ar i ne Cor ps wou l d pr ovi de and mai n-
t ai n for ces “for l an d oper at ion s i n su ppor t
of the fl eet for the i n i t i al sei zu r e and
defense of advanced bases and for such
l im i ted auxi l i ar y l and oper at i ons as ar e
essen t i al to the pr osecu t i on of the naval
campaign.”
Fur ther , i n ou t l i n i ng the tasks to be
per for m ed by the Ar m y and N avy i n
“L and i ng At tacks Agai nst Shor e Objec-
t ives,” th is d ocu men t f i rm ly establ ish ed
the l and i ng for ce r ol e of the M ar i ne
Corps: “M ar ines or gan i zed as l and i ng
for ces per for m the sam e funct i ons as
above stated for the .4r my, and because
of the constan t associ at i on w i th naval
un i t s w i ll be gi ven speci al t r ai n i ng i n the
conduct of l and i ng oper at i ons.” I I
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E VOLU TI ON OF MOD E R N AMI ’H I B 1OC S WARFARE , 192@1941 13
own com m ander and staff wou l d have to
be or gan i zed for the pur pose, other wi se
tr ai ni ng w ou ld be con stan tl y i nt er r upted
by the d i sper sal of the t r oops to other
commitments.
N o one r ecogn i zed th i s m or e cl ear l y
than the Assi stan t Com mandant , 13r iga-
d i er Gener al ,J ohn H . Russel l . H e as-
sem bled a stat l at Quant i co to pl an the
or gan i zat i on of a for ce wh i ch cou l d be
r api d l y assem bl ed for ser vi ce w i th the
F l eet . I n August of 1933 he pr oposed to
the Comm andant that the ol d “Exped i -
t i on ar y F or ce” be r epl aced by a new
body, to be cal l ed ei ther “F l eet M ar i ne
F or ce,” or “F leet B ase D efense F or ce.”
The new for ce, wh i l e an i n tegr al par t of
the L Tn i ted States F leet , w ou l d be under
the oper at i onal con t r ol of th e F l eet Com -
m ander when embar ked on vessel s of the
F leet or en g~ged i n fl eet exer ci ses af l oat
or ashor e. When not so em bar ked or en-
gaged i t wou l d r em ai n under the M ajor
G en er a l C om m a nd an t .
R uss e 11’s r ecom m endat i ons wer e
pr om pt l y appr oved by the Com mandant
and by the Chi ef of h ’aval Oper at i ons.
T he desi gnat i on “F l eet M ar i ne For ce”
1. The for ce of ma r in es ma in t a ined by t h e
ma jor gener a l comma n da n t in a st a t e of rea di-
ness for opera t ions w it h t h e fleet is h er eby
designa ted a s fleet ma r ine force ( 1?. M. F .), a nd
a s such sha ll con st it ut e a pa r t of t he orga n iza -
t ion of t h e U nit ed S t a t es Fleet a n d be included
in t h e opera t ing for ce pla n for ea ch fisca l yea r .
2. The fleet ma rin e for ce sha ll consist of such
unit s a s ma y be design a t ed by t he ma jor gen era l
comma n da n t a n d sha ll be ma int a in ed a t such
st ren gt h a s is w arra nt ed by t h e genera l person-
nel sit ua t ion of t h e Ma rine C orps.
3. The fleet ma r ine force sha ll be a va ila ble
t o t he comma n der in ch ief for opera t ion s w it h
t h e fleet or for exercises eit h er a floa t or a sh ore
in cuun ec Liun w it h fleet problems. The com-
ma nder in ch ief sha ll ma ke t imely recommenda -
t ions t o t he C h ief of Na va l Opera tion s rega rdin g
such service in order t ha t t h e n ecessa ry a rra nge-
ment s ma y be ma de.
4. Th e comma n der in ch ief sha ll exercise
comma nd of t h e fleet ma r ine for ce w h en em-
ba rked on boa rd vessels of t h e fleet or w h en en -
ga ged in fleet exercises, eit her a floa t or a sh ore.
Wh en ot h erw ise en ga ged, comma nd sha ll bedirect ed by t he m ajor gen era l com ma nda nt .
5. The ma jor genera l comma nda nt sha ll de-
ta il t h e comma ndin g gen era l of t he fleet ma rin e
for ce a n d ma int a in a n a ppropr ia t e sta ff for
him.
6. Th e comma n din g gen era l, fleet ma r ine
for ce, sha ll repor t by let t er t o t h e comm a n der
in ch ief, U n it ed S t a t es Fleet , for dut y in con -
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E VOLU TI OX OF MOD E RN AMP HH 310U S WARFARE , 192&1941 15
i fi ed by exper ien ce i n fl eet exer ci ses u p t o
the outbr eak of the war . Amph ibi ous op-
er at i ons and or d i nar y gr ound war far e
sh ar e m an y of t he sam e t act i ca l p ri n ci pl es.T he basi c d i ffer ence betw een them l ies i n
the fact that the am ph ibi ous assau l t i s
l au nch ed fr om t he sea, an d i s su ppor ted by
naval el em ents. Whi l e water -bor ne the
l an di ng for ce i s com pl et el y pow er less an d
i s dependent upon the n aval el em ents for
a ll i t s su pp or t : gu nf ir e, a vi at i on , t r an sp or -
tat i on , and com muni cat i on . I n th i s i n i -
t ial st age on ly t ie n aval el em en ts h ave th ecapabi l i ty of r eact in g t o en em y act ion . As
the l and i ng for ce, h ow ever , i s pr ojected
on to t he beach , i ts eff ect ii -en ess, st ar t i ng
fr om zer o at the water ’s edge, i ncr eases
r api d l y un t i l i t s st r ength i s fu l l y estab-
l i shed ashore.
COM M AN D REL AT ION SH IPS
T hi s basi c d i ffer ence betw een l and and
am ph ibi ou s oper at ion s cr eat ed a pr obl em
in com m and r el at i onsh i ps wh i ch has
p la gu ed am ph i bi ou s op er at i on s f r om ear l i -
est t imes. Dur ing the i ni t i al stage when
on l y naval el em ents have th e capabi li ty
of r eact i ng to enem y act i on i t has been
a p robl em t ha t r equ i red r esol u ti on .16 T h ey
si mpl y d efi ned t he “at tack for ce” as al l t he
for ces n ecessar y t o con du ct a l an di ng op-
er at i on and added that the at tack for cecom mander w as to be the sen i or naval of -
f i cer of the f l eet un i ts m ak i ng up the at -
tack for ce. H is com mand was to consi st
of t he l an di ng f or ce an d sever al n aval com -
ponents, or gan i zed as task gr oups for the
suppor t of the l and i ng. T hese i ncl uded,
am on g ot her s, t he fi r e su ppor t, t ran spor t,
ai r , scr een in g, an ti su bm ar i ne, an d r econ -
n ai ssan ce gr ou ps. T he com man der s of t hel andi ng for ce and of the sever al naval
task gr oups oper ated on the sam e l evel
under the over -al l com mand of th e at tack
for ce com mander th r ot l ghot l t the oper a-
t ion.
T hi s i ni ti al com mand concept w as des-
t in ed t o u nd er go a n um ber of m od if i cat ion s
a nd i n ter pr et at i on s w hi ch w i ll be d i scu ssed
i n t hi s h ist or y as t hey occu r. T he f i rst i m-por tan t change d i d not com e about un t i l
tow ar d the cl ose of the Guadal can al cam -
paign?’
N AVAL G U N FI R.E 8U PPORT
Ther e i s noth i ng new in the concept of
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E VOLU TI OX OF MOD E R N- AMP H I B I O[l S WARFARE , I ZW1941 17
en t ered World Mra r I I , a dded U P t o t his : a bom -
ba rdmen t of ver y shor t dura t ion , deliver ed by
ships fir ing rela t ively limit ed a mmunit ion a l-
low a nces of t ypes oft en not w ell suit ed t o t h e
pur pose, fr om lon g ra nges w hile ma neuver in g
a t h igh speeds. Obviously, t he best t ha t could
be expect ed w ould be a rea neut ra liza t ion of
en emy defenses dur in g t roo~ deba rka t ion a n d
t he ship-t o-sh ore movemen t , follow ed by a lim-
it ed a mount of support on a ca ll ba sis, w it h th is,
t oo, t o be w it h dra w n a s soon a s field a rt illery
cou ld b e l a nd ed .’”
ilrea n eut ra liza t ion-t ha t w a s t h e ba sic
con cept , w it h delibera t e dest ruct ion fire
ruled out . A blood ba t h w ould be r e-
q uir ed t o explulge t his from “Th e nook.’”
.4Z~ SUPPORT
As th e M ar ine Cor ps devel oped the var -
i ou s t ech ni qu es con tr ibu ti ng t o a sm oot h
l and i ng oper at i on , i t had to gi ve m or e
and m or e consi der at i on to the fast
gr owth of m il itar y avi at i on as a pow er fu l,arm.
E ven the or i gi nal T en tat i ve L and i ng
O per at i on s M a nu al con si d er ed t he vu l ner -
abl e concent r at i ons of t r oops i n t r ans-
por ts, l and i ng boats, and on the beach
and cal l ed for a th r ee-to-one num er ical
super i or i t y over the enem y in the ai r .
naval gun fi re and ar ti l ler y. M ost i mpor -
tan t l y, i t i ncl uded r ender i ng d i r ect f i r e
suppor t to the l and i ng for ce un t i l the
ar ti l l er y was ashor e and r eady to fi r e.For th i s ai r war , em pl oym ent of M a-
r i n e squ ad r on s on ca rr i er s w as con si d er ed
i deal bu t , due to a l im i ted num ber of car -
r i er s, w as n ot al ways a. pr act ical possi bi l-
i ty. Pl anner s even consi der ed m ovi ng
M ar i ne pl anes ashor e i n cr ates and as-
sem bl i ng them , af ter the gr ound t r oops
h ad sei zed a n a ir f iel d .
H ence, the T entat i ve L and i ng Oper a-t i ons M anu a7 cal led for the N avy to car ry
m ost of the i n i t i al ai r bat t l e. M ar i ne
p i lots, however , m igh t be em pl oyed w i th
N avy ai r un i ts. Actual ly, i n or der to exer -
ci se M ar ine ai r, m ost of the ear ly t r ai ni ng
l and i ngs had to be schedu l ed w i th i n
r ound t r ip f l yi ng d i stance of f r iend l y ai r-
f i el ds, A l though by 1940 M ar ine car ri er
t r ai n i ng oper at i ons wer e becom ing r ou-t i ne, the heavy r el i ance upon N avy car -
r i er ai r over M ar i ne l and i ngs l asted
th r oughou t th e w ar .
As noted befor e, cl ose coor di nat i on of
ai r w ith gr ound r ecei ved gr eat em phasi s
i n the M ar i ne Cor ps. Even i n Santo
Dom i ngo and H ai t i and l ater i n N i car a-
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18 P EARL H ARB OR TO G U.4D ALC ANAL
t o d est roy a speci fi c en em y fr on t l in e posi -
t ion w it hou t en dan ger i ng n ear by fr i en dl y
troops.
Refi nem ent of th i s sk i ll ed techn i que aswe know i t today was sl ow because of
m an y f act or s. T her e was so much for
pi lots to l ear n about r api dl y devel opi ng
m i l i tar y avi at i on that cl ose ai r suppor t
had to take i ts pl ace i n the busy tr ai n i ng
syl l abus after such basi c dr i l l as aer i al
t act ics, ai r t o ai r gu nn er y, st raf in g, bom b-
i ng, n avi gat i on , car r i er l and i ngs, and
com mu ni cat ion s, an d con st an t st ud y of t hel atest i n en gi neer ing, aer od ynam ics, an d
f l i gh t sa fet y.
A l so, whenever newer , faster , and
h i gher f l yi ng ai r pl anes tr ick l ed i n to the
M ar i ne Cor ps i n the l ean th i r t i es, they
wer e found to be l ess adaptabl e for cl ose
coor di nat i on w i th gr ound t r oops than the
sl ower , open cockpi t pl anes wh i ch sup-
por ted th e patr ol act i on s of N icar agua.I n N i car agua the avi ator i n h i s open
cockpi t coul d i d l e h i s th r ot t l e so as to
l ocat e an en em y m ach in e gu n by i ts sou nd ,
bu t i n the m aneuver s of 1940 pi lots f l ash-
i ng by i n thei r encl osed cockpi ts found i t
d i f f i cu l t to see what was goi ng on bel ow
or even t o d iffer en ti at e betw een fr ien dl y
l i abl e as the ol d sl ow but sur e system
wher e pi l ots r ead code m essages fr om
cl oth panel s l ai d on the gr ound or
swooped down wi th wei gh ted l i nes tosn at ch m essages su spen ded bet ween t wo
poles.
T he m ain key to devel opment of cl ose
a ir su pp or t l ay i n r el i abl e com m un i ca ti on s
to per mi t qui ck l i ai son and com plete un-
der stand i ng between the pi l ot and the
fr on t l i ne commander . Par t of the sol u-
t i on l ay i n m or e exer ci ses i n ai r -gr ound
coor di nat i on w it h em phasi s on stan dar d-i zed an d si mpl ied ai r -gr ou nd com m un ica-
t i ons and maps. By 1939 an avi ator as an
ai r l iai son off i cer was assi gned to the 1st
M ar ine Br i gade Staff. Wh i le both ar t i l -
l er y a nd n av al gu nf ir e, h ow ever , em pl oyed
for war d obser ver s at fr on t l in e posi ti on s,
ai r suppor t con tr ol was st i l l bei ng chan-
nel ed sl ow l y thr ough r egi mental and br i-
gade com mand pos& .Z2 I n the sam e yearon e squ ad ron sen t u p an ai r l iai son oi ii ce.r
i n the r ear seat of a scou t i ng or bombing
pl an e t o k eep abr east of th e gr oun d si tu a-
t i on and to di rect f i gh ter or di ve bomber
pi l ots on to tar gets by means of r ad i o.=
T hi s w as bet ter bu t n ot best .
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E VOLU TI ON OF MOD E RN .4 J IP HI B I OU S WARFARE , 192&1941 19
i n g r a di o-eq ui p ped “obser ver s’> on th e
fr on t l i nes to con tr ol ai r suppor t for the
troops. B ut the L eather necks wer e al -
r ead y i n t he w ar befor e th e fi rst st an dar d-i zed N avy-M ar ine Cor ps i nst r uct i ons on
thei r em pl oym ent appear ed .25 Al so at
th at t i me, on Guadal canal cer tai n i nfan-
t r y off i cer s wer e gi ven add i t i onal du ty as
regimental ‘{ai r for war d obser ver s.”
T hey w er e coach ed on t he spot by avi at or s
of the 1st M ar i ne Ai r cr aft Wing.2e
T H E SH I P-T O-SH OREM O V Ei WE ZV T
T he sh i p-to-shor e m ovem ent was vi s-
ual ized by the T en tat i ve L and i ng Oper a-
t i ons M anual i n a m anner wh i ch r esem -
bl ed cl osel y a con ven ti on al at tack i n l an d
w ar far e: ar ti l l er y pr epar at ion , appr oach
m ar ch , d epl oym en t, an d assau lt by t he i n-
f an tr y . I t st r essed th at th i s m ovem ent
was no sim pl e fer r yi ng oper at i on bu t a
vi tal and i ntegr al par t of th e at tack i tsel f
and dem anded a h i gh or der of tact i cal
k now l ed ge a nd sk i ll .
T he tw o m ajor pr obl em s i n the sh i p-to-
sh or e m ovem en t ar e th e speed y d ebar ka-
t i on of the assau l t i ng t r oops and thei r
each t r anspor t and i ts accompanyi ng
t roops w ou ld be t act ical l y sel f-su ff i ci en t
for t he assau lt l an di ng, an d th e l oss of on e
sh i p wou l d not be a cr i ppl i ng bl ow . T oexped i te thei r debar kat i on the M ar ines
gen er al ly w en t over t he si de vi a car go n et s
r igged at sever al st at ion s on t he sh ip.
T o sol ve the second major pr obl em in
t he sh ip-t o-sh or e m ovem en t, t hat of con -
t r ol l i ng and gu i d i ng the l and i ng cr af t to
t hei r pr oper beach es, t he T en tat ive L an d-
i ng Oper at i ons M anual pr ovi ded for : (1)
m ar ki ng the l ine of depar tu r e w i th buoysor pi cket boats; (2) a desi gnated contr ol
vessel to l ead each boat gr oup fr om the
r en dezvou s ar ea t o t he l in e of d epar tu re,
tow i ng the boats i n fog, sm oke, or dar k -
n ess, i f n ecessar y; (3) w ave an d al ter nat e
wave gu i de boats; (4) each boat to car ry
a si gnboar d w i th i t s assi gned l et ter and
number i nd i cat i ng i ts pr oper posi t i on i n
the for m at i on ; and (5) for a gui de pl aneto l ead th e boat w aves i n.
T he system for the cont r ol of the sh i p-
to-shor e m ovement was st i l l substan-
t i al ly the sam e as pr escr ibed i n the Ten-
tat i ve L and i ng Oper at i om M anual when
the M ar ines m ade thei r f i rst am ph i bi ous
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20 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
pr act i cal i n u t i l i zi ng ever y cubi c foot of
car go space avai labl e bu t pr even ts access
to much of the car go unt i l the sh i p i s
unloaded.
H ighest pr ior ity i tems for combat un i t
l oacl i ng var y somewhat w i th the natu r e
and pr obl ems of a par ti cu l ar oper at i on.
Rel at i ve pr i or it i es must be wor ked out
w i th m inu te car e. T he r esponsi bi l i t y for
hand l i ngt h i s was gi ven to a M ar i ne off i -
cer d esi gn at ed t ran spor t qu ar ter m ast er
(T QM ) aboar d each am ph i bi ous assau l t
sh i p. H e had to know not oi l ly the weigh t
and dim ensi ons of each i tem of M ar i ne
gear car r ied bu t h ad t o fam i li ar i ze h im sel f
w it h th e ch ar act er ist i cs of t he par ti cu lar
sh i p t o w h i ch h e w 7a sa ssi a gn ed : exa ct l oca -
t i on and di mensi ons of al l hol ds and stor -
age spaces i n ter ms of both cubi c feet and
deck space, Th i s fam il i ar it y r equ i r ed at
t i mes accur ate r em easur em ent of hol ds
an d l oad in g spaces as m od if i cat ion s, n ot
shown i n the sh i p-s pl ans, had often been
m ad e i n t he sh ip’s i nter nal st ru ctu re. I ni -
t i al ly, t he T en at iw L md in.g (l per at ion .~
M wnuai d i rected that , the T QM shou l cl be
an off i cer of the un i t embar ked , but such
w er e the var iat i ons i n shi ps that i t subse-
quent l y pr oved mor e feasi bl e to assi gn z
abi l it y of sh i ps som et i mes en tan gl ed pl an -
ni ng pr ocedur es. .4s a r esu l t , ther e was
no i deal appr oximat i on of war tim e com-
bat l oad i ng.
SH ORi? PART Y
One of the most ser i ous pr obl ems en-
cou nt er ed i n ear ly l an di ng exer ci ses w as
con gest ion on t he beach es as m en an d su p-
p l ies p i led a sh or e. T o keep such a si tua-
t i on r easonabl y i n hand r equi r es a hi gh
degr ee of con tr ol ; cont r ol d i f f i cu l t to
ach ieve u nder such ci rcu mstan ces, even
w hen th e enem y r em ai ns on ly si mu lat ed .
.kssau l t t r oops m ust push i nl and w i th al l
speed n ot onl y t o expan d t he beach head ,
bu t al so to m ake r oom for fol l ow i ng un i ts
and equ i pm ent to l and and to pr ovi de
sp ace i n w hi ch per son nel assi gn ed st r ict l y
b ea ch f un ct i on s ca n op er a te.
To sol ve th i s pr obl em the Tentai%ve
Latiing Operations Manual pr ovi d ed f or
a beach par ty , commanded by a naval
off i cer cal led a beach master ~ an d a sh or e
par ty, a speci al task or gan i zat i on , com -
m an ded by an off i cer of t he l an di ng for ce.
T he beach par ty was assi gned pr im ar il y
n aval fu nct ion s, e. g., r econ nai ssan ce an d
m ar ki ng of beaches, m ar ki ng of hazar ds
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22
naval m at ter s; an t i (3) t r ansfer r i ng the
r esponsi bi li ty for u nl oadi ng boat s at , th e
beach fr om th e. n aval el em ent to th e l an d-
i ng for ce el em en t of t he sh or e par ty.3zM ar ine Cor ps H eadquar ter s sol ved the
l abor for ce pr obl em by add i ng a pi oneer
(sh or e par ty) bat tal ion of 340t li cw r san (l
669 en li st ed m en t o t }l e m ar i ne d ivi si on .x’
T hi s chan ge occu rr ed on 10 J an uar y 1942,
too l ate for the per sonnel concer ned to
gai n pr act i cal exper ien ce i n l ar ge-scal e
exer ci ses i n the techni ques of hand l ing
vast quant i t i es of sl lppl i es or to test thea dequ acy of t he st r en gt h an d or gan i zat i on
provided. .>t Gu ad al can al t hi s l ack cam e
close to having ser ious conseq l lences. :’~
Gener al Sm ith was not con ten t m er el y
to subm it h i s shor e par t-y r ecom n~enda-
t i onsto Adn~i ral K ing. .\ t h i s d i r ect i on ,
the l ogi st i cs staff of the Am ph ibi ous
3’Ibid.
a Ma rin e C or ps T/O D –94, 10J a n42.
8’ S ee P ar t VI of t his h ist ory.
I ’E .IRL H ARB OR TO G CAD ALC .4NAL
For ce At l an t i c F leet pr epar ed a detai led
Stand i ng Oper at i ng Pr ocedur e (SOP)
cov er i n g a l l p ha ses of l ogi st i cs. I ssu ed as
For ce Gener a] Or der N o. 7-42, SOP forSuppl y and Evacuat i on , i t ser ved as the
basi c gu i de to com bat l oad i ng and shor e
par ty oper at ion s d ur ing t he Gu ad al can al
operation.35
B y 7 D ecem ber 1941 the M ar ine Cor ps
had made l ong str icl es towar ds amphi b-
i ous pr epar edness. I t had n doctr i ne
wh i ch had been tested i n m aneuver s and
founcl to be basi cal l y sound. M any ofthe er r or s i n i mpl em entat i on had been
r ecogn i zed an d cor r ect ed ; st i ll ot her s w er e
aw ai ti ng r em ed ial act ,i on w hen w ar br oke
out . Bu t the si muh~ted cond i t i ons of the
nmneu\ 7er gr ound wer e now to be aban-
doned. T he M ar i nes and thei r doctr i ne
wer e now to subm i t to the u l t i mate test
of war .
‘5K ru l ak , OP.ci t .; Tw in i ng, op . C~~ .
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CHAPTER 3
Development of Landing Craft
IA7TRODUCTION
The amph ibi ous war far e doct r i ne l a-
bor iou sl y d evel oped by M m in es bet ween
the two Wor l d War s cou l d never have
b een su ccessf ul l y execu t ed w i t hou t sp eci a l
equ i pm ent to t r xnspor t the assau l t i ng
t r oops and thei r suppl i es f r om sh i p to
shor e and to l and them on an enemy-
d ef en d ed bea ch .
N o one was mor e awar e of the need
for such equ i pm ent than the M ar i nes.
Shor t l y after the end of Wor l d War I
they i nduced the N avy to under take de-
si gn stud i es on tw o l and i ng cr af t , one forper sonnel and one for m ater i el . T r oop
Bar ge A, as t i l e f i r st of these types was
cal l ed , was t r i ed ou t at Cu l ebr a i n the
w in ter of 1923–24. ii shal low dr af t ,
tw i n -engi ned , 50-foot cr af t w i th a r ated
speed of about 12 knots and a car r yi ng
capaci ty of 110 fu l ly equ i pped M ar ines,
Another i tem of equ i pm ent t r i ed ou t i n
1924 w as th e Chr ist i e “am ph i bi an tank.”
Af l oat , th i s unusual m ach i ne was dr iven
by tw in -scr ew pr opel ler s at a r ated speed
of seven knots. On shor t , as a t r actor , i t
cou l d m ake 15 m ph; or , wher e good r oads
wer e avai labl e, the r em ountabl e t r acks
cou l d be r em oved, and on w -heel s i t cou l d
d o 35 m ph . I t funct i oned w el l enough on
l an d and i n the shel ter ed w ater s of r iver s,
B ut i n the open sea, under cond i ti ons th at
m ust be r eal ist ical ly an ti ci pat ed for an as-
sau lt l and i ng, i t pr oved so unseaw or thy
that the M ar ine Cor ps d i r ected i t s at ten -
t i on to other types.
T he constr uct i on of these types of
am ph i bi ous equ i pm ent const i tu ted a be-
gi n ni n g, h ow ever humble, towar ds the
sol u t i on of the pr obl em of t r anspor ti ng
tr oops and equ i pm ent fr om sh i p to shor e.
B ut a sh or tage of fu nd s m ad e i t i m possi bl e
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\ Y: ls l l?s ul lw d . Th ree t ypes of lm:~ t s for
la ndin g olw mt ions w ere collt en)l)l:~ te(l by
Wrine pl : t l l l ]ers of t i le n l i(l -t l li rt i es.
T hese i l~cl u(l ed fast , sm al l, su ~f boi it s t ol i f t tbe l ead il ]g N wves; st :~n (l :t r cl h ’:~vy
bo:~t s :~n d l i fe bo:l t s of n l er cl ~a ll t r essel s
for the bu l l i of t r oops: :L i l d b:l l ges N n(l
] i gl l t er s f or ] l e:~ vy l )l :l t er i : ~] .’
Steps to sol ve t l ~e fi r st pl ’obl em , p]w
vi si on of sp eei :l l t r ool ) l an (l i l ]g l)oiltS, l~ere
i n it i at ed i n 19;).5. T ]l e 3L tr in e and XT :L Vj -
off i cer s w ho t xck le(l t l]e pr obl en l t hat ye:l r
hn d t o st :l rt pr et ty H 1l lcI 1r om scm tcl l, forTroop 13:uyge~ i , :L l ) rol l l i s i l l ge:l r l y develop
m el l t, fel l vi ct in l t o t l\ e si ze :m d \ l -ei gl l t r e-
st r ict ion s i l ]l l )ose(l by n ar :l ] sbi l )s i l l t hose
clays. N :tvy th i nk i ng nnd pl ann i ng fol ’
t h e d ev el o] )l l l en t of a m pl l i bi ol l s eq ~l i pl ] l en t
w as r estr icted by the types of sl li ])s t l )el l
ser vi ng the fl eet . T roop tr :\ nsl xj r ts w er e
pr act i ca ll y n ol ~exi st en t, so i t \ \ -:~sl :u m ed
ns m l emer gency me:umr e to l i ft M :l r ine
l andi ng for ces i n l ) t~ t tl esl l i l ) s: t l l (l cr l l i ser s.
A l ength of 30 feet , tbe si ze of chvi t s on
t hese sh i ps, :l ncl a w ei gh t of f ive t on s w hi ch
w as t he m axi mu n~ ul p:l ci ty of t i le cl nl ”i tsj
w er e t her efor e i nl posed n s basi c r equ ir e-
m ents for al l new hndi ng cr oft .
I n an effor t to expl or e tbe su i tabi li ty of
Tests of t h ese a })l )r ov ecl t yp es w er e co] )-
(l l~ct e(l :\ t (’:l lw 31:\ y, Se\ v ,J er sey, i n t il e
S ll m n l el ’of 1 ):16 . 13 ut t i l e exp er i l l l en t s f el l
shor t of t i le ol igi ll al i ntel lt i on l “to test :1sw i cl e:1 w~ r i et y of f orms M wns p r :l ct i cabl e,’?
bec:l lw .i l l dr e}v I l i ~gi ll s, :~ S ew or le:l l l s
b o:~ t bl l i l der T yi t l l :i p lon l i si l ~g cl esi gn , cl e-
cl il led t o sl lbl l l it :1 b id . I n 1926 I I iggi ns
I L : t ddesi gl ) eda sl )e(’i :l l sl l :l l l o\ v cl r : l ft er : tf t
(’:l l l ed th e L ’/ / w lY/ f or t i le u se of t r apper s
:t l l d oi l {l r i l ]er s :t l on g t be l ol ver M i ssi ssi p pi
:l n cl Gu l f Const. I t lmd :1 t unnel st ern t o
[)rot ect t h e l)ropeller :t nd a q)ecia l t y l)eof l)OI V> cn ]l ecl by H i ggi l ~s a ‘%p oon bi ]l ,”
wl l icb eililble(l it t o run wel l up on l ow
b:t nl m :~n d b e:l cl les n n(l r et rxct easi l y. I n
19 34 t l ke i l l l el l t or h :t d v isi t ecl (~ u:~ nt i cot o
i nt er est l l [:t ri l~es i n h is boat , an d t be N :t vy
J \ -:t snow- p:l rt i cl l l :l r l y anxi ous to test i t
w ith other com p:tm bl e types of smal l
(’1’;lft.~
T h e f ou r bo:~ ts \ vl l icb sl l ow -e(l u p a t Cap el hy for th e test \ Yer eof tw o gen er al t ypes.
T l~e sw sk i i f , x k )o:~tem pl oyed by A t]:t nt i e
coast f i sber nl el l, N W r el )r esent ecl by t l ~e
13xy H eacl , R ed B an k, a ncl F r eep or t boa ts.
T hi s type :~ppe:t red i n t heor y t o ofl er a so-
I ut i o] l to t l i e l and i n~ cr xf t pr obl em , as i t
\ Y:l s nor nu~l ]y l ~~uncl l ed :md landed
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26 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
they tended to di g i n when r et r act i ng.
They wer e so h i gh for war d that M ar i nes
debar k i ng had to d r op 10 feet f r om the
bow to the beach . T h ey w er e, m or eover ,a ll u nsu i ta bl e f or l ow -er i ng m l dh oi st in g.G
I n the l i gh t of the dr awbacks r eveal ed
by tests, the Bur eau of Constr uct i on and
Repai r under took the const r uct i on of a
boat em bod yi ng al l th e best feat ur es of th e
f i sh i ng cra f t.’ T hi s w as the begi nn i ng of
a l ong and unsuccessfu l ef for t by the B L I -
rea u t o develop a sa t isfa ct ory la n ding
cra ft . Th e ~ ’B urea u B oa t ” in va r ious
forms show ed up regula r ly a t F leet L a n d-
ing E xercises from 1939 t hrough 1941, but
effor t s t o get t h e “bu~ s>) out of it s design
w er e a ba ndon ed in 1940.
E xper iment s w it h st a nda rd ~ a vy ships’
boa t s pr oceeded simult a neously w it h t he
developmen t of specia l t ypes. F r om the
f i r st they pr oved unsat i sfactor y. Af ter
f i ve of them founder ed i n a four -foot sur f
at San Cl em ente dur i ng F l ex 3, ef for ts
to adapt standar d N avy boats for beach
hm dings wer e abandoned. T he fact was
that , havi ng been desi gned for other pur -
poses, none of them wer e su i tabl e for
T hey do not per mi t the r api d d ebar kat i on
of t roops at th e w at er ’s edge.” 8
By 1938 a begi nn i ng had been m ade
tow ar ds the sol ut i on of the l ancl ing cr aftpr obl em . As a r esu l t of the ear ly exper i-
ments the M ar i nes had pr oved to thei r
ow n sat isfact ion w hat t hey h ad su spect ed
al l al on g—th at n on e of t he st an dar d N avy
boats cou l d be ad apted sat i sfactor i l y for
the l and i ng th r ough sur f of t r oops or
heavy equ i pm ent . N or wer e the exper i-
m en tal m od el s based on com m er ci al cr aft ,
though super ior to hyavy boats, a sat i s-
factor y m eans for l and i ng of assau l t
w aves on a d efen ded beach . T hese r esu lt s,
t hou gh n egat ive i n char acter , at l east
cl ea red t he w ay f or con cen tr at i ng d evel op -
m en t on speci al ly d esi gn ed l and ing cr af t .
T he fr u i t fu l l i ne of devel opm ent cam e
i nto vi ew w ith the r e-en t r ance of Andr ew
H iggi ns i n to the pi ctu r e. I n October
1936, about a year af ter decl i n i ng to bi d
on t he exper i m en ta l l an di n g boat con tr act ,
H iggi ns had w r i t ten the N avy offer i ng
h i s E ’weka as a t r oop l and i ng cr aft . As
funds for the pur chase of exper im ental
boats had been exhausted , the N avy was
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D E YE LOP ME S T OF L.%XD I XG C RAFTa -
caught the fi r st t r ai n for Wash i ngton .
They spent abou t a week i n M cDowel l ’s
of f i ce wor k i ng out , a conver si on of the
standar d Eur eka i n to a l and i ng cr af t . .\ sfunds for t i le pur cl utse of exper im ental
boats had been exhausted , the N avy De-
par tm ent at f i rst r efused to l )u r chase the
H iggi ns cr aft . Bu t after the i nven tor
ot?er ed to bui ld a boat for ]ess t lm n cost ,
t he D ep ar t m en t r el en ted , f ou ncl t he n eces-
sar y funds, an d gave H iggi ns :L con tr act ,
for on e boat . H i ggi ns d el i~er ed i t t o h Tor -
fol k i n 30 d ays.’”
T he Zllrekw was tested i n sur f at
H am pton Roads i n the spr i ng of 1938”
an d m ad e i ts f i rst m an eu ver appear an ce at
F l ex 5 i n 1939 wher e i t com peted n~l inst
sever al Bur eau boats and the by now
ven er abl e fi sh in g cr aft . M ar in es w er e en -
t l ~usi ast i c about i ts per for mance. “T he
H i ggi ns boat gave t he best . per for man ce
under al l cond i ti ons. I t has mor e speed,
m or e l l l ~l l l et l ~er :l bi l i t y, h an d l es ea si er , a nd
l ands t r oops h i gher on the beach ,” r e-
por ted the com mand i ng off i cer of the 1st
B at tal i on , 5th M ar ines. “I t al so has
41
shar e t i l e M ar i nes’ en thusi asm for the
H i ggi l~’s ] ~z<~el ,{(. “T he H i ggi ns . . . bo:l t,
i s too heavy. . . . l ’he speed i s too sl ow .
. . . A ll th e H i ggi ns boat s h ave 250 h or se-p ow er w i th a ccom pa nyi n g excessi ~e ga so-
l i ne col l sl uupt i on for the speed ob-
t ai n ed j” 13] ~e r epor ted t o h is bu reau .
1 )a gget t’s pl ’ef er el l ce w as f or n m od i fi ed
B ur eal l boat , l xl i l t by t he Wel in Com pan y.
T he ot l ~er I ]u r eal l t ypes and the f i sh i ng
boats he found unsat i sfactor y, an d as the
M a ri ne (“or ps iLnd the Bur eau wer e i n:tgr een l el ~t l ol l th i s poi nt at l east , these
CYiLft were discarded.
h -ei ther the M ar i ne Cor ps nor the BL L-
r eau of Const r uct i on tL nd Repai r was to
l i i ~~e the l ast wor d at F l ex 5. T he Com -
l lm l l ( l er .~t la l l t i c Sq~ ladrol~ ,as represen ted
b-y h i s I .a ll d in g B oa t. D e~ el op nl en t B oa r d,
l ’ecom m en cl ed f ur t her t est s f or t he B u reau
a] lcl F. ’uvehf{ craf t . Accor di ngl y at F l ex 6
the fol l ow i ng year the dr am a was r e-
enacted. .~gai l l t he N l ar i nes d ecl ar ed t he
E ~l teka to be “the best so far desi gned.”
T he .i tl an t i c Squadr on , sh i ft i ng sl igh t l y
fr om dead center , cl eci ded that the H ig-
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28 1 ’l ; .\ IL 1 /H . I RB OR TO G U AD AL CAATAI ,
cr af t i n quant i ty. But i l l vi ew- of t lw
fact that the F l eet J VaSl mabl e to m ake a
cl ea r-cu t r ecol l l ll l el l fl :~ ti {)l l f ol ’ ei th er t he
13ur e:l ~l or I I i ggi l l s types, the A“al y l et
con tr acts for the fi rst (i + l and i ng cr aft 011
a fi ft y-f if t y basi s.”
T i le qu est ion w as t il l al ]y set tl e(l i l l Sel k
tem lw r 1940. T he Xavy \ \ -:l sn ow coll-
vprting l ar ge n l er cl l al ]t sn i ps for I lse t l s
troop tr an spor ts. T hese shi l l s \ vel e
equ i pp ed w i t] i (l i lV it S ( w[ )al )l e of l ul l lcl l i l ]g
36-foot boats, al ~(l as t l ~e l ’~~,cl ,{ of 36-
foot l ength l l i l {l tw i w t i l e c:l l )ar it y of t i l e
30-f ooter t l ~el ~ i l l ser v i ce :111 (1COUI ( ln )ake
t I le san l e spee(l v-i t ho(l t an i lw r ease i n
I lor sepowel j the Sar y <l e(i de(l to a(l ol )t
t he l a rger as stan f l ar ( l .’”
~i f ter f i ve yeal ’s of \ vor k t i l e M ar ines
f i na l ly h :l d t i l e l al l (l i l l g C l> at ’tt h ey \\-il l l tP(l .
T l~e ol ~e feat li l”e t l ~at k ef)t t l w 1 Ii ggi ll s
ben t fr wl l l fu l f i l l i ng t l l c i {l ea] t l l :l t they
had bui lt l lp i l l t l ~ei r n~i l~(l swas the (l if f -
cu l ty of eu l ptyi nx i t 011 the bea(’11: al l
t r ool )s, equ i l)n len t, :u l (l sl l ])pl i es h ad t o be
~ ul l oad ed over t il e f ai r l y l l igl l si (l es. I )111’-
ing N vi si t to Ql l an t i co i l l .I ])l ’i l 1 )41,
H i ggi ns J VaSsl ~o\ J -]]a l )i ct ~l le of a .J al ):\ -
n ese l :u ~d i l~ g cr af t w i th a r :~n l l) i l l t l ~e bow
by Wjor I tr nw t 1+;.I .i nwr t. H iggi ])s l )e-
t i le Af:i r i l]e ( ‘or ps pr ocl lr e a r a]n l ~-bow
;M -foot f i l(j vl ~(. [r lw l l r ecei vi l~g t i le al )-
[)r oval of M ar ine Cor ps I l ea(l q~l ar ter s,
M ost+ an(t I ,i l l sel t went to N e\ v or leans
t o assi st 11i ggi l ls, ~ vl l oh ad i l gr eed t o m ak e
i t 1)1’Ot ot yl )e, col l ~el ’t i l l g a St ;1 l(i i l rd ;~f i-
foot Z :’I / / eJ OUnto a l an l p-bow boat at l ~i s
o\ Yl lexlwn se,
on 21 M ay, i n for l lm l tests wer e con-
ci ucte(l on l ,ake l ’ol }tcl l :l l t r tl i l l. T he n ew
cr aft , l )lwved to be seal~or t l ~y. She
beaclw(l and r vt r wcte(l w i t l ~ ease, and
w l~i l e ot l t l~e b each t lw r an lp w as l ow er ed:111(1per sol ~l l el a] l(l a l i gh t t r uck w er e d e-
bar kw l :111(1eenl b:t rked . on t i le r er on l-
l l len cl at iol ~ of t il e N avy I )epar tn len t Coi l -
t i l ~l l i l i g B oit ](l for t l l e I )evel op n~ el ~t of
I ,al l (l i l~ g l km t s, 17 a s~ )eci al 130al ’cl of M a -
r i u e (’or l )s :1] )(I 131 1r ea u of S ll i 1x3 of fi cer s
w as :I l )poi )i te(l t o col lcl l lct of i ici al accep-
t :t l]ce t est s. T Yi th (~el ier xl h ~oses as sen -
i or I l len )bel ’ t i l e boar d cal r ied ou t t il e t est s
(l l l r i ng t l ~e fi r st \ v eel <i l l ,Ju )l e. T ]l e r m nl )-
l x)J Y c r af t ~ w5 se(l \ ~ i tl ~f l yi n g col or s.’s
T ]] l l s was bor n t i l e l )r ecur sor of the
I .(’V I ’ ( l al l (l i l~g cl af t vel ]i cl e, p er son l ~el ),
the cr aft whi ch, i n the opi n i on of Gen-
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D E VE LOP ME NT OF L AND I NG C R.kI ’r~ 29
L Z GI I T Z ~’I -i ,~ A N 1) i ?A R GE ,V
T he d esi gn of a successfu l tal )k l igh ter
p r oved a I ol +q-er a nd m or e d i ff icu l t pr ocess
than d i d the devel opment of t i l e per som
nel l and i ng cr af t . T he o1d -L -fOOt ar -
t i l l er y l i gh ter , devel oped i n 1927, was
consi der ed to nave a l im ited ~l sefu l ness
for l an f l i ng heavy equ i pn l en t i n the l ater
stages of a]] ol )er at i on j bu t t i l e M ar ine
(;or ps h ol )ed to obtai n a l igh ter , sel f-pr o-
pel l ed cr a ft p ar t icu l ar l y sl l i tet l tol :l l l (l i l lg
t an ks d ~w in g t i le ear ly stiiges.’”
As a stop-gap m easur e, M ar i nes at
Quant i co cam e up w i th a devi ce to adapt
th e stanchw d N avy 50-foot m otor l aunch
for l andi ng l i gh t veh i cl es and ar ti l l er y.
“B oat Ri g i i,” th is con tr apt ion w as cal led .
I t consi sted of a pl at for m fi t.tecl w i th i n
the hu l l of the boat , together w i th a por t-
abl e r am p by means of wh i ch t l ~e veh i cl e
cou l d g-o ashor e over the bo]v when the
cr af t beached. T he r amp was car r i ed
i n to the beach br oken down, wher e i t was
assem bl ed a nd h i tch ed u p f or d eba rk at i on .
T hi s com pl eted , i t w ou l d be d i sengaged
an d l ef t on th e beach t o accot nn ~od at e t he
n ext boat , com in g i n. T he r am p cou l d be
assem bled and n l ade r eady for use by
ei gh t, m en i n abou t 10 m in ut es. 011 sub-
Wi th the fai l u r e of Boat Ri g A, the
M ar ine, Cor ps tu r ned i ts at ten t i on to de-
vel op in g a sel f-p rop el l ed l i gh ter d esi gn ed
speci fi cal ly for l and i ng tanks and heavy
equ i pn l el l t th r ol l gh the su ff . I n Decem-
ber 1935 the Con l mandant r equested the
Bur eau of Const r uct i on and Repai r to
d esi gn su ch a cr af t. I t w as to be capabl e
of l and i ng the 9,500–pound M ar m on-
H er ri ngton tank wh i ch the M ar ine Cor ps
\ vas then con si der i ng. N egot iat ion s
dr agged on for m or e than a year , un t i l
i n Apr i l both the M ar i ne Cor ps and the
Bur eau had agr eed upon x design. .%
M -foot cr af t , i t m ade i ts f i rst appear an ce
at a fl eet l and i ng exer ci se i n 1938.22
The M ar ines r epor ted i t to be “a d i st i nct
i m pr ovem en t over pr ev iou s exp er i m en tal
designs. I t i s sel f-pr opel l ed , has su ff i -
ci en t speed , an d i s sou nd an d pr act icabl e
i n const ruct i on . I t i s equal l y adaptabl e
for l and i ng ar t i l l er y and i s an ef f i ci en t
ra rgo ca r r i er . :”3
A M -footer , bu i l t at the. N or fol k h -avy
Yar d i n the autum n of 1938, showed up at
Cu l ebr a the fol l ow i ng w i n ter for F l ex 5.
I t w as u sed su ccessfu l ly i n t r an spor ti ng
ashor e tanks an d t r ucks of the types then
st an dar d i n t he M a ri ne Cor ps. I ~ I l d er t h e
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P E.4RL H AR B OR TO G U.4D ALC ANAL
l i gh ter pr oved super i or to the ol d i n r e-
spect to ease and safety of l oad i ng i n a
seaway as wel l as car go-car ryi ng ca-
pacity.’’”
A ll t an k l igh ter exper i men ts con du ct ed
up to the end of F l ex 5 had been bu i l t
ar onnd the M ar mon-H er r i ngton tank .
T hi s veh icl e, ad opt ed by t he Wu -i ne Cor ps
i n 1935, had been desi gned to f i t w i th i n
the weigh t l im i tat i ons imposed by the
h TL L Vyor am ph ibi ou s equ ipm en t. L i gh t-
ness was just about the on l y vi r tue pos-
sessed by t hi s t an k. By 1939 the M ar ine
Cor ps had gi ven up on i t and was test i ng
the Ar my l i gh t tank for i t s su i tabi l i t y i n
a m ph i bi ou s op er a ti on s. As the Ar my
tank weighed about 15 tons, i t cou l d not
be car ri ed i n any of the tank l i gh ter s then
i n exi sten ce. T he N “avy accor di ngl y pr o-
d uced a n ew m od el 45-feet i n l en gt h, capa-
bl e of car r yi ng one Ar my and two M ar -
m on -H er r i ngt on t an ks.2s
O ne of t h e n ew 45-f oot er s w as com p let ed
i n t i me for a tr i al at (h l ebr a dur i ng the
w in ter of 1940 i n F l ex 6. T be tests l acked
som ewhat i n r eal ism , however , because
none of the Ar m y-type tznks wer e avai l -
abl e. T be new l i gh ter per for m ed ade-
I n the fal l of 1940 the h-avy contr acted
for the constr uct i on of 96 45-foot tank
l i ghter s. After the cont r act had been
aw ar ded , d ou bt ar ose as t o t he seaw or th i-
n ess of t he basi c d esi gn . Dur i ng a l and-
i ng exer ci se i n the Car ibbeanj one of the
45-footer s capsi zed and sank when the
Ar my-type tank i t was car ryi ng sh i fted
t o on e si de i n a m od er at e sea.27
I n the spr ing of 1941 the M ar ine Cor ps
found i tsel f i n u r gen t need of al l the
l i ghter s i t coul d l ay i t s hands on for use
i n a pr oposed am ph i bi ous l and i ng i n the
.%zor es.28 N on e of t he 96 l i gh ter s or d er ed
by the N avy had been del i ver ed , and not
m or e than ei ght or ten wer e expected i n
t im e for the oper at i on . Ther efor e, on 27
M ay 1941 the N avy Depar tm ent Con-
t i nu i ng Boar d for the Devel opm ent of
I ,and i ng Boats r ecom mended that H ig-
gi ns be gi ven an oppor tun i ty to conver t
one of h i s 45-foot Eur eka boats i n to atank l i gh ter by i nstal l i ng a r amp in the
bow. I f th i s cr aft m et ser vi ce tests he
wou l d be awar ded a contr act for 50 tank
l igh ter s. T he Secr etar y of the N avy gave
hi s appr oval on 29 M ay, and H iggi ns r e-
cei ved th i s or der by tel ephone the next
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D E VE L OP M EN T OF L .4N D I XG CR AF T 31
r eau of Sh i ps of f i cer s W1]O h ad com e to
N ew Or lean s to t est t he 36-foot r am p-bow
,Yu~ekz. At th e N ew Ri ver exer ci ses t l~at
sum mer the H iggi ns tan k l igh ter s pr oved
to be of excel l en t , basi c, desi gn . “T hey
wer e found to be fast , subject to r eady
contr ol znd r etr act i on , r el at i vel y l i gh t ,
and equ i pped w i th a r el i abl e power
pl an t ,” r epor ted Gener al Sm ith .’O T hey
al so pr oved t o be t oo h ast i ly con str ucted .
T he r am ps wer e so weak that sever al col -
l apse] , and the si l l was too h i gh for eff i -
ci en t hand l i ng of veh i cl es. H iggi ns, who
w as pr esent , w as confi den t that he cou l d
corr ect the def iciency.s.31
Befor e the r epor ts of the N ew Ri ver
exer ci ses h ad been r ecei ved by the N avy
Depar tm ent , a con t r act had been l et for
131 add i ti onal tank l igh ter s. T hese w er e
of a 47-foot Bur eau desi gn , a pr ototype
of wh i ch h :td never been bu i l t . As a r e-
su l t of the good show ing of t ]~e H iggi ns
tank l i gh ter at hT ew Ri ver l th i s con t r act
was l ater r educecl to ten . H iggi ns w as the
l ow bi cl der , and bu i lt one cr af t to B ur eau
sp eci f i ca ti on s, a l th ou gh l l e w as con vi n ced
that , the cl esi gn was unseawor thy. H is
fear s pr oved to be wel l founded when the
the Bur eau of Sh i ps to r emedy th i s defi -
ci ency. Accor di ngl y, i n Decem ber exi st -
i ng t an k l igh ter con tr act s w er e ch an ged t o
pr ovi de 50-footer s i n l i eu of the 45-foot
H iggi ns and 47–oot Bur eau types st i l l t o
be bu i l t . Both H iggi ns and the BLlreaLL
procll~ ced design s of W)-foot cra ft . B efor e
t t ny deliver ies could be ma de, presiden t
Roosevelt , a t a T$rhite H ouse C onfer en ce
on -1 . ~pril 19+ 21 direct ed t he procur ement
of 600 a ddit ion a l 50-foot t a nk ligh t ers by
1 S ept ember for t h e Nort h .%fr ica n op-
era t ion . Th e B LH ’e:lLL of S hips, t o meet
t his commit n ~ el~ t, orclered 1)100 of it s ow n
design:’
S in ce t his order w a s ea rma rked for ser~ ’-
ice in a project ed i~ rnly opera t ion , t h e
.~ t mly sh ow ed keen in t erest in a t est of t h e
t w o t ypes held n ea r Norfolk on 25 .lpr il
19*2. E:Lch car r ied ~ L X -ton tan k, el abo-
r at el y l ash ec] d ow n i n th e B ur eau l igh ter ,
]~l er el y bl ocked i ll pl ace i n the H iggi ns.
Wi nd vel oci ty r an 18 t .o 23 m il es per hour ,
w ith wal e hei gh ts est i mated between 11/ 2
and 2 feet . B oth l i gh ter s showed a speed
of 10 m i l es an hour over a m easur ed 11/ 2-
n] i le course. What happened after that i s
d escr ibed by th e A rm y obser ver w ho m ad e
the t r ip i n the H iggi ns type:
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32 PE AR L H A RB OR T O GU AD AL CA NA L
H iggins 36-foot boa ts. N’on e of t hese vessels w as
exper ien cin g a n y d if ficu lt y. The H iggins t a nk
light er w as ma neuver in g a round in sh a rp turns
in to t he sea , t h rough t he w ave t roughs.
We t hen [a ft er B urea u light er t urned Wcklopen ed t h e engin es up t o 1,900 r. p, m. a nd pro-
ceeded pa st Lit t le C reek t o Fort S t orey. The
light er t ook n o w :it er except a lit t le spra y. P er-
f orma n ee w a s excellent in a ll respect s. The
light er w a s bea ched in t h e sur f a n d t he la nk ra n
off ont o t he bea ch dmpit e poor h a n d]in~ by t he
coxsw a in w h o fina lly a llow ed t he light er t o
broa ch t o. I u spite of t his t he ~ essel ha d such
pow er a n d ret ra ct ion qna lit ies [a sl t o get ba ck
int o deep w at er .
AS fa r a s comlmrison of cha ra ct erist ics of t het ypes of t a nk light ers a re con cern ed, it ma y be
st a ted t ha t in t he Ma y 25 tests t here w a s n o
compa r ison. .s’
As a r esu l t of these tests, the Bur eau
hast i l y not i f i ed al l yar ds to sh i f t to the
H i ggi n s t yp e. T h l ~s t he I l i . gg i ns 50-f oot er
becam e the standar d tank l i gh ter of the
h Tavy, t he pr ototype of t he I .(7M (l an di ng
cr aft , m echan i zed ) m th e, M ar ines knew i ti n Wor l d War I I , and as they knom - i t to-
d ay i n en lar ged for m .
Another veh i cl e wh i ch w as to pl ay a
vi tal r ol e i n the am ph ibi o{l s oper at i ons of
T he M im i ne Cor ps f i r st t ook not i ce of
t h e “.i l l i ~l t or ” i n 1937, w hen Rear Ad -
m i r al Edwar d C. I fal bf us, Com m ander ,
Bat t l esh i ps, 13at t l e For ce, I J . S. F l eet ,
Sh ow ecl M a jor C~en er al I .ou is ~ fcCar th y
I .i tt le, t hen com man di ng th e F leet M ar in e
For ce, a pi ctur e of th e st r an ge veh i cl e ap-
pear ing i n L i fe m agazi ne. Gen er al I ~i tt l e
was qu i ck to gr asp i ts potent i al it i es and
sen t th e pi ct ur e an d accom pan yi ng ar ti cl e
to the Com m andan t . H e, i n tu r n , passed
i t al ong to the Equ i pm ent Boar d at
Quantico.=
T he M ar in e Cor ps h acl n ot for got ten the
ol d Chr i st i e am phi bi an , of such br i gh t
pr om i se a nd d isapp oi nt in g per for m an ce.
H er e appear ed to be a possi bl e answ er .
T he B oar d d i spatch ed i ts secr etar y, th en
Xfajor ,J ohn I i al u f, to F l or i da to see the
veh i cl e per for m and to consu l t w i th M r.
Roebling. I {al u f was favor abl y i n~-
pr essed , an cl on t hi s basi s t he E qu ipm en t
Boar d r epor ted to the Com m m dant that<6. . . su bj ect boa t h as possi bi l i t i es for u se
i n l and i ng t r oops and suppl i es at poi n ts
not accessi bl e to other types of sm cdl
boats.” I n M ay 1938 the Con~m andan t
ci ted th i s opi ni on i n r ecom mend ing to the
N avy that “, . . st ep s be t ak en t o pr ocu r e
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D E VE LOP ME NT OF L AND I NG CRAFT 33
men t progr a m w a s a t l ast w el l u nd er w ay,
and i t seem ed unw i se to d i ver t any of the
l im ited appr opr iat i on s t o x pu rel y exper i -
m en t al p r oj ect , CN O concur r ed i n the
r ecom m eu cl at i on of t he B oa rc{.3T
M a ri ne i nt er est i n t il e am ph ibi an t r act or
per si stecl , h ow ever , an d i n October 1939,
Gen er al M oses vi si ted Roebl i ng at h is sh op
i n Cl ear w at er j F lor i da. H e i nspect ed t he
1at est m ocl el t ract or , an d per su ad ed Roe-
bl ing t o d esi gn a m od el i ncl udi ng cl esi recl
m i l i t a r y cha racter i st i cs.3s
I n J anuar y 1940, Roebl i ng had com -
pl eted t he n ew desi gn . i kn appr opr i at ion
was secur ed fr om the Bur eau of Sh i ps,
and wor k star ted on the fi r st . m i l i tar y
model of an am ph ibi an t r actor . I n N O-
vember the com pl eted m ach i ne was
d el i ver ed at Qu au ti co w her e i t w as d em on -
st r ated for the Com m andant and a l ar ge
par ty of h i gh r ank i ng off i cer s of the Ar my
a nd h T avy.sg I t m easur ed up i n ever y
r espect save on e. I ts al um in um con str uc-
t i on was not consi der ed r ugged enough
for har d m i l i tar y use. St i l l the tr actor
w as so i mpr essi ve i n e~er y other r espect
that the N avy contr acted w i th Roebl i ng
for 200 of the mach i nes constr ucted of
steel . As Roebl ing d i d not have the faci li -
Quant i ty pr ocur em ent of L VT (1) d i d
not , hal t fu r ther devel opment of an l ph i -
bi an t r actor s. By October 1941, the
pr ototype of L VT (2) had put i n an ap-
pear ance, bu t vol um e pr oduct i on of the
new mocl el was del ayed by the ent r y of
the L ’n i ted States i n to the war . T o
ach i eve m axim um outpu t ,, the desi gn of
L VT ( 1 ) was “fr ozen” shor tl y after Pear l
H ar bor and the veh i cl e pu t i n to mass
production.”
T h i s ear l y L VT ( 1) was unar med,
though capabl e of m ount i ng m ach i ne
guns. T he M ar i nes, now that they had
m ade a star t, wanted som etk i ng m or e: an
ar m or ed, tu r r eted m o cl e 1 capabl e of
m ou nt i ng at l east a 37m m gun an d ser vi ng
as the equ i val en t of a seagoi ng tank i n
l and i ng oper at i ons. At Cl ear water i n
J anuar y 1940, Roebl i ng sketched a tu r -
r eted ver si on of the L VT , the pl ans for
wh i ch M ajor L i nser t , Secr etar y of the
E qu i pm en t B oa r d, ] at er com p l et ed .”
N oth i ng mor e was done about the
ar mor ed L VT unt i l J une 1941, when the
Com m andant r ecomm ended that such a
veh icl e be d evel oped , u si ng t he exi st i ng
L VT as a basi s. The new veh i cl e shou l d
be’’ . . . capabl e of su st ai ned poi nt -bl an k
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34 lw :L\ RL H .kRB OR TO G U AD AL CAN.4L
i nc.l ud in g a 3’i nl m an ti tan k gu n an d t hr ee
.30 cal i ber mach i ne guns wou l d be r e-
qu i r ed to accom pl i sh th i s m i ssi on . T he
Ch i ef of N a\ 7al (oper at i ons appr oved the
pr oject an cl d ir ected the B ur eau of Sh i ps
to per fect a desi gl ~.
B~~re:~uel~gi l leers beg:l l l de}elo lJ1ne~~t in
cooper at i on w i th Roebl ing and the engi -
n eer sof t he F ood M a ch in er y Cor por at ion .
Bu t thei r s wasnot to be the f i r st ar mor ed
L V T con l pl et ed . l ~or l ci l l g i l l del >el l cl el l tl y
an d at i ts ow n expen se, t he B or g-War ner
C or por at i on p rocl u ced m od el “A l,” t he f ir st
t t l r r et ecl :~ l ~~p l l i bi :~ l ~ t r :~ ct or . Desi gn work
on th e Roebl ing-F ood M ach i ner y m ocl el ,
1,1’T (A ) (1) W-:Mn ot com pl et ed u nt il ~e-
cem ber 1941, and t l ~e pr ototype d i d not
em er ge fr om the Food M ach i ner y pl an t
un t i l J une 1942. I t was an L VT (2 ) hu l l
m ount i ng a 3’i mn~ gun i n a standar d l igh t
t an k t ur r et . I t was qu i ck l y pl l t i n pr o-
d uct ion , an d th e fi rst veh icl e r ol led off t he
assem bl y l ine i n August 1943.44
The, cra f t , cl escr i becl here were, of cou rse,
on l y a few of the w ide var i ety of boats
ancl beach i ng sh ips th at per for med yeo-
m an ser vi ce i n al l theater s dur ing Wor ld
War I I . T hese r anged i n si ze fr om the
bi g l um ber ing L ST (L and i ng Sh i p,
T anks, ”or “L ar ge, Sl ow T ar get”), or ig-
i nated by t he B ri ti sh , t o th e A rn ~y-d evel -
oped D I XW, an am ph ibi ous t r uck
pr opel l er -d r i ven afl oat . B L 1 M ar i nes
p la yed n o n ot abl e p ar t , i n t he d evel op men t
of any of these, and none had appear ed
d ur in g th e per iod cover ed by t hi s vol um e.
T hey w il l be d escr ibed i n su bsequ en t vol -
um es as they cam e to pl ay thei r par t i n
t he t act ical pi ct ur e of M ar in e oper at ion s.
“ I,VT His+; C roiza t, op. cit .
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36
cer em ony; despi te Chur ch i ll ’s bl and as-
ser t i on t hat t he ?d r it ish occu pat ion of I ce-
l an d w as et iectecl “w it h t he con cur r en ce
of i t s peopl e,’> s they lmcl , i n fact? not
been consu l ted befor ehand. “i s the at t i -
tude l ikel y to be adopted by the I cel and i c
Gover nment towar d such an ‘i nvasi on ’
w as i n som e d ou bt th ey w er e n ot i nfor med
of the pr oposed exped i ti on . ” ~ I ndeed the
f i rst i nk l in g th e n at i ves h ad th at an yth in g
out of the or di nar y was afoot cam e when
ear ly-r isi ng fi sh er men d iscover ed a B ri t-
i sh dest r oyer nosi ng up to a jet ty i n the
har bor of the i sl and capi tal , Reyk javi k.
At 0620 on 10 M ay, a r ei nfor ced bat tal ion
of Royal M ar in es l an ded an d occu pi ed th e
tow n, m ovi ng so sw i ft l y that i t \ vasabl e to
sei ze the (3er man (’onsu l ate befor e the
h apl ess C’on su l cou ld d est roy h is paper s.
Accor di ng to pl an , the Royal M ar i nes
wer e to take the si tuat i on i n hand i n or -
der to pave t ] l e way for ]ar ger occupa-
t ion for ces. They wer e r el i eved i n ten
days by a Canad i an Ar my br i gade whi ch
was f i rst r ei n for ced and l ater r epl aced
by Br i t i sh un i ts. By the t i me I cel al ~d
began to l oom lar ge i l l ~’, S. defense
p la ns, t he bi g, bl ea k, sp ar sel y-p op ul at ed
is land ~~its occu l ~i ed by n ea r l y 25,000 13ri-
P EARI , H ARB OR TO G LI AD ALC ANAL
t o t ile h ome isla nds, seriously t h rea t en ed
~ ~ -]t l~ inva sion :I lld (I l)c{er ]le:lyv :lir :lt .
tack. T he pr ospect of l l r i t isb w ith dr aw al
cau sed son w al al .n l am on g t il e I ce]al ~d er s
and l ed to d i pl omat i c soundi ngs of the
Amer i can posi t i ol ) .
on 18 I )ecember 1 )40 t l~e 1cel and i c
M ini ster of For ei gn Affai r s, V. Stefans-
sou , ar r an ged a l )l ’i V i l te n ]eet i l lg w ith t l le
I ?. S. Consu l (+el l er al , I _l er tel E . l Kl l l l i-
1101111.After f i r m ass(l r ances that h i s
pr oposal w as str ict l y m )ot l ici al , the M i l l-
i ster suggested to I <un i hol n l that the
l ~n i ted States m ight consi der the possi -
bi l i ty of decl ar i ng I cel and l )ar t of the
ar e:l cover ed by t l~e M on roe T )oct ri ~~e, i n
ef fect joi n i ng t i l e i sl and to the Wester n
H em ispher e I fun i hol r n du l y r epor ted
t he t en tat it -e. pr oposi ti on t o Wash in gt on
and near ]y ,a month l ater l l e r ecei ved a
tau t i ous r epl y fr om the Secr etar y of State
wh i ch advi sed hi m that no act i on was
1i kel y to be for thcom i ng i n the near fu-
tu r e bu t that he sl ~ot l l d nei ther encour -
age nor d iscou rage fu r t] l er appr oach es
a lon g t hi s l i ne. )
I n u nh er al ded & n er i can -13r i ti sl l sti t ff
col ~ver sat ion s w hi ch took pl ace i n Wash -
i ngton i n the fi r st months of 1941, pl ans
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MARI NE OC C I :P ATI OX OF I C E LAX1) 37
sponsi bi l it y of the U ni ted States: .~r nl y
t roops w er e to r el ieve t he B 1’i ti sl l ilS soon
as pr act im l )l e af ter the outbr eak of war ,
b(l t cer tai nl y n o soon er t l~al l 1 Sel )t en lber
1941, as t i l e .I r n l y d i d not feel i t WOU 1(l
be r ead y to t ak e ‘on SU C1la con ln li tl l~en t
un t i l then . ] () B u t as t i l e spl ’i ng of 1941
wor e on, ~$m er i can l l l easur es i l l ai d of
B ri tai n, such as I ien& I f i ase al ~d t i le pr o-
gr essi ve ext el ]si on of t i le Xel lt ral i t -y l ’t l -
t r ol i n to the m i ci --l t l an t i c, br o(l gh t t i l e
I :. S. cl oser and cl oser to con fl i ct w i th
(+er man y. Open an cl i ncr easi l]g sl lppor t
of the Br it i sh seem ed to su i t t l ~e l }ubl i c
m ood; a sur vey of publ i c opi n i on taken
by the Gal l (l p Pol l i n ear ly M ay sl l owe{l
th at an over whel nl ing m ajor i ty (75(;{) of
t he A mer i can peopl e favor ed h el pi ng B r it -
ai n even i f such a cour se was sur e to l ead
t l ~e u at i on i nt o v-ar w it h C~er nl an y.” T he
stage w as th us set for w hat OlleeXllilllStiVp
study of th i s per iod has cal l ed an “over t
act of par t i ci pat i on i n t i l e Eur opean
con f l i ct . ” ‘z
By l ate spr i ng Br i tai n fel t her b~ck
agai nst the w al l. (’hu r cl li ]l asked I ’r esi -
den t Roosevel t to send .i mer ican tr oo])s
to I cel an d to r epl ace th e B ri ti sh gar r ison .
T he Pr esi den t agr eed pr ovi ded an i nvi ta-
for ei gn for ce to occupy the i sl and ver y
n ear ly l l l )set a t im etabl e a]r eacl y i l l oper -
a t ion .
On 4 ,J l~ne, the I ’r esi cl el lt or cl er ed t i le
.~r nl y to pr epar e a pl al ~ fol t i l e i ll l n l ed i -
ate r el i ef of B r i t i sh t r oops i n I cel and .
T heql l est ion o fw ll er et h et roops J ver e go-
i l l g t o com e fr on l ar ose i m nl ed iat el y. . i l -
thou :h the . r nl y had r eached a str ength
of near l y a n l i l ] i on a nd a l ~al f n len , t i le
gr eat , bu l k of i t s sol cl l er s wer e r aw r e-
cr ll its gat ] l er ed i ll by Sel ect i ve ,Ser vi ce
an d r ecel l t]y cal l ed L lp ~ a t ion a l (}uards-
m en. ~-l l der exi st i ng l egi sl at i on these
m en COU 1(]not be sent beyond the West -
er n H en l isp l)er e (I l l l ess t he-y vol m l teer ed
for such ser vi ce. Equ i pm ent i n near l y
ever y categor y w as i n snor t suppl y, even
for t l :~ i l l i l l g~ )t ~ r l j oses. T i l e.\ rmyne.eded
i ts con lpar at i vel y sm al l for ce of r egu lar s
to for m cad r es for l ~ew un i ts. T o w i th -
d r aw these cadr es for an exped i ti onar y
for ce wou l d th r ow the whol e i mm ense
t rai ni ng pr ogr am ou t of gear .
.1 r evi ew of th e .i rm y’s i mm ed iat e capa-
bi l i t i es convi nced the Pr esi den t that the
M ar i ne Cor ps woul d have to fu r n i sh the
i ni ti al occu pat ion for ce for I cel and .
Si nce al l M ar i nes, both r egu l ar and r e-
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38 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
t r y r egi ments of both d i vi si ons wer e st i l l
for mi ng, they wer e consi der abl y under -
st r ength , and i t had been necessar y to
r ei n for ce t i l e east coast ’s 1st M ar i ne
D i vi si on when i t was tabbed for a major
r ol e i n a p rop osscl l an di n g op er at i on . on
24 M ay, the Com m andant dr ew on the 2cI
M ar i ne D i vi si on at (’an ]p E l l i ot t , Cal i-
for ni a, for t he l~ ecessa ry r egi men t, an d
Colonel L eo D . H er m le’s 6th M ar i nes
(R ei n for ced ) w as sel ect ed “f or t em por ar y
shor e d uty beyon d t he seas. ” 13 T he r egi -
ment was br ought up to fu l l st r ength
by substan t i al d r afts fr om t i l e ~d and 8t ]~
Mar i nes/ ’ and on 28 M ay i t j oi ned i ts
assi gned r ei nfor ci ng ar ti l l er y, tank, and
serv ice elements. ~Si x days after he r ec-
ei ved h i s or der s, Col onel H er mle had h i s
com man d com bat l oad ed ; th e sh ips, t hr ee
l ar ge t ran spor ts an d fou r d est royer t ran s-
por ts, sai l ed fr om San D iego on 31 M ay.
When i t had em bar ked , th i s r egim ent
had or der s to r epor t to the Com mand ing
Gener al , I Cor ps (Pr ovi si onal ), FNIF,
At l an t i c F l eet . At that t im e, i t s m ost
pr obabl e m i ssi on appear ed t o be ei th er t he
sei zu re of M ar ti ni qu e or t he occu pat ion of
t he A zor es, both cl iscu ssed i n t he fol low -
i ng ch apt er . M om en tou s even ts, h ow ever ,
Roosevel t, i n fact , or der ed a su spen si on of
pl ann i ng for the Azor es oper at i on on 7
J une, wh i l e pr epar at i ons for the m ove-
m en t t o I cel an d pr oceed ed apace.
Whi le t he 6th M ar in es$ con voy WL L St il l
i n the Paci f i c head i ng for the Panam a
Canal , the wheel s wer e set i n m ot i on to
com pl ete the or gan i zat i on of the. pr o-
jected br igade. One other m ajor un i t , the
5th Defense I lzt tzl i on at Par ri s I sl and ,
was desi gnated for du ty i n I cel and ; i t s
comm and i ng off i cer , Col onel L loyd L .
I .eech , f l ew to Wash i ngton on 7 J une for
a two-day r ound of br ief i ng and r epor ts.
T he bat tal ion ’s an t i ai rcr af t gLnxs an d
gunner s wer e what was wanted , so when
the or der assi gn i ng the 5th Defense to
I Cor ps (Pr ovi si onal ) was publ i shed on
10 J une the 5-i nch Ar t i l l er y Gr oup was
shown as bei ng detached. I n add i t i on to
the 6th M ar ines (Rei n for ced) and the 5th
D efense B at tal ion (l ess 5-i nch Ar ti l l er y
Gr oup ), the budd i ng br i gade r ecei ved a
com pan y of en gi n eer s, a ch em i cal pl at oon ,
and a pl atoon of scou t car s fr om the 1st
M ar ine D i vi si on at N ew Ri ver . T he por t
for the hur ri ed assembl y of sh i ps, mate-
r i el , and men was Char l eston , S. C.
The men of the 5th Defense Bat tal i on
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40 P EARL H .\ RJ 30R TO G U AD ALC ANAL
si gnal and the br i gade was headed east
by dawn on 2 ,J ul y. T he M ar ines wer e go-
i ng w i th the bl essi ng of Chu r ch i l l who
had wr it ten the Pr esi dent ear li er that :
I a m much en coura ged by . your ma rines
t a king over t ha t cold pla ce a nd I hope tha t on ce
t he first insta llment ha s a rriw d you w ill give
full publicit y t o it . I t w ould give us h ope t o
fa ce t h e long h a ul tha t lies a hea d.”
T he Pr esi den t m ade the desi r ed an -
nouncem ent on 7 ,J ul y as the convoy an-
chor ed i n Reyk javi k har bor , poi n t i ng ou t
t hat t he Am ei ican s w er e th er e “to su ppl e-
m en t, an d eventual ly to r epl ar e, th e Br i t -i sh forces, ” an d t ha t, a n ad equ at e d efen se
of the st r ategi c i sl and w as necessar y to
w ar d off a potent i al t h r eat to th e Wester n
H emi sphere.22 .~ t hi r d , bu t u r m nn on n ced ,
pur pose of th is Am er ican occu pat i on w as
the acqu i si t i on of a naval and a ir ba se in
I cela nd to fa cilit a t e t he prosecut ion of our
a nt isubma rine w a r in t he Nort h A tl an ti c .23
Wr hi le. t he th reat of Ger man at tack w asal ways pr esent ,, the l i kel i hood of i t hap-
pen in g stead il y l essen ed as th e year w or e
on .” On the day that the 1st Br i gade l eft
“ Quot ed in H ull Memoirs, op. rit.,I , 947.
‘2 S . 1. Rosen ma n ( ed ). The FWblic Papers mld
.kddreawa of Franklin D. Roo.wwelt, 13 vols
Char leston, Ger many at tacked Russi a.
H it l er r epeated l y i n the m onths that fol -
l owed i nd i cated that , he wanted to avoi d
pr ovok i ng the U . S. i n to war whi l e he
con cen tr ated on th e of l en si ve i n Russi a.H is subm ar ine com mander s wer e gi ven
or der s to spar e Am er i can sh i ppi ng as
m uch as possi bl e, even th ou gh i t h ad been
publ icl y an noun ced th at I T. S. X“avy ves-
sel s w er e affor di ng pr otect i on to B ri ti sh
and Canadi an sh i ps that joi ned Am er i -
can convoys headed for I cel and. St i l l
H i t l er decr eed that ther e wou l d be no ac-
count i ng for the subm ar ine com manderw ho san k an Am er ican vessel by m istake.
I T p unt i l t he actual U . S. ent r y i n to the
war th i s par t i al i m m un i ty of Am er i can
v essel s f rom a tt ack h el d good .zs
T he fact that H it l er had deci ded to go
easy on L T.S. sh i ps i n the N or th At l an t i c
was natu r al 1y not known to Am er i can
n wval com man der s. T her e w as con si der -
abl e pr essur e to get the br i gade and i t sequ i pm ent un l oaded i n the shor test pos-
si bl e t i me and th e con voy h ead ed back for
t he St at es. T h i s un l oad i ng pr oved an
on er ou s task . T her e w as l it t le l ocal l abor .
M ar in es had to fu rn i sh al l w or ki ng par ti es
and the m en toi l ed ar ound the cl ock ,
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MARI NE OC C U P ATI ON OF I C E LAND 41
t h e wharves were r eser v ed f or t h e ca rgo
vessels w hich carried heavy equipment of
t he 5th Defense B at tal i on . The rest of
t he con voy r ode at a n chor in t h e harbor,
wh i l e men a nd supplies w e r e l ightered
a sh ore t o a gen t ly sl opi n g pebbl e beacl~
near t he cit y . Ear l y on 12 ,J ul y the job
was f i n i shed , the convoy sai led , and the
M ar in es h ad t hei r f i rst r eal ch an ce to l ook
a rou nd t hem .
T hey d rew sm al l r eassu ran ce fr om w hat
t hey saw . T he I cel and ic l andscape was
someth ing less than prepossessing , a t least
t o m en r ai sed w her e soi l pr od uces veget a-
t i on and a t r ee i s u t r ee. N o t r ees above
dwar f hei gh t gr ow on I cel and ’s r ugged,
m ountai nous ter r ai n , and vegetat i on i s
l imi ted t o a l i t tl e sh eep past ur age on t he
com p ar a ti v el y f l at st r et ch es. I t ha s been
descr ibed as the most vol can i c r egi on i n
the wor l d . Cr ater s, m any of them oc-
casi onal ly act i ve, pock i t s sur face, and
l av a f low s l ace acr oss i t .
T he m ost unpl easant th i ng about Ice-
l an d’s w eat her i s i ts ver y u ncer tai nty; t he
mountai ns usual l y i nsur e that the sam e
ki nd of weather r ar el y exi sts sim u l ta-
neousl y al l over the i sl and . Al though the
of jagged coast l i ne wer e a number of
sma ll fish in g villa ges; a n d except for t h e
a rea a roun d R eykj a vik w h er e t h ere w a s
a roa dn et , a ll commun ica t ion w a s by sea .
The prim lit t le ca pit a l boa st ed a bout
38,000 inha bit a nt s, t w o m ovie h ouses, a nd
on e first cla ss hot el; a s a liber t y t ow n for
n ea r ly 30)000 B rit ish a nd .America n t roops
it boa st ed not h in g. The on ly livin g
t hin gs t he isla nd h a d in a bunda nce w er e
sh eep a nd pon ieslz’ a nd t h e I Wa rin es n ever
developed a t a st e for mut t on a nd w ere
forbidden t o r ide t h e runt -sized st eeds.
.klt oget h er , it w a s proba bly good for
mora le t l~ a t t h e I Wa rines did n ot kn ow a t
t his t ime tha t t h ey w er e dest in ed t o see
I cela n d—a n d n ot h in g but I cela nd—for
eight drea ry mont hs t o come.
E ven before t h e first br iga de un it set
foot on sh ore, t he &I a r in es lea rned w ha t
t he t erm ‘(mut ua l coopera t ion ” mea n t t o
t h e B rit ish. Th ey could n ot h a ve been
mor e cordia l , gen erous, a n d helpful . As
t h e br iga de w a s w oefully shor t of mot or
t ra n sport , t h e B r it ish put more t ha n 50
trucks a t it s disposa l, t oget h er w it h dr iv-
ers fa milia r w it h t h e r egion a nd t he t ra ffic
problems peculia r t o I cela nd—a n d left
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42 P E.4RL H ARB OR TO G U.AD AL C ANAL
comma n der , ~ la jor G en era l H . O. C urt is,
t o provide t h e ~ a rines w it h t he dist inc-
t ive pola r bea r shoulder insignia of t he
B rit ish force. G en era l lla rst on a ccept ed
for t he br iga de a ncl n ot ed la t er th a t :
Th e mut ua l coopera tion direct ive w orked, t o
t h e ent ire sa t isfa ct ion of t h e B rit ish C om-
ma nder a n d t h e B riga de. The B rit ish com plied
w it h our request s a n d w e complied w it h t h eirs.
I t w a s a s simple a s t ha t . A B rit ish comm a nder
less sympa thet ic t ha n G en era l C urt is might h a ve
upset t he a ppleca r t but un der t ha t t a lent ed ot li-
cer n o in ciden t of con flict Occur red.n
I n t heir n ew ca mps t he fila r ines ma de
t heir first a cq ua in t a n ce w it h t h e ~ Lssen
hut , a n in t roduct ion t ha t w a s t o r ipen
int o fa milia r it y th a t ra r ely rea ched t h e
fr iendsh ip st a ge. ln t h e mon t hs t o come
t h e men of t he br iga de w ere t o build a n d
ma int a in roa ds a n d const ruct defenses;
t h ey w er e t o become very pra ct iced a t t h e
a rt of t he st evedore; but most of a ll t h ey
w er e t o becom e efficien t builders of t h e
ubiq uit ous Nissen hut . Th e hut it self
“w a s a n elon ga t ed igloo covered w it h cor -
ruga ted i r on r oof i ng and l i ned w i th
beaver boar d” 30 desi gned to accom mo-
date abou t 14 men. I t was possi bl e to
erect severa l h ut s in combina t ion t o a c-
power.” T he var i ous un i ts, wh i ch wer e
spr ead out over a good par t of the coun-
t r ysi de ar ound Reykjavi k , wer e al so r e-
spon si bl e for 10C:L 1d efen se of t hei r bi v-
ouac ar eas, a r esponsi bi l i ty that gr ew to
i ncl ude l ong segm ents of coast l ine w hen
t he B ri ti sh u ni ts d efen di ng t hese possi bl e
l an di ng poi nt s w er e l ater r el ieved .
T he m ach i ne guns and 3-i nch guns of
t he 5t h D ef en se B at tal i on w er e i nt egr at ed
i n to the Br i t i sh an t i ai r cr af t defenses
ar ound the ai r f i el d and hzr bor and r e-
m ained a par t of th i s system for the r est
of the M ar i nes’ stay. As a r esu l t , the 5th
D efen se spen t m ost of i ts t im e per for m in g
the dut i es for wh i ch i t was const i tu ted ;
i t s state of t r ai n i ng was good and i t i m -
pr oved as a r esu l t of a steady r ound of
gun watches and dr i l l s and fr equent
th ou gh u npr od uct ive enemy ai rcr af t
al er ts. I n con t r ast , the m en of the 6th
M ar i nes and i ts r ei n for ci ng un i ts had
r eason to th i nk that they wer e on one
gi gan ti c an d n ever -en di ng w or ki ng par ty ,
a nd t h e r e~ iment la belled it self a “la bor
regimen t ” in it s August repor t t o G en era l
hfars ton.
A w elcom e brea k fr om t he st ea dy gr in d
of la bor deta ils occur red on 16 August
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MARINE occupat i on OF I CEL AN D 43
tended a l ar ge joi n t B r it i sh -Amer ican
m i l i tar y r evi ew hel d i n thei r honor . of
th i s even t Chur ch i l l w r ote l ater : “T her e
was a l ong m ar ch past i n th r ees, dur i ng
wh i ch the t i m e ‘U ni ted States M ar ines7bi t so deepl y i n to m y m em or y that I cou l d
not get i t ou t of m y bead.’? 32
T he r eason for the cont i nuous r ound
of cam p constr uct i on W :l S t w o-f ol d .
F i r st , somebody had to bu i l d the cam ps
to accom m odate the expected i n fl ux of
b-m y t r oops; nei ther the Br i t i sh nor the
I cel ander s wer e i n a posi t i on to cl o so.
The pr ocess of sim pl e el im i nat i on gavethe M ar ines the job. Second, i t soon be-
cam e appar en t th f i t the h ’far ines them -
sel ves wer e goi ng to stay for a wh i l e and
a good par t of thei r t im e had to be spent
pr epar ing thei r own faci l it i es for the on-
set of w in ter .
A com mon, i ndeed, of f i ci al , bel ief t l mt
the M ar i nes wer e goi ng to be r el i eved i n
~Sept em ber by A rm y t roops h el d st ron gl y
for about a n l on tb af ter the br i gade ar -
r ived i n I cel and . T her e wer e numer ous
e.w idenr es that , th i s w as the i nten t i on of
the top pl anner s when the concept of the
M ar i ne Cor ps fur n i sh i ng the i n i t i al oc-
cupat i on t r oops was f i r st br oached. By
i n ser v i ce of t h e sel ect ees, R eser v e of l i cer s,
and the N at i onal (Am-dsm en st i l l l eft the
pr obl em of r est ri ct i on on ter r it or ial ser v-
i ce—a pr obl em w hi ch w as to r em ai n w i th
the Ar m y unt i l Pear l H ar bor br ought a
d ecl ar at i on of w ar .” “
T her e was r eal l y not too m uch tr oubl e
tak i ng car e of the f i r st Ar my cont i ngen t
to ar r i ve, a sm al l for ce of about 1,000
men bu i lt ar ound a pur su i t squadr on and
an engi neer bat tal i on . Thei r convoy
m ade por t on 6 August and the un i ts,
wh i ch cam e under M ar ston ’s com mand,
m oved i n to a cam p set up for them by
the M ar ines. H owe~’er , pr epar at i ons for
the ar r i val of a second Ar my echel on of
br igade str ength due i n m id-Septem ber
m eant that ever y M ar ine avai l abl e had to
tu r n to on camp const r uct i on . I t was
t he d iff i cu lt ies at ten dan t u pon th e r ai si ng
of th i s second for ce that l ed to the de-
ci si on t o h ol d t he M ar in es i n I cel an d.3A
T he comm ander of the Ar my tr oops of
t he Sept em ber ech el on w as sen ior t o Gen -
er al M ar ston ; accor d i ng to the or igi nal
occupat i on pl an , the pr inci pl e of un i ty of
com m and was to hol d i n I cel and , and
u nd er i t t he sen ior off icer pr esen t, r egar d-
l ess of ser vi ce of or i gi n , wou l d have as-
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44 PE ARL H A RB OR T O GU A DA L CA N AL
shal l, had deci ded th at un ity of com mand
d i d not go far enough, at l east as far as
I cel and was concer ned . H e deter mined
that i f Gener al Bonesteel was to have
fu ll r espon si bi li ty for t he A mer ican occu -pat i on , then he shou l d al so have fu l l ad -
m i ni st r at ive as w el l as oper at ion al con tr ol
over al l the t r oops i n I cel and .
Such a t r ansfer of the M ar i nes fr om
N avy cont r ol cou l d be ef fected by execu-
t ive or der , as h ad been d one by Pr esi den t
Wi lson i n th e case of the M ar ines ser vi ng
i n Fr ance i n Wor l d War I . U n for tu -
natel y, fr om the M ar ines’ poi n t of vi ew ,th i s t r ansfer i nvol ved a gr eat deal m or e
than a sim pl e change of comm and, I t
br ought them under the Ar my’s adm i ni s-
t rat ive an d d isci pl in ar y syst em w hi ch d if-
fer ed consi der abl y fr om that of the N avy
and w ith wh i ch th ey w er e unfam il iar .
T he Com mandant , who had seen the
syst em at w or k i n W’or ld War 1, pr ot est ed
vi gor ousl y. On 4 Septem ber he w r ote
Adm ir al Star k:
Th e proposed ch an ge w ill n ot on ly necessit at e
a complet e revision of t his pla n [un it y of com-
m an dl but w ould in troduce m an y a dm in ist ra tive
difficult ies, w it h n o correspon ding a dva nt a ges
in so fa r a s comma n d rela t ions a re con cern ed.
But i t was a l osi ng f i gh t , M ar shal l
stated that he had no i n ten t i on of estab-
l i sh i ng a pr ecedent and r em ai ned ada-
m ant , T he Comm andant d i d not l ear n of
the pr oposed change unt i l i t was pr ac-t ical ly an accom pl ish ed fact , an d th e su p-
por t he r ecei ved fr om the (3N O was l uke-
war m . T he actual t r ansfer of com mand
took pl ace on 24 Septem ber and Gener al
H ol comb w-as d i r ected to r epor t to the
Secr etar y of War on al l m at ter s per tai n-
i ng t o t he br igad e.37
T h e r esu l ta nt a dm i n ist r at i ve d i ff icu l ti es
d i d not pr ove to be as bad as H ol comb andm any other s had fear ed . T he change-
over was mor e of an annoyance than i t
w as a d ef i ni te h in dr an ce,; af ter al l , as on e
bat tal i on com mander com mented l ater ,
“w hi le adm in ist r at i on d i ff i cu l ti es m ay be
bother som e they can be hand l ed .” 38 I n
the cour se of t r yi ng to master Ar my pr o-
cedur es, Gener al M ar ston w r ote the As-
i st an t C om m a nd an t :
Th ey h a ve a t r emendous a moun t of pa per w ork
w h ich t h e Ma rine C orps seems a ble t o a void.
The ba rra ge of force or der s comin g out of st a ff
sect ion s is a ppa lling. Of course w e a re get t in g
a long a ll r ight but it w il l be mon t h s befor e w e
a re “or ient ed in t he n ew direct ion . . . I f t h e
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MARI NE OC C U P ATI ON OF I C E LAND
cer e thanks for the spl end i d assi stance
[gi ven ] i n the pr epar at i onof the var ious
cam psi tes and i n num er ous other ways
pr i or to and dur i ng ou r ar r i val i n I ce-
l and . T he an~ount of har d and extended
l abor i nvol l -ed i s fu l l y r ecogn i zed and
d eepl y a pp r eci at ed ,” ‘0
T he on ru sh of w in ter m ad e i t n ecessar y
for al l t r oops to devote a good par t of
thei r t im e to cam p mai n tenance and
weatherizing. A nd a s su pp li es con ti n ued
to come in for the depots bei ng bu i l t up
near Reyk j avi k l wor k i ng par t i es had to
be pr ovi ded to em pty sh i ps as wel l as to
con str l l ct t he st or eh ou ses n eed ed t o pr o-
t ect t he equ i pm en t. D ays r api dl y shor t-
ened un t i l ther e wer e on l y four hour s of
a sor t of hazy dayl i gh t to accom pl i sh
necessary funct ions.
Wi th the cont i nued r equ i r em ents for
cam p constr uct i on and pr epar at i ons for
an ar ct i c w i n ter , the br i~~de was not abl eto conduct a sat i sfactor y t r ai n i ng pr o-
g ram.
E ver y possi bl e oppor tu ni ty w as sei zed
by u ni t com man der s, h ow ever , t o i mpr ove
t he st at e of r ead in ess of t hei r m en . Many
of the speci al i sts, of cour se, l i ke the
I )ar t i es “i n or der to get i n a m i n im um
am ount of t r ai n i ng. ” ‘i T he 3d Bat tal ion ,
encam ped i n a pass that l ay r i gh t i n the
path of w i n ter w i nds how l i ng ou t of the
m ountai ns near H val fj or dur , w as for ced
to “bu t ton-up” for the w in ter alm ost as
soon as i t sh ift ed i n Sept em ber .
T he l ack of adequate un i t t r ai n i ng has
been em phasi zed by som e cr i t i cs of the
M ar ines’ em ploym ent i n I cel and . T rai n-
i ng d i d not stop; i t was ham per ed and
cur tai led by th e w eather and the r equ i re-
m ents of wor k i ng detai l s, bu t i t d i d go on
despi te al l the ver y r eal obstacl es. T he
m en, t r ai ned and i ndoctr i nated as am -
ph i bi ous assau l t t r oops, however , wer e
per tu r bed when they hear d the news of
Pear l H ar bor wh i l e hudd l ed ar ound the
stoves i n thei r N i ssen huts. Wer e they
to be l eft for got ten i n the wr ong ocean?
Once the war br oke out i n ear nest the
N avy, too, d i d not vi ew w i th favor the em -pl oym ent of a M ar i ne Br i gade on a de-
fensi ve m issi on i n I cel and . T he M ar ines
wer e needed i n the Paci f i c and pr essur e
was put on the Ar my to get them r el ieved .
Pl ans wer e l ai d to send a convoy w i th
8,000 m en fr om h“ew Yor k on 15 J anuar y
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46 PE ~RL H .4R B0R T O ~U AD AL CA NA L
d efen se m issi on , an d h eavy equ ipm en t to
the Ar my. T he convoy car r yi ng the fi nal
r el i ef pu t i n to Reyk javi k on 3 M ar ch , and
t he M ar in es began l oad in g ou t t he fol low -
i ng day. .I t 1010 on 8 M ar ch , Gener al
M ar ston cl osed h i s (.71> OI L shor e and
opened i t on boar d the U SS M cCa.u ’7ey;
a t, n oon that d ate th e br igade r etu r ned
to the j u r i sd i ct i on of the 3T avy. I t i s i n -
ter est i ng to note that th i s i s the on l y i n -
stauce i n Wor l d War 11 wher e a M ar i ne
un i t was “detached for ser vi ce w i th the
,L rm y by or der of the. Pr esi den t .:’ I n the
n u t n y j oi nt , oper at i ons th zt fol low ed, al l
Ser },i ces ad her ed t o t l~e pr i uci l)]e of u ni ty
of conunanc]. Gener al B onesteel r ecog-
n i zed the M ar i nes’ d i sl i ke for the “de-
tached ser vi ce” concept bu t i n a fi nal l et -
ter to (}ener al M al ’ston comm ended the
br i gad e w hose “ever y off i cer an d en l i st ed
m an gaye h i s w hol e hear tecl sl ~ppor t an d
cooper at i on to our effor ts to a m uchgr eat er ext en t t han m er e com pl ian ce w ith
i n st r u ct i on s i m pl i ecl .:’ 4’
T he br i gade l anded at , h“ew Yor k on
~Z S l:lrch a I~ cl w a s immed ia t el y d i sbanded .
‘T he 5th D efen se B at tal ion ~~-asor der ed
l -o Par r i s I sl and , the 6th M ar i nes to the
tr ai ned r egu l ar s and r eser ves. T he br i-
gad e bad r el ieved n o appr eci abl e n um ber
of B r i ti sh tr oops, w hi ch h ad been t he or ig-
i nal pu r pose of t he ~i m er i cau occu pat ion .
T her e i s no concr ete evi dence that the
Ger m an s ev er ser i ou sl y con si d er ed a tt ack -
i ng I cel and , al though i t i s concei vabl e,
even i f som ew hat u nl ikel y, t hat t he k now l-
edge of the pr esence of the br igade m igh t
have deter red such an at tack . T he m i l i -
tar y val ue of the I cel and occupat i on
st em m ed f rom r i gor ou s ser vi ce i n t he f iel d.
I n t he m an y scat ter ed an d d et ach ed post s,
h ea vy r esp on si bi l i ti es f el l on t he sh ou l der s
of the young com pany gr ade ofl i cer s
and hT (XOs. .fdver si ty devel oped and
st rengthened l eadersh i p . Once the br i -
gade r eached I cel and ther e m -as a n~i ni -
m um r otat i on of of f i cer s and m en. Th i s
stabi l i ty of per son nel gave t he com man d-
er s an oppor tun i t y, sel dom affor ded i n
peacet i me, to devel op team wor k an d un i tespr i t de cor ps. I T pon r etu r n to the
I yn ited St at es, al most al l r an ks r ecei ved a
pr omot i on and al l un i ts of the br i gade
w er e dr awn on heavi ly to pr ovi de l eader s
for new l y act i vated un i ts, T he 6th M a-
r ines fu r ni shed l ar ge dr afts to the r ai der
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CHAPTER 5
The Marine Corps on the Eve of War 1
T H E I N EVI TABL E CON FL I CT :
DEFEN SI VE EXPAN SI ON
Whi l e war cam e to Eur ope i n Septem -
ber 1939, the L Tn i ted States d i d not for -
m al ly en ter the str uggl e agai nst the Axi s
Power s for another 27 m onths. T hefor mal decl ar at i ons of war d i d not , how-
ever , pr o j ect the nat i on d i r ect l y fr om a
state of i sol at i on and i nd i ffer ence i n to
act ive bel l i gerency. Al th ou gh t he U ni ted
States decl ar ed i ts neu tr al i ty—our ai m
bei ng to avoi d con fl i ct wh i l e guar di ng
agai nst total i tar i an penetr at i on of the
W est er n H em i sp her e—w e w er e gr ad ual l y
d r awn deeper and deeper i nto shor t-of-war oper at i ons i n suppor t of Gr eat
B r it ai n an d h er al l i es,
I ni t i al l y, the Adm in i st r at i on m oved
w i th cau t i on . I n the year s fol l ow i ng the
“war to end al l war s,” d i sappoi n tm ent i n
the L eague of N at i on ’s fai l u r e and the
i ng a foundat i on for the expansi on of our
n at ion al r esou rces an d i nd ustr y. On 8
S ep tem ber 1939, seven d ays af ter H i t ler ’s
a rm i es cr ossed i n to Pol an d? t he Pr esi d en t
of fi ci al l y d ecl ar ed a l i m it ed n at i on al em er -
gency. As the r isi ng t i de of N azi aggr es-
si on sw ept over E ur ope i n 1940 and 1941,
Am er i cans awakened mor e and mor e to
the per il and suppor ted i ncr easi ngl y the
n at ion al pol icy of st r engthen i ng our
a rmed forces.
As of 30 J une 1939, two m onths befor e
H i tl er ’s ar m ies l au nch ed t hei r B Zi tzh wi eg,
M ar in e Cor ps st ren gt h st ood at 19,432 of-
f i cer s and en l i sted? of whom 4,840 (i n -
cl ud i ng avi at i on com ponents) wer e as-
si gned to the F l eet M ar i ne For ce. FM F
gr ou nd for ces w er e or gan ized i n t wo u ni ts
op ti m i st i ca l ly d esi gn at ed “br i ga des,> ’ ea ch
i n actual i ty an under str ength i n fan tr y
r egi m en t 4 r ei n for ced by sk el et on i zed su p-
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States defense effor ts. And fr om that
poi n t on the Com mandant ’s Annuzl Re-
p or t s r ef lect a st ea dy su ccessi on of u pw ar d
r evi si ons i n per sonnel pl ann i ng unt i l by
30 N ovem ber 1941 total st r ength stood at65,881, the number , gi ve or take a few ,
w i th wh i ch the M ar ine Cor ps w ou l d en ter
the war agai nst the Axi s Power s a week
l at er at Pear l H ar bor .
Bu t of gr eater si gn i f i cance than the
i ncr ease i n over -al l st ren gt h w as t he gr ow -
i ng pr opor t i on of that st r ength r epr e-
sen ted by the F leet M ar ine For ce. F iscal
1940 saw the num ber s of the Cor ps’ st r ik -i ng ar m mor e than doubl ed : fr om 4,525 to
9,749; and th i s f i gur e i n t l l r n had m or e
t han tr ipl ed by 30 h ’ovem ber 1941, r each -
i ng 29j 532. On e fact or l ar gel y r espon si bl e
for t hi s i m pr essi ve i ncr em e w as n lobi l i za-
t i on i n N o\ -en l ber 1940 of the ent i r e Or -
gan i zed M ar i ne Cor ps Reser ve, both
gr ound and ai r , thus maki ng avai l abl e a
l ar ge n um ber 5 of off icer s an d m en , at l east
par ti al l y t r ai ned , for i ncor por at i on i nto
the FM F w i th a m in imum of del ay.
T hi s i ncr eased str en gt h m ad e possi bl e
or gan i zat i on of a un i t l ar ger than the
M ar ine Cor ps hzd ever oper ated befor e:
m on th s p assed bef or e ei t her d i vi si on cou l d
be bu il t, u p t o au th or ized str en gt h.
Gr owth of M ar i ne Avi at i on kept pace
w ith that of the g-r ound for ces, and agai n
that , pace l ooked faster on paper than i twas i n actual i ty. Si mu ltan eou sl y w it h
the conver si on of the two br i gades i n to
d i vi si ons, the east coast and west coast
FM F ai rcr aft gr oups, based at Quant i co
and San D iego r espect i vel y, wer e act i -
vat ed as th e 1st L L nd 2c1M ar in e A ir cr aft
Wi ngs (J f.~W). ~~ut , as w i th the d i vi -
si ons, br i ngi ng them up to au thor i zed
st r en .g l l p roved n o over n i gh t pr ocess.I n lt lal ly, each cou ld boast , on ly ~ si ngl e
ai rcr af t gr oup of m ixed com posi ti on ,
d esi gn at ed M .l C~-11 an d M A G-21 r espec-
t i vel y. On the eve of Pear l H ar bor , FM F
ai r per son nel n um ber ed 2,716 ot li cer s an d
en l i sted out of a total avi at i on str ength
of 5,911.C T hese w er e di vi ded am ong th e
two w ings and the detached squadr on i n
the Vi r gi n I sl ands. The 1st M AJ J 7 had
r em ai ned based at Qu ant i co. Bu t the
con l i ng of war found the 2d M AW scat-
ter ed far and w ide, w i th a squadr on at
Wake I sl and : a detachm ent at M idway
I sl and , and the bal ance of the w ing at
E wa> on Oahu , T . H .’
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ar mam ent consi sted of an t i ai r cr af t and
coa st d ef en se gu ns.8 T he f i r st four of
th ese, w it h con secu ti ve n um er ical d esi g-
n at ion s, w er e act ivat ed d ur i ng f iscal 1940.
By the t i m e of Penr l H ar bor the number
had r eached seven w ith two m or e i n pr oc-
ess of f orma t i on .g
Concur r en t w i th i ncr eased num ber s
came increased responsi b i l i t i es. T he
N avy, too, w as expand i ng at an unpr ece-
d en ted r at e, d iver ti ng m or e M ar in es fr om
the FM F to per for m the Cor ps’ t r ad i -
t i on al funct i ons: secur i ty of n aval i nstal -l at ion s ash or e an d ser vi ce afl oat . By 30
Sover nber 1941, sh ips’ d et ach men ts h ad
gr own to 68, m anned by a total of 3,793
M ar in es.’”
A sh or e th e N avy’s stepped -u p t rai ni ng
pr ogr am s, par ti cu lar ly i n n aval avi at ion ,
cr eated m or e an d m or e bases, secur i t y of
w hi ch i mposed a ser ious add i ti onal d r ai non M ar i ne m an power . I n f i scal 1940 the
Cor ps was cal l ed upon to pr ovi de guar d
detachm ents at four new naval ai r sta-
t i on s i n th e Con ti nen tal U ni ted Stat es an d
th r ee i n U . S. over seas ter r itor i es.” T he
fol low ing fi scal year ad ded another four
ai r stat i ons, a naval am muni t i on depot ,
a naval suppl y d epot ,12 and 18 other new
i nstal lat i ons r angi ng i n char acter and l o-
cat i on fr om Davi d T ayl or Basi n , Car -
der ock, M ar yl and , to N aval M agazi ne,
I nd i an I sl and , Wash i ngton . Fu r ther -
m or e, ga rr i son d et ach m en ts w er e d et ai l ed
to tw el ve stat ion s over seas, as w il l be d is-
cussed subsequentl y.
Si mu l taneousl y w ith f i ll ing the N avy’s
dem ands, the M ar ine Cor ps assum ed ad -
d i t i onal secur i ty pr obl em s of i t s own as
exi st i ng bases expanded and new ones
wer e establ i shed . (See bel ow .) Thus,
the per iod under d i scussi on saw th e act i -
vat i on of seven new guar d com pan i es of
a non-FM F char acter : at Quant i co, San
D iego, Duned i n (F l or ida), and Br em er -
t on (Wash i ngton ).
GRO WT Z/ OF M ARI AT E T RAZN I N GA.VD OPERA TZON AL BASES
I nevi tabl y the pr obl em s of housi ng,
t r ai ni ng, and equ i ppi ng r api dl y expand-
i ng m anpow er i mposed i ncr easi ng pr es-
sur e on the Cor ps’ exi st i ng faci l i t i es,
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TH E MARI NE C ORI ’S OX TH E E VE OJ ’ W.$R 53
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D ur in g th e year s betw een w ar s, th e per -
vasi ve spi r i t of paci f i sm wh i ch l ed to r e-p ea ted at tem pt s by t hi s cou nt ry t o cooper -
ate i n r educt i on of naval ar mam ents and
i n i nt er na ti on al t rea ti es m i li tat ed a gai nst
adequate defense pr epar at i ons, as d i d
budgetar y r est r i ct i ons. Such peace as
these measures :~cl~ ie~ ’ed l }l ’ oved~ l l~easy at
best , bu t the fact that the U . S. l i ved up
t o i ts agr eem en ts, w her eas som e oth er n a-
t i on s d i d not , cont r ibu ted tow ar d m ak i ngol w defense pr ogr am a shadow of w hat
i t m i gh t , have been . T h i s was par t i cw
l ar ly ser iou s i n th e Paci fi c, N w il l be seen .
B ut i n 1939%41, w i th w ar f l am in g th rou gh
Eu rope, th e m or e i mm ed iate d anger l ay i n
the At l an t i c. wher e H it l er ’s subm ar ines
a pp ea r ed n ea r l y i n vi n ci bl e.
I n the fal l of 1939 the U ni ted States
ar med for ces w er e bar el y ad equ ate for th e
defense of the Wester n H em i spher e. As
l ong as the nat i onal sen t i m en t d i d not
sanct i on total r ear mam en t and m il i tar y
exp an si on , t he a dm i n ist r at ion w tL s f or ced
to r el y on exi sten t m eans and a par t i a l
m obi li zat i on of both n mn pow er an d m ate-
t l i e Savy to guar d agai nst .J apanese ag-
gr essi on i n the Paci f i c. H owever , the
Ger m an ofi el i si ve i n the spr i ng of 1940
ser ved to jol t Am er icans fr om thei r com -
pl acency. Ger m:u l t r oops over ran Den-m ar k , N or way, the I ~ow Count r i es, and
France. Pr esi d en t R oosev el t r ecogn i zed
the danger i n th i s and caused a sh i f t i n
ou r m i l i t ar y pol i cy to pr ovi de gr eater
secu r it l~ i l l t i l e .I t lan ti c.
Du r & the sunm l er and fal l of 1940,
Congr ess stepped up the pr ocur em ent of
:LiL’CL’ilft, m obi li zed th e r eser ves, passed
sel ect ive ser vi ce l egi sl at ion an d l au nch edthe t~~o-ocean navy bu i l d i ng pr ogr am .
]tu t com pl et i on of th ese m easu res w ou ld
take t i m e, and we had no assu r ance that
the Axi s par tner s woul d si t i d l y by and
en joy t he f r ui ts of th ei r i ni ti al aggr essi on .
T o i n~pl em en t th e r ear mam ent pr ogr am ,
I ’r esi dent Roosevel t ad opted th e pol icy
of i ~i di ]l g ] ;r i ta i n an d RL l ssi :L (aft er r TL L l le
1941 ) wh i l e cen t i nu i ng d i pl om at i c r el a -
t ions w i th Ger m any and ,J ap:L n. ~f~i th
i nd nst r y expan di ng an d th e ar med for ces
i l i cm asi ng i n si ze an d equ ipm en t, th e .k d-
n l in i st r at i on d id ever y t l ~i ng sh or t of w ar
t o bol ster B ri ta i n’s t ot ter in g posi ti on .
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er s17 i n r etu r n for 99-year l eases on cer -
tai n base si tes i n var ious str ategi cal ly
p la ced 13r i ti sh p ossessi on s: t he B ah am as,
J am ai ca, A nt i gu a, Sai nt L uci a, T r i ni dad ,
an d B ri ti sh Gu i ana.
Si nce pl ans cal l ed for devel opm ent of
t hese si tes i nt o n aval act ivi ti esof var yi ng
natu r e, the f i r st Amer i cans to m ove i n
w er e M a ri nes of t he sever al secu ri ty gu ar d
detachm ents. T he sam e hel d tr ue i n the
case of tw o add i ti om d bases not i ncl uded
i n the destr oyer deal : at Ar gen t i a ( N ew f-
ound l and) and i n Ber m uda. T hus, wh i l e
i n the th r oes of expand i ng the FM Fj the
M ar ine Cor ps found i tsel f, sadd l ed w i th
st i l l m or e gar r ison duty beyond the con-
t in en tal l im it s of th e U ni ted St at es.
DEFEN SE OF T H E WEf.7T ERiV
H EM ISPH ERE : M AA?T I A ’I QU E
T he fal l of F rance and th e N ether lands
al ar med th e tT ni ted States to the dangerthat N ew Wor l d possessi ons of these
count r i es 15 m igh t fal l i n to Ger m any’s
hands shou l d H i t l er for ce the conquer ed
n at ion s t o ced e th em , or t o pr ovi de ser vi c-
i ng ther e for Ger man L ’-B oats oper at i ng
Amer i can i n ter est and concer n . For
shou l d the th r ee F r ench war sh i ps ther e,
i ncl ud i ng the ai r cr af t car r i er B eam
( l oaded w i t h 106 Amer i can -manu factu red
fi gh ter pl anes dest i ned for pr e-V i chy
Fr ance), be taken over by the enem y, the
secu r i t y of B r i t i sh and Am er i can sh i p-
pi ng i n the At l an t i c wou l d be ser i ousl y
threatened. Fur ther mor e, the F r ench
H i gh Com mi ssi on er for t he A nt il les, Rear
Adm ir al Geor ges Rober t had decl ar ed h i s
al l egi ance to the Vi chy gover nm ent and
was em phat i c i n h i s r efusal to accept
Amer ican and Br it i sh offer s of “pr otec-
t ion.”
One sol ut i on , an d one whi ch w as i mm e-
d iat el y d iscar ded , cal led for an A mer i can
br eak w i th Vi chy and the occupat i on of
the i sl ands by Am er i can for ces. I t was
n ot expect ed , h ow ever , t hat A dm ir al Rob-
er t wou l d yi el d w i thou t a fi gh t -and we
wer e not r eady to scr ap our neu t r al pol -
i cy and d r aw accusat i ons of Yankee im -
per ial ism fr om fr iend l y Wester n H em is-
ph er e n at i on s. D ir e n ecessi ty, h ow ever ,
r equ i r ed som e plan of oper at i on . On
8 ,J ul y 1940, the J oi nt Pl ann ing Com mi t-
t ee com pl et ed a pl an for an exped it ion ar y
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can r epr esen tat i ve i n negot i at i ons that
fol l owed, Rear Adm i r al J ohn W. Gr een-
sl ade, ar r i ved at an agr eem ent w i th Ad-
m i ral Rober t to m ain tai n the status quo;
and the ‘i hot :’ M ar t i n i que pr obl em wastem por ar i l y r esol ved w i thou t the U ni ted
States bei ng for ced i nto m il itar y act i on .
H owever , hei gh tened tensi ons dur ing
the l ate sum mer of 1940 agai n i nd i cated
t he possi bi li ty of F ren ch con ni van ce w it h
Germany. Accor di ngl y, l at e i n October
1940 the Pr esi den t “ . . . ask ed t he N avy
to dr af t a pl an for an em er gency oper a-
t i on . . . .“ 20 T h i s pl an cal l ed for an as-sau l t on M ar t i n i que, by a naval for ce i n -
cl ud i ng a l and i ng par ty of som e 2,800
M ar i nes of the 1st M ar i ne Br i gade, to be
suppor ted by two r ei n for ced Ar my r egi -
m ents. L ater pl ans i ncr eased the si ze of
t he f or ce; r evi sed est im at es w er e based on
the possi bi li ty of m or e than token r esi st -
ance fr om the seven to ei gh t thousand
F rench sol di er s an d sai lor s on th e i sl an d.Fortunately, the oper at i on agai nst
Mar t in ique d i ed st i l l bor n. Admi ra l
Gr een sh id e r each ed a n ew “gen tl em en ’s
agr eement ’> w i th Adm i r al Rober t ., al -
t hou gh t her e w er e f requ en t i n st an ces l at er
w hen Pr esi den t Roosevel t st i l l t hought i t
t he L “n i ted S tat es a nd t he M ed i ter r an ea n,
and Eur ope and South Amer i ca. Whi l e
the Ar my consi der ed them of l i t t l e val ue
i n W est er n H em i sp her e d ef en se con si d er a -
t i ons, thei r danger was m easur abl e bythei r val ue to Ger m any. F r om ai r bases
and naval faci l i t i es i n the i sl ands, Ger -
m an ai rcr af t an d su bm ar in es cou ld sor ti e
after the bu l k of B r it i sh sh i ppi ng.
Our deep concer n for the safety and i n-
tegr i t y of the i sl ands l ed to a ser ies of d i s-
cu ssi on s w it h bot h t he B r it ish , Por tu gal :s
al l y, and the L i sbon gover nm ent. By
October 1940, U n i ted States Ar m y andN avy pl ann i ng off i cer s had dr afted a pl an
for a sur pr i se sei zur e of the Azor es.
H ow ever , t he pl an t o l an d on e r ei nfor ced
d i vi si on was bu i l t on sand: the Ar m y d i d
not h ave the necessar y t r oops to com mi t,
nor di d the N avy have adequate sh i ps to
t r anspor t and suppor t the l and i ng for ce.
And, pol it i cal ly, i t w as cont r ar y to Am er -
i can pol i cy at th i s t im e to becom e a. defacto par ti ci pan t i n the Eur opean war .
By M ay 1941 i n tel l i gence est i m ates
fr om E ur ope agai n i nd icat ed t he possi bi l-
i t y of a Ger m an movem ent i n to the I ber -
i an pen i nsu l a an d Ger man occupat i on of
the Azor es and ad jacen t i shm ds. On the
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al ter ed th e or igi nal mi ssi on of th e m ixed
force. Por tu gal w as opposed t o a n A n~ er -
i can occu pat i on of t he Azor es, an d U ni ted
St at es pl an ner s becam e pr eoccu pi ed w i th
the th r eat of Ger m an effor ts to occupySou th Am er ica, par ti cu lar ly 13r azi l. T he
succeed i ng w eeks w itnessed a ch an ge i n
both t he u rgen cy for t he Azor es oper ~t i on
and i n the m issi on of the M ar ine con~pl e-
m en t of t he. A zor es f or ce.
Du r ing the ear ly par t of ,J une, i n tel l i -
gen ce sou rces i n E ur ope pr od uced cr ed it -
abl e evi den ce t hat C~er n~an y di d n ot pl an
to i nvade Spai n ancl Por tugal bu t i n -tended r ather to at tack i n t i l e opposi te
d i rect i on . Ru ssi a w ou ld be H i t l er ”s n ext
objective. T he for ecast of the Ger n l an
pl ans pu t an end to Am er i can fear s for
the safety of the Azor es, and per m it ted
the U ni ted States to cl i ver t t he M ar i nes
t o I cel and .
H ow th i n the M ar i ne Cor ps hacl to
spr ead i ts m anpow er i n or der to fu l f i l l
i ts m any com mi tm ents i s i nd i cated by the
tabl e that fol l ows show i ng the d i st r ibu -
t i on effect i ve 30 N ovem ber 1941, on the
Con ti nen tal U . S’. TLOft-FiWF
Ma jor Ma rine C orps B ases ‘------------ 14,707
P osts & S t a tions (43) ------------------ 10, 089
Headquar ters & Sta f f ------------------ 780
R ec ru i t in g (4 d i st r i ct s ) ________________ 847
Tot al --------------------------- 26, 423
P ost s & S ta tions (24) ------------------ 3,367
Ta ct ica l U nits ‘2----------------------- 5, 498
S hipboa rd D et a ch ment s (68) ----------- 3, 793
Tot al ---------------------------- 12, 658
F leet M a?<n e F or ce, con ti nen tal G. 8.
1st Ma rD ir -------------------------- 8,918
2d Ma rD iv (less det s) ----------------- 7, 540
2d D efB n _____________________________ 865
1st MA}v ----------------------------- 1, 301
2 d M AW (l es s d et s ) ------------------ 682
M is cel la n eou s _________________________ 633
Tot al --------------------------- 19,939
5 D efB ns (P acific) -------------------- 4, 399
2d MAW ( element s) ( P acific) __________ 733
2d Ma rD iv (elemen t s) ( P a cific) -------- 489
Tota l --------------------------- 5,621
Tot a l a b ov e ca t eg or ies ___________ 64, 641
Tot al st ren gt h Ma rin e C or ps _____ 65, 881
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PART T WO
war Comes
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60 PE ARL H A RB OR T O GU AD AL CA NA L
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Whi l e the polit ica l sent iment of t he ma -
jor it y of ~ merica ns in t he la t e 1930’s
WOU IC 1 con don e no direct milit a ry int er-
vent ion, t he govern men t a nd t h e na t ion
w ere open ly sympa t het ic to t he ~ hin eseca use. B ot h mora l a nd lega l emba rgoes
a gy~ inst mun it ions shipment s t o J a pa n
w ere put int o effect a n d in crea sing
amounts of ma teria l a id given t o C hina .
Am er ican pi lot s, i ncl ud i ng m em ber s of
t he ar m ed for ces, w er e per m it ted t o vol un -
teer to f l y for the Ch i nese Ai r For ce
aga i nst t he ,Japanese.2
By ear ly 1941 ,J apan was hu r t i n pr ide$pu r se, a nd pot en cy as a r esu lt of .l r ner i ca n
pol it i cal and econ om ic m easu res tak en to
h al t i t s exp an si on . I n M ar ch a new Am -
bassador , Adm i r al N om ur a, w as sent to
Washi ngton to negot i ate a set t l em en t of
,Tapanese-Amer i can d i f f erences. H e w as
con fr onted w i th a statem en t of fou r pr in -
ci pl es w hi ch r epr esen ted t he basi c A n~ er i-
can posi t i on i n n egot i at i on s. T hese w er e:(1) Respect for t h e terr it or ia l int egrit y a nd
t h e so~ ereignt y of ea ch a n d a ll na t ions:
(2) S upport of t he pr inciple of n on in t er fer-
en ce in t he int erna l a ffa irs of ot her coun t ries ;
(3) S upP ort of t he pr in ciple of equa lit y, in -
clu din g eq na ]it y of com mer cia l oppor tu nit y;
(4) Nt )n dist urba nce of t he .$t af?{s quo in t h e
ach i eve a peacefu l sol ut i on of th e th reat -
en i ng si tuat i on i n the Paci f i c. I t was
n ot K on oye, how ever , w ho cal led th e tu rn
i n I m per i al pol i cy, bu t the J apanese
Ar m y. And the Ar m y adam an t l y r e-fused to consi der any concessi on that
m i gh t cau se i t t o l ose face.
.& f ter Ger man y at tack ed Ru ssi a i n J un e
1941, th e l ongt i me th reat of Sovi et i nter -
ven t i on i n ,J apan ’s pl ans for expansi on
was vi r tual ly el i mi nated . T he J apanese
Ar m y m oved sw i f t l y to gr ab m or e ter r i -
tor y and to add to i ts st r ength . Sou ther n
I nd o-Ch in a w as occu pi ed an d con scr ipt sa n d r eser v i st s w er e ca l led Lip. ln t h e fa ce
of t his fresh evidence of ,J a pa nese in-
t ra nsigence, P resident Roosevelt froze a ll
,J apa nese a ssets in t he lJ nit .ed S ta t es, ef-
fect ively sever in g t he la st commercia l
cont a ct bet w een t he t w o na t ions.
I n Oct ober t he Army forced t he ~ onoye
ca binet t o resign a nd repla ced it w it h a
government ent irely sympa t het ic to it sposit ion .’ The new premier , G en era l
T oj o, sen t a sp eci al r ep r esen ta ti ve, Sa bu r u
I < ur u su , t o ~ ~T ash i ngt on t o a ssi st h “or n ur a
and r evi tal i ze negot i at i ons. T he J apa-
n ese d ipl om at s w er e i n an u nten abl e posi -
P RE WAR S I TU ATI ON I NT TH E P AC I FI C 61
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oi l, wh i ch th ey had to have to suppl y thei r
m i l it ar y m ach i ne.
T he on l y event that , m i gh t have hal ted
J apanese war pr epar at i ons wou l d have
been a com pl et e a lm eg-a ti on by t he [ J ni t ec]States of i t s pr i nci pl es of negot i at i on .
On 22 N ovem ber A mbassad or K lw {u +u r e-
cei ved the th i r d and l ast of a ser i es of
com muni ques fr om ,T apan set t i ng dead-
l in es for su ccessfu l n egot i at ion s. H e w as
i nfor med that , af ter 29 N ovem ber th i ngs
wer e “au tom at i cal ly goi ng to happen.” 6
A s f ar as t he ,J apan ese w er e con cer n ed
negot i at i ons wer e at an end and the t im efor d i r ect act i on had com e. T he two
J a pa nese en voys w er e ca r ef u ll y i n st r u ct ed ,
however , not to gi ve the im pr essi on that
tal ks had been br oken off. T he stage had
been set for “the day that w i l l l i ve i n
infamy.”
A fter an extr em el y t hor ou gh i nvest i ga-
t i on of th e n egot iat i on s d ur in g t hi s per iod
pr i or to the outbr eak of the war , a ,J oi n t
Con gr essi on al Com nl i t t ee su mm ed u p t he
d upl ici ty of J apan ese n egot i at i on s i n t hi s
succinct sta tement :
I n con sider in g t he n egot ia t ion s in t heir en -
t iret y t h e con clusion is in esca pa ble th a t J a pa n
con si der ed t he ot her t o be i ts m ost pr oba-
bl e enem y. T her e w as, how ever , a funda-
m ental m or al d i f fer ence between the r e-
spect i ve war pl ans. T he Am er i cans
pl an ned f or d efen se an d r et al i at ion i n caseof at tack ; th e ,J apan ese i nt en ded t o st ri ke
t he fi r st bl ow . (See M ap 1, M ap Sect ion )
J apan ’s pr im e obj ect i ve w as econ om ic
sel f-su ff ici en cy, an d t he pr i ze sh e sou gh t
w as cont r ol of the r ich natu r al r esour ces
of Southeast Asi a and the i sl ands of the
East I nd i es, her “S ou t her n R esou r ces
Ar ea.” T he ,J apanese wer e wel l awar e
that , i nvasi on i n th i s ar ea wou l d br i ngthem in to con f l i ct w i th a coal i t i on of
powers. The l ands they aspi r ed to con-
q uer w er e t h e p ossessi on s or p r ot ect or a tes
of Gr eat B ri tai n, A ust r al ia, N ew Zeahm d,
the N ether la.nds, and the U ni ted States.
By means of sur pr ise at tacks, l aunched
si mu ltaneousl y on a hal f dozen d i ffer en t
f r on ts, t he ,J a pa nese. exp ect ed t o ca tch t he
A ll ies off -bal an ce an d i l l-pr epar ed .
T he obvi ous th r eat of war w i th J apan
had not been i gnor ed by any of these Al -
l ied nat i ons, bu t the t r em endous advan -
tage of choi ce of t i m e and pl ace of at -
tack r ested w ith the aggr essor . J apan i n-
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P RE WAR S I TC TATI ON I AT TH E P AC I F IC 65
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l yi ng sand i sl ands w i th i n a fr ingi ng r eef.
Each atol l had at l east one i sl and bi g
enough to con tai n an ai r st r i p; M idway
had two. The l agoons w i th i n the r eefs
w er e al l l ar ge en ough t o per m it t he d red g-
i ng and bl ast i ng of seapl ane l and i ng
l anes and anchor ages for sm al l cwr go
sh i ps; M idway’s and Wake’s wer e al so
sl ated for devel opm en t as for war d bases
for t he Paci fi c F leet ’s su bm ar in es. Ci vi l-
i an con t r actor s wer e h i red to bu i ld the n a-
val base i nstal lat i ons, bu t un t i l w ar actu -
al l y br oke out , m ost of the wor k on the
i sl and defenses w as done by the m en w ho
wer e to m an them , M ar i nes of the l st , 3d ,
a nd 6t h D ef en se B at ta li on s.
T he or gan izat i on of th e d efen se bat tal -
i ons var ied accor d i ng to t i m e and pl ace
of em pl oym en t, bu t by l at e 1941 t he stan d-
ar d T / O cal l ed for a un i t , w i th m or e than
900 m en assi gned to a headquar ter s bat-
ter y, th ree 5-i nch coast defense gun bat -
t er i es, t hr ee 3-i nch an ti ai r cr af t bat ter i es,a sound l ocator an d sear ch l igh t bat ter y, a
bat ter y of .5o cal i ber an ti ai r cr af t m ach in e
guns, and a bat ter y of .30 cal iber m ach i ne
guns for beach defense. M idway was the
on l y ou tpost that actual l y d r ew an ent i r e
bat tal i on , al though Wake or igi nal l y was
l and si nce 1903. M ost constr uct i on , l i ke
t he passen ger h ot el on Wak e an d th e qu ar -
ter s for th e ai r l in e’s an d cabl e com pan y’s
per son nel , w as of l i t tl e m il i t ar y val ue.
M idw ay, wh i ch had the m ost am bi ti ous
base pl an , w as al so t he fi r st ou tpost sch ed -
u l ed to r ecei ve a M ar ine gar ri son-the 3d
Defense B at tal ion wh i ch ar r i ved at Pear l
H ar bor on 7 M ay 1940. T he bu l k of the
bat tal ion r em ai ned i n H aw ai i for the next
ei gh t m on t hs w h i l e r econ n ai ssa nce d et ai l s,
fol l owed by sm al l advance par t i es, d i d
the pr el im ~l ar y wor k on suppl y and de-
f en se i n st al l a ti on s?’ On 27 J anuar y1941, i n the face of the th r eat posed by
,T apan ’s aggr essi ve act ion s, t he Ch ief of
N aval Oper at i ons ( CN O) d i r ected that
the r est of the 3d Defense Bat tal i on be
moved to M idway, that detachments of
t he 1st D efen se B at t al ion be est abl ish ed
at J ohnston and Pal m yr a, and that the
6th D efense B at tal ion , then i n t r ai ni ng atSan D iego, m ove to Pear l H ar bor as a r e-
pl acem ent and r eser ve un i t for the out-
posts?’
On 15 Febr uar y, the sam e day that the
3d B at tal i on began un l oad i ng i ts heavy
66 r lMR1 , H AR BOR TO G U AD AI .C AN AL
to r each t i ny J ohnstonwher e on 3 M ar ch r otat i on for the m en at the out l yi ng posts,
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two 5-i nch guns, si x M ar i nes, and two
naval cor psm en wer e set ashor e. After a
few days l ayover to hel p the car etaker de-
tai l get set up, the r est of the advance
par ty (3 off i cer s and 45 en l i sted men)
went on to Pal myr a, appr oxi matel y 1,100
m i les sou th of Oah u.
After the r em ai nder of the 1st Defense
B at tal i on ar r ived a t Pear l , sm al l r ei nfor c-
i ng detachm ents w er e gr adual ly added to
the souther n ou tpost gar ri sons as the i s-
l ands’ suppl y and qww ter i ng faci l i t i es
were expanded . On tJ ohnston and Pal -
m yr a, as at M idw ay, the ci vi li an con t r ac-
tor s’ cr ews and const r uct i on equ i pm ent
wer e heavi l y com m i t ted to the naval ai r
base pr ogr am , and on l y occasi onal l y
cou l d the M ar i nes bor r ow a bu l l dozer ,
t r uck , or gr ader to hel p ou t i n thei r own
ex tensi ve schedu l e of defense const ruct i on .
For the m ost par t, the gar ri sons r el ied on
pi ck an d sh ovel t o get t hei r gu ns em pl aced
ancl to d i g i n the am muni ti on m agazi nes,
com m an d post s, an d fi r e d ir ect ion cen ter s
necessa ry f or i sl ancl defense.
Duty on the sm al l atol l s was ar duous
and du l l w i th l i tt l e r el ief fr om the m onot-
r epl aci ng those th at had been l ongest “i n
the fi el d” w i th men fr om Pear l H ar bor .
I n m idsum mer a gr oup of 1st Defense
Bat tal ion per sonnel was sent to M idway
to star t the r el i ef of the 3d Bat tal i on and
on 11 Septem ber the 6th Defense B at tal -
i on ar ri ved to take over as the atol l ’s gar -
r i son , T he 3d Bat tal i on r etu r ned to
H awai i for a wel l-deser ~-ed br eak fr om
the gr uel l i ng monotony and wor k of
bu i ld ing defenses.
By August 1941 the wor k on the naval
ai r base at Wake was wel l al ong and the
n eed f or a gar r ison t her e. w as i m per at ive.
An advance detachment of the 1st De-
fense Bat tal i on ar r i ved at the atol l on
19 .$ugust and im m ediatel y began the
now fam i l i ar pr ocess of backbr eaki ng
wor k to d i g i n guns, dum ps, ai d stat i ons,
and com mand posts. Agai n the cont r ac-
tor ’s men and mach i nes wer e l ar gel y de-
voted to wor k on the ai r f i el d and the
l agoon, and the M ar ines had to get al ong
w i th the hand tool s or gan i c to the un i t .
I n l ate October r ei n for cem ents f r om the
par en t bat tal ion m ad e t he 2,000-m il e t ri p
fr om H awai i to br ing the gar r i son L ~pto
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68 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
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i m m ed i at el y. T l ~el l a~ ’a l got ’er l l or \ \ -:~ sl l -
t hor i zed t o begi n con st ru ct ion of coast cl e-
fense and ant i ai r cr aft gun posi t i ons.
M ost of the guns to be m ounted wer e al -
r eady i n stor age at the naval stat i on andthe B ur eau of (l r dnance was d i r ected to
pr ovi de the am muni ti on cL nd add i ti onal
weapons st i l l needecl .l ~
The pr imar y pur pose of r ai si ng the 7th
Defense B at tal ion w as the m ann i ng of the
four 6-i nch naval gl u ]s an(l si x 3-i nch
ant i ai r cr af t guns pr ovi ded for i n i n i t i al
defense pl ans. T he w i sdom of i ncl ud i ng
i n fan tr y i n the bat tal i on and mak i n~ pr o-vi si on for r ei n for cem ent by t r ai necl Sz-
m oan r eser ves can h ar dl y be qu est i on ed .
T u tu i l a was far too l ar ge an i sl and to be
ad equ at el y pr ot ect ed by CLr el at ivel y f ew
bi g guns, m ost of wh i ch wer e concen-
t r ated ar ound Pago Pago har bor . Smal l
beach defense gar r i sons wer e needed al l
ar ound the i sl and shor el i nes to check
enem y r ai d i ng par ti es. I t was i n tendedthat m ost of the Samoan r eser ves woul d
be equ i pped and t r ai ned w ith r if l es taken
fr om naval stor es and used i n the beach
defenses wher e thei r know ledge of the
t er r ai n w ou ld be i nval uabl e.
I t was m idsum mer befor e the fi r st Sa-
m oan M ar ine was actual l y en l i sted , bu t
m any nat i ves vol un tar il y took weapons
tr ai ni ng on an u npai cl stat us, con ti nu ing
a pr act i ce begun by the naval gover nor i nN ovem ber 1940.” T he fi rst n at ive r ecr ui t
was en l i sted on 16 .~ugust 1941 and the
1st San loal ~ B at tal ion , M ar in e Cor ps Re-
ser ve, was a goi ng concer n by the t i me
war br oke. T he author i zed st r ength of
the bat tal i on was 500 en l i sted m en, bu t
t hi s f i gu re cou ld n ever be r each ed becau se
of the gr eat num ber of m en needed as
l a bor er s on essen t i al ba se con st r u ct i on .T her e was one factor of the defense
pi ctu r e at T utu i ]a that , m atched the si tu -
at ion at M i dw ay, ,J oh nst on , an d Pal m yr a.
N one of these i sl ands had, at the onset
of war , any l and pl anes. T he M ar i ne ai r
squadr ons wh i ch wer e schedu l ed to joi n
the defender s wer e ei ther st i l l i n the
States or el se based on Oahu, wai ti ng for
the si gnal that the ai r f i el ds wer e r eadyfor u se. T hat par t of M ar i ne Ai r wh i ch
was i n the H awai ian I sl ands was based at
Ewa Fiel d , l ocated appr oxi matel y four
ai r m i l es west , of Pear l H ar bor . Just
pr i or to the J apanese at tack , the un i ts
P RE W.I R S ITI”.I TI OX I X TH E P .\ (’I FI C 69
Asi de fr om the M ar i ne for ces i n the Stat i on at For d I sl and . M ar i nes pr o-
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N ’ester n Paci fi c assi gned to the .I si at i c
F l eet ,” the on l y si zeal de M ar ine un i ts i n
t he Paci fi c n ot al read y accou nted for w er e
guar d detachm ents on Oahu and the Xi
Engi neer B at t al i en (l ess Com pan i es C
and D) wh i ch had been sent to Oahu to
est abl i sh an ad van ce am ph ibi ou s t rai ni ng
base for the, 2d M ar i ne D i vi si on . T her e
was a 485-n~an M ar i ne Bar r acks at the
Pear l H ar bor X ’avy Yar d and 102 m en
assi gn ed t o t he bar r ack s at t he X Taval A ir
S t a t ion a t E\Vii , (): 11111.Terr it ory of H n\ ~n ii”
(31S , H ist L)i~ , H QM(’, .J i in ll:]r y 1 )43), 3-8. h er e
in a ft er cit ed ?IS f;lr~ f .Vo)lo(lroph. Th e ot her
sq umlrons n ssigned t o 31.4{+ –21 w ere eit h er i~t
sea }Yit h lh e X:lvy’s (.iir r iers or st ill in t h e V. S .
“ S ee I ’r t r t I V, “ 31a rin es in t he I ’h i]ippin es ,”
for t he I mew :ir sit ua tion in (’hin:l Nn d t he I ’h ilip-
pilles,
vi ded the guar d (169 m en ) at the YT aval
.%m m ~ul i t i on Depot at L ual ual ei i n the
h il ls n or th west of H on oI L du . T he d efen se
bat tal i on s w hi ch w er e ql ~ar ter ed i n or n ear
t he n avy yar d w er e u nder t he oper at ion al
con tr ol of the Com mand ing Offi cer , M a-
r i ne B ar r ack s, Col on el P ick et t.
T her e wer e an :I dd i ti onal 877 M ar ines
pr esen t i n Pear l H ar bor on 7 Decem ber
as m em ber s of the guar d detachments of
t he bat t lesh ips an d cr ui ser s of th e Paci fi c
F l eet .” I n al l , ther e wer e m or e than
4,500 J lar in es on Oal lu t hat f i rst d ay.
“ T h e st r en gt h of m ost h l ar h l e un i ts on O ah u
i s l ist ed i n Hca/ ”inys Record, P ar t 24, E xhibit
A“(). 40. “L oca t ion of r egula r ly a ssigned t om-
lut rnding officers of shil)s I )resen t dur in g t h e
,Ta pa nese a tt ack of ‘i D ecem ber 1941.”
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J AP AN S TRI KE S
str afe and bomb the major Ar my and
71
T he Am er icans d i d not take thei r beat -
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N avy ai r fi el ds i n an at tem pt to catch de-
fend i ng ai r cr af t on the gr ound. Simu l -
taneousl y, the bat t l esh i ps m oor ed to pi l-
i ngs al ong the shor e of For d I sl and
w ou l d be h i t by h i gh- and l ow-l evel bom b-
i ng at tacks. T he shi ppi ng str ike gr oups
i ncl uded l ar ge num ber s of d i ve and hor i-
zon tal bom ber s, si n ce t he J a pa nese an ti ci -
pated that pr otect i ve net t i ng m igh t pr e-
ven t thei r l ethal . tor pedo bomber s fr om
bei ng fu l l y effect i ve. I n al l , & 21 pl anes
took par t i n the r ai d , whi l e 39 fi gh ter s
f l ew pr otect i ve cover over the car r i er s toguar d agai nst a r etal i ator y at tack that
never mater ia l i zed .
At 0755 the soft st i l l ness of Sunday
mor n i ng was br oken by the scr eam ing
w hi ne of d ive bom ber s an d t he sh ar p ch at-
ter of m ach i ne guns, At hal f a dozen
d if fer en t bases ar ou nd th e i sl an d of Oah u
J apanew pl anes si gnal ed the outbr eak of
war w i th a tor r en t of sudden death . Pa-t r ol bomber s wer e caught i n the water at
K aneohe N aval A i r Stat i on , acr oss the
i sl and fr om H onol u l u ; cl osel y par ked
r ow s of pl anes, concent r ated to pr otect
them fr om sabotnge, w er e t r ansfor med
i nt o sm ok in g h eaps of u sel ess w r eck age at
i ng l yi ng down. T he fi r st scat ter ed sh ot s
fr om sentr ies ashor e and w atch stander s
who manned ant i ai r cr aft guns on boar d
sh i p f l ashed back at the enem y even be-
for e the bugl es and boatswai ns’ pi pes
sounded “Cal l to Ar m s” and “Gener al
Quar ter s.” T he sh i ps of the Paci fi c F l eet
wer e on par t i al al er t even i n por t and
m ost of the off i cer s and men wer e on
boar d. Cr ew m ember s pour ed up the l ad-
der s and passages fr om thei r ber th i ng
com par tm en ts t o bat t le st at ion s, Whi le
dam age contr ol team s tr i ed to pu t downfi res and shor e u p weakened bu l kheads,
gun cr ews l et l oose ever yth i ng they had
agai nst the oncom ing pl anes. I n m any
cases guns wer e fi r ed fr om posi t i ons
awash as sh i ps set t l ed to the bot tom and
cr ewm en wer e sear ed w i th f l am es fr om
fuel and am muni t i on fi r es as they con-
t i nued to ser ve thei r weapons even af ter
r ecei vi ng or der s to abandon sh i p. Onm an y vessel s t he f ir st t or ped oes a nd bom bs
tr apped m en bel ow deck and snuffed out
the l ives of other s befor e they wer e even
aw ar e th at t he at tack w as on .
The r eact i on to the J apanese r ai d was
fu l l y as r api d at shor e bases as i t was on
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J AP AN S TRI KE S73
T he m en of I WI G-21 recovered q uickl~ ~ Yit hin t he sa me ha lf I I ollr t ha t , w it -
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from t h eir init ia l surpr ise a nd sh ock a n cl liessed t he, loss of l~ wa ’s pla nes, t h e possi-
fOLl@t ba ck w it h w h a t few rifles a I I c{ n la - bilit y of effect ive a er ia l resist a n ce w a s
ch in e guns t h ey ha cl . S a lva gea ble gun sca l~ celed ol~ t by simil:t r en emy :I t t :t cks a ll
w er e st r ipped from {la n~ a ged pla n es a n t iover Oa llI I. ~ orcl isla nd’s sea pla ne ra mps
set LI p on ha st ily i n ~p r ov isecl m ou n ts; on e
scou t-bom ber r earand r l l l ~ways wer e m ade a sham bles of
machine ~Ll11 I Ta sw recked aI I d bu rn in g ai rcr aft i n th e open -
m annecl to swel l the vol [une of an t i ai r -
cr a ft f ir e. A l th ou gh t he .gr ou l ) con l m an cl -i ng st ase of t l~e ,J apan ese assau lt . The
M ar in es of t he ai r stat ion ’s gu ar d d etach -er , I ,i eu ten an t (?ol on el Cl au cl e :1. L ar k i n,
had been wounded alm ost as soon as he m ent n lal ~l ~e(l r i f l es I nd m lch i ne gm ls to
ar ri ved at t i le f i el d t l mt m or ni ng, he con- beat ot f f l l r ther enemy thr usts, bu t the
t i nued to coor d i nate the effor ts to meet cl i r e bom ber s had done thei r job wel l .
f ur th er en em y at tack s.T her e was no need for them to r etu r n. T he
T wo ,J apanese d i ve. bom ber s st r eaked fer ns of al l at tacks becam e the l ar ger sh i ps
over the fi el d fr om the d i r ect i on of Pear l i n t he h ar bor .
H ar bor at 0835, d r oppi ng l igh t f r agn~en- T he r ai d d rew al l t om at i c r eact ion s fr om
tat ion bom bs an d st rat i l~g t il e M ar in e gu n t i le few M ar ines i ll t i le navy yar cl w ho sawposi t i ons. A few m i n~~tes af ter the th e f i rst en en )y pl an es d ivi ng on t he sh ips.bom bm s l ef t , the fi rst of a steady pr oces-
Wl li le the guar d bugl er br oke t l ~e n ~ajor -si on of enem y f i gh ter s at tacked Ewa as
t he ,J apan ese began ~ssem bl in g a coveri ty of t he m en of t he bar r acks d et ach men t
for ce at near by B ar ber ”s Poi nt to pr otect
an cl t he 1st an cl 3d D ef en se B at tal i on s ou t
the w i thd raw l of t l ~ei r st r ike gr oups. T heof thei r ql lar ter s, th e ear ly r iser s w er e al -
M ar i ne m ach i ne g~u]s accounted for atr eady r un l ~i ng for the ar mor ies and gun
l east on e of t il e el len ly pl an es ai l d cl ai m ecl sheds. By 0801 when Colonel Pi cket t or -
another p robab l e. T wo and thr ee pl ane d er ed t he d efen se bat tal i on m ach in e-gu n
sect i ons of f i gh ter s or bi ted over the fi el d , ~YNUpS to nl;Iu t liei r I yea pon sj eigh t of t he
74 PE A RL H .l RB OR T O G~ AD .A L CA ~A L
sen t t hei r h eavy ear th -m ovi ng equ ipm en t get sh i p sunk; four bat t l esh i ps, thr ee
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to H i ckam F iel d t o h el p cl ear t he r un ways.
Th i r teen machi ne guns wer e i n act i on
by o& 20 and the gunner s had zl r eady ac-
cou nt ed for t hei r f i r st en em y d ive bom ber .
Dur i ng the next hour and a hal f the fi r e
of twenty-f i ve mor e .30’s and .5o’s was
ad ded t o t he yar d’s :m ti ai r cr aft d efen ses,
an d tw o m or e pl an es, one cl ai med j oi nt l y
w i th the sh i ps, wer e shot down. T he
3-i nch gl ms w er e never abl e to get i nto ac-
t i on. T he amm uni t i on tr ucks d i d not r e-
tu r n fr om the I ,lm l ual ei depot un t i l 1100,
m or e t han an h on r aft er th e l ast J apxn eseai r cr aft h ad h ead ed back for t hei r car r ier s.
By that t im e the per sonnel of al l M ar ine
or gan i zat i ons i n the navy yar d ar ea had
been pool ed to r ei n for ce the guar d and
an ti ai rcr af t d efen se, t o pr ovi de an i nfam
tr y r eser ve, an d to fur ni sh th e su ppor ti ng
t r anspor t and suppl y detai l s neecl ed to
susta i n t hem.
I n the cour se of thei r at tacks on bat t l e-
shi p r ow and the sh i ps i n the navy yar d$s
dr ydocks, the enem y pl anes had st r afed
an d bom bed t he M a ri ne bar r ack s ar ea, an d
n i ne men had been wounded. They wer e
cr u iser s, t hr ee d est r oyer s, a nd t hr ee a uxi l -
i ar i es damaged. M ost of the dam aged
shi ps r equ ir ed ext en si ve r epai rs. A mer i-
can pl ane l osses wer e equal l y h i gh: 188
ai r cr af t total l y destr oyed and 31 mor e
damaged. T he N ’avy and M ar ine Cor ps
h ad 2,086 of fi cer s a nd m en k il l ed , t he A r my
194, as a r esul t of the ~t tack: 1,109 men
of al l t he ser vi ces su rvi ved t hei r w oun ds.
B al an ced agai n st t he st agger i ng .h ner i -
can total s was a fan tast i cal l y l i ght tal l y
sh eet of .T apan ese l osses. T he en em y car -
r i er s r ecover ed al l bu t 29 of t he pl an es t hey
had sent ou t ; sh i p l osses am ounted to f i ve
m idget subm ar ines; and l ess than a h~L n-
d red m en w er e k il led .
D esp it e ext en si ve sear ch m i ssi on s f low n
fr om Oahu and fr om the Enter pr i se,
wh i ch was l ess than 175 m i l es fr om por t
w hen t he sn eak a tt ack occu r r ed , t he en em y
str i k i ng for ce was abl e to w i thdr aw ml -
detected and unscathed . I n one r espectthe J apanese wer e di sappoi nted w ith the
r esu l ts of thei r r ai d ; they had hoped to
cat ch t he Paci fi c F leet ’s car r ier s ber th ed
at Pear l H ar bor . For tunatel y, the ur gent
need for M ar ine pl anes to str engthen the
J A PA N ST RI K E S 75
er at i ons i n the Cen tr al Paci f i c that had fr om at tack s by an y m ean s, bu t thei r posi -
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been ou t l i ned i n Rai nbow 5. .i com pl et e
r eeval uat i on of Paci fi c st r ategy w as nec-
essar y.
T he cr i ti cal si tm ct ion faci ng t he ou tpost
i sl an ds w as cl ear ly appr eci ated an d an at -
tem pt was nm de to get r ei n for cem ents to
Wake befor e the ,J apanese st r uck ; i t d i d
not com e i n t i m e. T he t i ny atol l ~~ils one
of the f i r st object i ves on the enem y t i m e-
t abl e of conquest } M i dw ay w as m or e for -
tunate; when the Lexington r etur ned to
Pea r l on 10 D ecem ber w i th i t s u n de.l i veyecl
l oad of M ar ine scout bom ber s, they wer e
or cl er ecl to at tem pt an over -l vat er f l igh t to
th e atol l. On 17 I )eeem ber , ten d ays xfter
th e or igi nal ly sch ed ul ed f l y-ot l, 17 pl an es
of VM S13-231, sheph er ded by a m cval pa-
t r ol bom ber , su ccessf ul l y r n acl e t l ~e 1,137 -
m i l e f l i gh t , fr om Oahu to M idway. I t was
t h e l on gest si n gl e-en gi n e l a nd p l an e m a ssed
f l i gh t on r ecor d , bu t m or e i m por tant i t
market ] il vi tal add i t i on to M idway’s de-
f ensi ve pot en t i a l .
T he ou tpost i sl ands needed m en and
m ater iel as w el l as pl an es. Rear Ad mi ral
(l aud e C. Rl och , Com mand an t of th e l +l tb
N ava l D ist r i ct , gave t he r esl J on si bi l i ty for
or ga ni zi n g a ucl equ i pp in g t hese r ei n for ce-
t ion s w er e m ar k ed l y st r on ger .
T he Wash i ngton N aval D isar mam en t
T r eaty of 1922 pr ovi ded for the m ai n te-
nance of the status quo i n r egar d to for ti -
f i cat ion s an d n aval ba ses i n cer tai n ar eas of
th e Paci fi c. Am er ican ad her en ce to th ese
ter m s thr ough the 14-year l i fe of the
t r eaty had the pr act i cal effect of w eak en-
ing the defenses of the Phi l i ppi nes and
pr event i ng the devel opm ent of Guam as a
naval st r onghol d . T he H epbu r n Boar d of
1938 r ecom men ded th at Gu am be h eavi ly
for ti fi ed an d gar r i son ed, 7 bu t Congr ess
fai led to au thor ize th e expen di tu re of th e
n ecessa ry fu nd s. I J n hap pi l y, t he p lan ner s
of Rai nbow 5 had to concede the captur e
of the i sl and i n the f i r st stages of a war
w i th the J apanese. I t was al m ost as i f
th ey cou l d l ook over enem y shou l der s an d
see th e ter se d ir ect i on to th e com man der
of the J apanese Fou r th F l eet to “i nvade
Wake and Guam as qui ck l y as possi bl e” 8
at th e on set of h ost i l i ti es. (See M ap 2)
Guam w as a fuel i ng stat i on for naval
vessel s m ak i ng the l ong r un to and fr om
the Or i en t , a r el ay poi n t for the, t r ans-
76 PE .4R L H .I R BO R T O GU A DA L CA XA L
M ar i nes. Backi ng them up was a Guam - few local J apanese wer e r ounded up and
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an i an i n fan t r y un i t , the 80-m an I nsu l ar
For ce Guar d , and a vol un teer nat i ve
naval m i l i t i a w i th 246 i l l -ar m ed znd i l l -
t r ai n ed m em ber s.’ T he i sl an d’s gover n-
m en t depar tm ents and naval stat i on ac-
t i vi ti es w er e m anned by 271 r egu l ar N avy
personnel. A naval off i cer , Captai n
Geor ge J . M cM i l li n, was both i sl and gov-
er n or a nd ga rr i son com m an der .
T he war th r eat was so r eal by October
1941 that al l wom en and ch i l dr en of U . S.
ci ti zensh i p wer e evacuated fr om Guam .
On 6 Decem ber th e gar r i son dest r oyed al li ts cl assi fi ed paper s an d l i ke ot her Paci fi c
ou tposts aw ai ted t he ou tcom e of t he U . S.-
Japanese n egot i at ion s i n Wash in gton .
The wor d came at 0545 on 8 Decem ber (7
D ecem ber , Pear l H ar bor t i me). Captai n
M cM il l i n was i n for m ed of the enem y at -
tack by the, Com mander i n Ch i ef of the
Asi at i c. F l eet . I n l ess than th r ee hour s
S ai p an -b ased J a pa nese b om ber s w er e ov ert h e i sl a nd .
T he i n i t i al enemy tar get was the m ine
sw eeper U SS Penguin i n Apr a H ar bor ;
th i s sm al l shi p’s 3-i nch and .50 cal i ber
guns wer e the on l y weapons l ar ger than
interned.
T hat n i gh t a nat i ve dugout l anded near
Ri ti di an Poi nt on the nor ther n cape of the
i sl and , and the th r ee m en in i t wer e cap-
tu r ed . T hey cl ai med to be Sai pan nat i ves
sen t over to be on hand as i n ter pr eter s
w hen t he J apan ese l an ded . T hese n at i17es
i nsi st ed t hat t he J apan ese i nt en ded t o l an d
the next mor n i ng (9 Decem ber ) on
beaches near Agana. Captai n M ciM i l l i n
su spect ed a t ri ck . H e bel i eved that by
th is r use the J apanese sought to dr aw the
M ar ines out of thei r pr epar ed posi ti ons i nthe but ts of the r i f l e r ange at Sumay on
Orote Pen i nsu l a. H e deci ded not to al low
th i s i n for m at i on to cause a sh i f t of h i s
major defensi ve for ce fr om a posi t i on
wh i ch guar ded im por tan t Apr a H ar bor .
By guess or know ledge the Sai pan na-
t i ves had one of the l and i ng si tes l ocated
accu rat el y, bu t th ey w er e off on t hei r t i me.
The 9th br ought no l and i ng, bu t thebom ber s cam e back t o gi ve Gu am an oth er
pound i ng. T he I nsu l ar For ce Guar d was
post ed t o pr ot ect gover nm en t bui ld in gs i n
Agana, bu t the r est of the i sl and ’s gar ri -
son r emained at thei r assi gned posts.
, J AP AN S TR IK E S 77
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RI TIDIAN POINT
TUMON
BA)’
&J,
CAEIRAS
OROTE
ENINSULA
YONAo
7rAGO BAY
78 I WARL I I ARB OR TO G UAD AL C ANAL
South Seus Detm hd For ce (appr oxi -10 ,I l ade separa te 1a l l d -m at el y 5,500 m en )
Dur ing the two cl ays of bom bing and i n
t he fi gh ti ng on 10 D ecem ber , th e t ot al gar -
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i ngs at ‘r L l l l lOl l Bay i n the nor th , on t i l e
sou thwest coast near M er izo, and on the
easter n shor e of the i sl and nt T al afofo
Bay.
At .~gana’s l >l xz1 the l i gh t l y-ar med
Ch am an i an s, com n ~a nd ecl by M a r i ne F i r st
I ,i el l t en an t (’h ar les S. T ocl d, st ood off t he
en r l y ,J n pa nese a tt ack s, bl :t t hei r r i fl es a nd
m ach in e gu lw d icl n ot pr ovi de en ol ~gh fi r e-
power t o I 101cIaga i nst a coord i na tec~ ~ t tf i ck
by the Dun.gcas 13each l and i ng for ce.
Captai n M cM il l i n , awar e of the over -
whel mi ng super ior it y of t i l e enemy? de-
ci d ecl I l ot t o el ]d an ger t i le l i ~-es of t he t l lol l -
san ds of ci vi l i an s i n h is ch ar ge by fu rth er
an d fr ui tl ess r esi st an ce. “T l~e si tu at i on
w as si mpl y h opel ess,>’ h e l at er r el ated .11
H e su r r en der ed t he i sl an c{ t o t i le ,J a pn nese
naval com mander shor tl y after 0600, ancl
sen t , or der s to the M ar ines at Sun l ay not ,
to r esi st . T i l e wor d cl i d not r each al l de-f en der s, h ow ever , al }cl scat ter ed f igh ti ng
con t i nued th r oughout t l ~e day as the
en em y spr ead ol l t t o com pl et e occu pat ion
of t i l e i sl and . I ll l t th i s an)oun ted to on l y
t oken resi st ance. T l~er e was no clm nce
r i son l osses w er e 19 k i ll ed a nd 4 2 wou nc] ed
i ncl ud i ng four M ar i nes k i l l ed ancl 12
w ounded.12 T he ci vi li an popu l at i on su f-
fer ed com par abl e bu t u nd et er m in ed casu -
a l ti es. T h e .J a pa nese ev acu a ted .k m er i ca n
m em ber s of the gar ri son to pr ison cam ps
i n ,J apan on 10 ,J anuar y 19+2, ancl the
enem y naval for ce th at had been pr esen t
zt the sl ~r render set t l ecl down to du ty as
occupat ion t roops.
F I RST A T T .4 PK ON M l l ?WA Y “
Par t of the J apanese str i k i ng for ce
w hi ch r ai ded Pear l H ar bor w zs a task un i t
of tw o dest r oyer s an d a tanker w hi ch pr o-
ceeded i ndependen t l y f r om T okyo B ay to
a separ ate tar get—M i dw ay. T he m issi on
of the cl estr oyer s was im pl i ed i n thei r
d esi gn at i on a s t he M i d w ay N eu tr al i za ti on
U ni t: th ey w er e to shel l th e atol l ’s ai r base
on th e n i gh t of ‘i Decem ber w hi le the ,J ~p-
znese car r ier for ce r et i r ed fr om the H a-
wai ian ar ea. (See M ap 10, M ap Sect i on)
D a w I L of 7 Decem ber found f i ve sea-
pl anes of M idw ay’s pat r ol bom ber squad-
r on (VP-21 ) al oft on r ou t i ne sear ch m i s-
si ons; two other (Dutch) pat r ol bomber s
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80 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD AL C ANAL
ai d st at ion , bu t for t hi s act ion l ~e r ecei ved
posth um ou s aw ar d of th e M ed al of H on or .
M ar ine bat ter ies kept up for f i ve m inu tes
bef or e t h e J a pa nese su cceed ed i n k n ock i ng
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H e was the fi r st M ar i ne so honor ed i n
Wor l d War H .
M ean wh il e t he en em y sh ips open ecl f i re
agai n, t hi s t im e at cl oser r an ge, an d Com -mander Sim ar d or der ed Slm nnon to en-
gage tar gets of oppor tl lu ity. .Japanese
sh el ls set t he r oof of t l~e seapl an e h an gar
on San d abl aze, 1i gh ti ng I lp th e t zr get for
the enem y gunner s , and accur ate sal l”os
st r uck the Pan .tm er icau r ad i o i nstal h l -
t i on , the i sl and l aunci r y, and ad j scent
shops. .i t 2153 the M ar ine sear chl igh t
cr ew s got Sh an non ’s or der s t o i l lu mi nat e,bu t by then on l y the l i gh t on the south end
of Sand cou l d bear on the sh i ps. Th i s
l igh t si lh ou et ted t he .4 Z e60n o abou t 2,500
yar ds south of the i sl and , befor e z near
m iss fr om one of the destr oyer s pu t i t ou t
of com mi ssi on . Cr ewm en r eacted i n lm e-
d i atel y to get the l i gh t back i n zct i on and
on t ar get , bu t 1 3a tt er y k ’s t 5-i n ch er s st ayed
si l en t b eca use com n ~u n i ca ti on d am a ge h adpr even ted p assi n g of Sh an non ’s com m an d
t o op en f ir e.”
13n t Captai n ,J ean H . Bl l ckuer , col n -
m an cl i ug B at ter y D ’s 3-i ncl ~ an ti ai r cr aft
gl ~ns, coul d now see the l ar ge ,J apauese
out the sear ch l i ght . A l though some ob-
ser ver s bel i eved that the U il ci o had al so
been hu l l ed, r esu l ts of th i s M ar i ne fi r e
have never been determined .’G B ot h J apa-nese sh i ps r et i red soon after the l ight w as
shot ou t and a Pan Amer i can cl i pper
capt ai n f l yi ng over h ead t hat n igh t en r ou te
fr om Wake r epor ted seei ng an i nt en se fi re
on the sur face of the sea and the wakes of
t wo sh ips on th e l ogi cal r et i rem en t cour se
of t he destr oyer s. Both enemy sh i ps,
h ow ever , r et ur n ed t o J a pan saf el y, d esp it e
my damage t l mt m igh t have been done byt he M a ri ne gu ns.
T he enem y fi re h ad cost t he 6t h D efense
Bat tal i on two ki l l ed and ten wounded; ‘7
two men fr om the naval ai r stat i on wer e
k i l l ed and n i ne wounded. M ater ial dam-
age on M idw av w as not too sever e and w as.con fi ned to Sand I sl and : the ai r f i el d on
E aster n I sl and was not touched. T he sea-
pl ane hangar had bur ned, al though thefr ame was st i l l i n tact , and one pl ane was
l ost i n the fl ames. Another PRY was
bad l y dam aged by shel l fr agments, and
fr agm ents al so caused m inor dam age to a
num ber of bu i l d i ngs. T he ~l r r i son had
t J~PAN STR IKES 81
si gh t of the ci vi l i an con t r actor % heavy subm ar ines i n the fi r st m onth of the war .
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equ i pment tu r ned to on dugout and bat-
ter y constr uct i on . Au thor i t i es at Pear l
H ar bor w er e d et er m in ed toget r ei nf or ce-
m er it s to the atol l and w i th i n a w eek afterVM SB-231 made i ts h i stor i c l ong fl i ght
fr om Oahu, two bat ter i es of the 4th De-
fense B at tal ion w i th add i t i onal naval 3-
i nch and 7-i nch guns for coast defense
wer e bei ng un l oaded. On Chr istmas, the
Br ewster Buffal oes of VM F-221 fl ew i n
f r om t l ~e ,Y ar at ogt i w bi cl l h ad been r u sh ed
out to Pear l fr om San Diego af ter the
,Japanese at tack . T hi s car r i er had takenpar t i n the abor t i ve at tem pt to r el i eve
Wake. T he next day the i sl and r ecei ved
another con t i ngen t of 4t l ~ Defense Bat -
tal ion men, the gr ound echel on of VM F-
221, an d m uch needed defense m ater iel
w hen t he seapl an e t en der T an @er , w hi ch
h ad al so been h ead ed for Wak e, u nl oad ed
at M i d way i nst ead . B y t he en d of D ecem -
ber the atol l , wh i ch was now H awai i ’sm ost i mpor tan t ou tpost , had for i ts gar ri -
son a h eavi l y r ei n for ced d ef en se ba tt al i on ,
a M ar i ne scout-bom ber and a fi gh ter
squadr on , and VP-21’S patr ol bom ber s.
M idwmy was i n good shape to gr eet . the
I t w as too cl ose to th e Paci fi c F leet base at
Pear l and too l im i ted i n ar ea to m ake i t a
pr i ze wor th r i sk i ng an am ph ibi ous as-
sau lt , bu t i ts st r at egi c l ocat ion , l ike an ar -r owhead poi n t i ng at the .J apanese M ar -
sha]l s, made dam age to i ts ai r faci li t i es
wel l wor th the r i sk of bom bar dm ent at-
tempts. T he ai rf i el d on the atol l ’s nam e-
sak e, .J oh nst on I sl an d, w as on ly par t i al l y
com pl eted on 7 D ecem ber , bu t t em por ar y
seapl an e h an dl i ng faci l i ti es w er e i n oper -
at i on at Sand I sl et , the onl y other l and
ar ea w ith in th e fr in gi ng r eef. T her e w asno per man en t pat rol pl an e com pl em en t,
bu t ,J oh nston w as an i mpor tan t r efu el in g
stop and a coupl e of PBYs wer e usual l y
an ch or ed i n t he l agoon .
T he news of the outbr eak of war cr e-
ated a fl u r ry of act i vi ty on J ohnston , and
t he ci vi l i an con tr act or ’s em pl oyees t ur n ed
to at top speed to er ect add i t i onal ear th -
wor ks ar ound the M ar ine guns and to pr e-par e bom b sh el ter s.zo N o J apan ese sh ip or
submar ine m ade i ts appear ance on 7 De-
cem ber , per haps because the fi rst day of
war found the I nd i anapo7i .y and fi ve de-
st r oyer m i nesw eep er s a t ,J ol l nst on t est i ng
82 1’E .4RL H ARB OR TO G U AD ALC ANAL
i m med iatel y r ecal l ed towar d Pear l to
for m par t of the extensi ve sear ch pat ter n
seem ed doom ed.?”2 T he J apanese ccm-
t i nued to t i re for ten m inu tes at th i s wel l-
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for the enem y car r i er for ce, and .J ohn-
ston ’s defense r ested w i th i t s own slim
gar ri son . M ajor F r anci s B . I ,oom is, <J r.,
E xecu t i ve (M i ter of the 1st J )efense I hl t-
tal i on , caught wh i l e r etu r n i ng to Pear l
by ai r fr om an i nspect i on of the wester n
ou tpost s> assu med com m an d of t he ,J oh n -
ston d etacl ~m en t as sen ior M ar in e ot l icer
present.
Shor tl y af ter dar k on 12 Decem ber it
su bm ar i n e su r fa ced 8,000 yi~tds of f Sand
I sl et an d began t ir in g gr een st al ; cl ust er swh i ch bur st h i gh over the i sl and . T he 5-
i uch bat ter y cou l d not pi ck up the vessel
i n i ts si gh ts, bLlt i t t i r ed one star shel l i n
the gener al d i rect i on of t i l e subn l ar ine.
T he su bm ar i ne ceased fi r in g i m med iat el y
as she, evi den t l y was not seek i ng a duel .
T he next enemy at tack can l e at d t l sk
t hr ee d ays l at er . T he suppl y sh i p i %ur -7’0~os had del iver ed a bar ge I OM 1 of SU P-
pl i es or i gi nal l y i n tended for the Wake
g:l rr isol l :I nd pi cked {I p 77 ci vi li an C O I ~ -
str uct i on em ployees for r et l l r n to Pear l
when a sent r y atop ,J ohnston% water
l igh ted tar get and they h i t sever al other
bui ld ings. T he 5-i nch glm s del i ver ed
sear ch i ng fi r e, m nd just as the M ar i nes
wer e convi nced they wer e h i t t i ng cl ose
aboar d t hei r t ar get s, t he en em y t ir e ceased
abrupt ly .
T he enem y vessel s had fi r ed fr om the
obscu ri ng m i st s of a sm m ll squ al l an d spot -
t er s ash or e n ever cl em l y SilW t hei r t a rget s,
bu t the defender s bel ieved that they had
engaged tw o sur face vessel s, pr obabl y a
l igh t cr ui ser an d a dest r oyer . I .ater anal -
ysi s i nd icated , how ever , that one or m or e
subm ar ines had n~ade th i s at tack . For -
t l l nate]y no one i n the gar r ison was hur t
by t i l e enem y t i r e. al though f l am es and
fr agm en ts cau sed con si der abl e d am age t o
the power house and water d i st i l li ng m a-
ch i ner y. T he Bur r ow, al though cl ear ly
ou t l i ned by the fi r e, was not har med. T he
fi~ ct t ha t i ts nnchor age ar ea was known
t o be st ud ded w it h su bm er ged cor al h ead s
pr obabl y d iscou raged th e J apan ese fr om
attempt ing an under water at tack , and
,J oh nst on ’s 5-i nch bat t er y r ul ed ou t a su r-
face. approach.
J AP AN S TRIK ES
next n i gh t , j ust as the r eady duty P13Y
l an ded i n th e l agoon, an oth er su bm ar in e,
sur faced 3,000 yar ds south of the main
i sl and and began fi r i ng on the dr edge
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per haps t he sam e on e t hat h ad fi r ed i l l um i-
nat i on over Sand, f i r ed si x shel l s at the
i sl ets. Both 5-i ncher s on J ohnston now
wer e back i n act i on and each gun fi red tenr ou nd s befor e t he su bm ar i ne su bm er ged .
The pat r ol pl ane was just l i f t i ng fr om the
water as the l ast enemy shot was fi r ed .
Onl y one shel l h i t Sand, bu t that one
knocked down the CAA hom ing tow er and
sl igh tl y w ou nd ed on e M ar i ne.
J oh nston I sl an d w as cl ear ly a di scou r-
agi ng pl ace to at tack, and the shel li ng of
22 Decem ber mar ked the l ast enemy at -tem pt at sur face bom bar dment . I t was
just as wel l th at the ,J apanese deci ded to
avoi d J oh nst on , becau se r ei nfor cem en t
fr om Pear l soon had the atol l bur st i ng at
i ts seams wi th men and guns. .& n add i -
t ional 5-i nch an d a 3-i nch bat t er y, 16 m or e
mach i ne guns, and the men to man them
ar r i ved on 30 Decem ber . I n J anuar y a
pr ovi si onal i n fan t r y com pany was sentan d even tu al l y t he gar r ison i ncl ud ed even
l igh t t an ks. T he expected per man en t M a-
r i ne f igh ter com pl em en t n ever got set tl ed
i n at J ohnston ’s ai r f i el d . T he i sl and be-
cam e i nst ead a fer r yi ng an d r efu el in g st op
Sacramento whi ch was anchor ed i n the
l agoon and cl ear l y vi si bl e between two
of Palmyr a’s numer ous t i ny i sl ets. On l y
one h i t was r egi ster ed befor e the fi r e of
the 5-i nch bat ter y dr ove the submar ine
under. Dam age to the dr edge was m inor
an d n o on e w as i n ju r ed .
Col onel Pi cket t ’s comm and at Pear l
H ar bor had or gm ized str ong r ei nfor ce-
m ents for Palmyr a and these ar ri ved be-
for e the end of Decem ber . L i eu tenant
Col onel B er t A. Bone, Com mand i ng Offi -
cer of the 1st Defense B at tal ion , ar r i vedw ith th e ad di ti on al m en , gun s, an d equ ip-
ment to assume command of the defense
force. On 1 M ar ch the off i ci al desi gna-
t i on of the M ar ine gar r i son on Pal myr a
w as ch an ged t o 1st D efen se B at t al ion an d
for mer 1st Bat tal i on men at other bases
wer e absor bed by l ocal commands. The
M ar in e D etach men t at J oh nston becam e a
separa te un i t ,Af ter these submar ine at tacks of De-
cem ber , Pal myr a an d J ohn st on d rop fr om
the pages of an oper at i onal h i stor y. T he
atol ls h ad ser ved t hei r pu rpose w el l; t hey
d~u a~ ed :1 vu ln er abl e fl ank of th e H aW,ai -
CHAPTER 3
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The Southern Lifeline
STRAT EGI C REAPPRAI SAL ’
I n D ecem ber 1941 r ever se fol lowed r e-
ver se i n the for tunes of the Al l i es i n the
Paci f i c. The Japanese seemedtobeevery -
w h er e a t on ce a nd ever yw her e su ccessf ul .
Setbacks to the enem y schedu l e of con-
quest wer e i n f r equent and tem por ar y.On the Asi an m ain l and H ong K ong fel l
and J apanese t r oops advanced stead i ly
dow n the M al ay Pen i nsu l a tow ar d Si nga-
por e. I n the Ph i li ppi nes M an i la w as evac-
uated and Amer ican-F i l i pi no for ces r e-
t r eated to Bataan and Cor r egi dor for a
l ast-d i t ch stand . T o the south the f i r st
~Japanese l and i ng had been made on
Bor neo, and super ior enemy for ces pr e-par ed to sei ze the N ether l ands East
I nd i es. T he captu r e of Wake and Guam
gave t he J apan ese effect ive con tr ol over
the Cen tr al Paci f i c f r om the Ch i na coast
to M idway and J ohnston . (See M ap 1,
ci f i c to N ew Zeal and and Aust r al i a wer e
st i ll i n A l li ed hands. T he r esponsi bi li ty
for hol di ng open the l ines of com muni ca-
t i on to the Anzac ar ea 2 r ested pr imar il y
w i th the U . S. Paci f i c F l eet . On 31 De-
cem ber t hat f l eet cam e u nd er t he com m an d
of the m an who was to d i r ect i t s oper a-
t i ons un t i l J apan uncond i t i onal l y sur -
r ender ed—.kdm i r al Chester W. N im i tz
(CinCPac).
As soon as he ar ri ved at Pear l H ar bor ,
N im i tz was gi ven a d i spatch fr om Ad-
m i r al E r nest J . K i ng, the new l y ap-
poi n ted Com mander i n Chi ef, U n i ted
Stat es F leet (Ci nCU S, l at er abbr evi ated
as Com inCh). K ing’s message out l i ned
N im i tz’s two pr im ar y tasks as Ci nCPac.
H e was to use h i s sh i ps, pl anes, and men
i n :
(1) C over in g a nd h old in g t he H a wa ii-Midw a y
lin e a nd ma int a inin g it s commun ica t ion s w it h
TH E S OU TH E RN LI FE LI NE 85
sh ips r at her t han i nst al lat ion s, an d t he r e-
pai r faci l i t i es of the navy yar d wer e vi r -
w i th the str ategi c d i r ect i on of the war ,
subject onl y to the r evi ew of the pol it i cal
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t ual ly u ntou ch ed . Rou nd -t he-cl ock w or k
pr om pt ly r est or ed t o oper at ion m an y ves-
sel s w hi ch m igh t oth er wi se h ave been l ost ,
for good or l ong del ayed i n thei r r etu r n to
f leet serv ice. Bu t N im i tz’s st r ength was
not enough to hazar d a l ar ge scal e am-
ph ibi ou s offen si ve, even w it h t he ad di ti on
of r ei nfor cem ents sen t fr om the At l an t i c
F l eet . I n the f i r st few months of 1942,
A l l i ed st r ategi sts had to be conten t w i th
defensi ve oper at i ons. T he few loca] at -
t ack s t hey m ou nt ed w er e h it -an d-r un r ai ds
whi ch di d l i t t l e mor e than boost ] l ome.
fr on t and ser vi ce m or al e at a t im e when
m ost news deal t w i th defeat and sur -
render.
Fr om 22 Decem ber to 14 J anuar y, the
pol i t i cal and m i l i tar y l eader s of the
U n i ted States and Gr eat B r i tai n m et i n
Washi ngton (the .4RCAD I A Confer -
ence ) to char t the cour se of A l li ed oper a-
t i ons agai nst the .4xi s power s. T he
Amer icans, despi te the enor mi ty of the
J a pan ese a tt ack , r ea ff ir m ed t hei r d eci si on
of ABC–1 that Ger many was the pr e-
dom i nant enem y and i ts defeat wou l d be
deci si ve i n the outcom e of the war . T he
h ead s of stat e. T he n ecessi ty of pr esen t-
i ng a un i ted Amer i can vi ew in CCS di s-
cussi ons l ed d i r ect l y to the for mat i on of
the U ni ted States ,J oi n t Ch i efs of staf f
(J CS) as t he con tr ol l i ng agen cy of Am er -
i ca n m i l i t ar y op er a ti on s.
On 9 Febr uar y 1942, the f i r st for -
m al m eet i ng of Gener al Geor ge C. M ar -
shal l (Ch i ef of Staff , ~J n i ted States
Army), lJ ieut ena nt G enera l H enr y H .
,Arnold (C h ief of t he ilrmy Air C ’orps),
~ dmira l H a rold R. S ta rk (C I J O), a n d
Admira l K in g ( C omin C h ) t ook pla ce,
~ xcept for t h e combina t ion of t h e offices
of C omin C h a n d C ~ O in t he per son of
Admira l K in g w h ich t ook eflect on 26
Ma rch (.4dmira l S t a rk beca me C om-
ma n der C T. S . Na va l F orces E urope) a nd
t he a ddit ion of ~ dmira l ~ vill ia m D .
I ~ a h y a s chief of S t a ff t o t h e P resident
on 20 J uly , t he membership of t h e J C S
rema in ed const a n t for t he dura t ion of t he
w a r . As fa r a s t he Ma rin e C orps w a s
con cer ned t h eir represent a t ive on t he J CS
w a s Admira l K in g, a n d h e w a s con sist -
ent ly a ch a mpion of t h e use of Ma rines a t
86 P EARL H .4RB OR TO G ~ .4D ALC .4hTAL
On 10 ,J anuar y 19+2, the CCS, ack i ng
w i th the appr oval of Pr im e M in i ster
Bur ma. Ch 1 M ar ch ABDA C’omm and
w as f or m a l l y d i ssol ved .
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Ch ur vh il l an cl Pr esi den t Roosevel t, set u p
a uni f i ed , i n ter -A l l i ed comm and i n the
}vest.ern Pil(’ifiC t o con t r ol d ef en si v e op er a -t ion s agai nst t l~e ,J apan ese al on g a br oad
sweep of posi ti ons fr om Bur nl a th r ough
I .u zon t o N Tew Gu in ea. l ’l ~e com man der
of A BD A (.\ l ~l er i ca ll -B r i t i sl ~-I )t ~t cl l -.i ~~s-
t r al i an ) for ces hol d i ng the bar r i er zone
was the Br i t i sh Con lm ancl er i n Ch i ef i n
I nd i a, Gener al Si r .i r ~l li bi t l d P. Wavel l ;
h i s ~iBD.1 ai r , naval , and gr ound con l -
m ander s wer e r espect i vel y an F.ngl ish -
m an, an .i mer ican , and u I hl tchn l un . But
. i l lD.k ~OIllllliillCl h:td 110 chance tO StOp
t il e ,J apan ese i n t he E ast I nd ies, M al aya,
or t he P hi l i ppi n es. Wavel l ’s for ces w er e
beaten b:w k, cu t ofi , or defeat ecl befor e h e
cou ld be r each ed by r ei n for cen ~en ts t hat
cou l d m ake a si gn i fi can t d i ffer ence i n the
f i gh t i ng-. By the end of Febr uar y Si nga-por e had fal l en :u l d the .%B I ).I ar ea was
spl i t by an enem y thr ust to ,Sum at r a.
Wavel l r etu r ned to I nd i a to m uster t r oops
to bl ock ,J apanese encr oachm ent i n to
Al though th i s f i r st at tem pt at , un i f i ed
.M l i ed com mand was shor t-1 i ved and un-
su ccessf ul , i t set a p at ter n w hi ch gover n ed
oper at i onal con tr ol of the w ar thr ough i ts. .
r em am m g year s. T hi s pat ter n am ou nt ed
to the sel ect i on as over -al l com mander of
a theater of an ot l icer fr om the nat i on hav-
i ng the m ost for ces i n that par t i cu l ar
theater. H i s pr in ci pal su bor di nat es w er e
appoi nt ed fr om oth er n at ion s al so h avi ng
i nt er est s an d for ces t her e. Realist ical ly,
t he CCS t ri ed to equ at e th eater r espon si -
bi li t y w i th nat i onal i n ter est . Ch 3 M ar ch
the Con l bi ned (“l ~i efs appr oved for the
w ester n Paci fi c a n ew d ivi di ng 1i ne w hi ch
cu t th r ough the defunct ABDA ar ea.
Bur m a and al l Sou theast Asi a west of a
nor th -sou th l i ne between ,J ava and Su-
m at r a wer e added to Wavel l ’s I nd i an
com mand ancl the B ri ti sh Ch i efs of Staffs
w er e ch ar ged w it h th e str at egi c d ir ect i on
of th i s theater . T he whol e Paci f i c east
of the new 1ine was gi ven over to Amer ic-
an .J CS con tr ol .
The ,J oi n t Ch i efs d i vi ded the Paci f i c
TH E S O~ TH E RN I >I FE I .I NE 87
an ar ea of l ar ge l and m asses l yi ng r el a-
t i vel y cl ose together \ vher e l and power
S .4.I 1 OA I V B A )S ’T Z Oi V 5
The concer n fel t i n Wash i ngton for the
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su ppor ted by sh or e-based ai r cou ld be d e-
ci si ve. T othe N avy the,J CS assi gned the
d i rect i on of the w ar i n a vast sex ar ea w ith
w idel y scat ter ed i sl and bases wher e the
car r i er pl an e r ei gn ed su pr em e.
T he Amer ican comm ander i n the Ph i l-
i ppi n es, C~en er al D ou gl as M a cA r th ur , w as
t h e ,T oi n t (.’h i ef s’ ch oi ce. t o t ak e ov er d i r ec-
t i on of SWPA oper at i ons; Adm i r al hT i~n-
i t z was sel ected to head POA act i vi t i es.
For mal al mol ll lcem ent of the new set -u ])
~vas not ma(]e l l n t i l M ac.f r th l l r had es-
caped fr om (’or r egi dor an d r each ed safet y
i n .fust r al i a. On 18 M ar ch , w i th the con-
sen t of the Austr al ian gover nm ent, M at ’-
Ar thur was announced as Supr em e (Yon l .
mander of the SWP.k ( Ci nCSWPA)
T he ,J CS d ir ect ive ou tl in in g m issi on s for
bot h Paci fi c ar eas w as i ssu ed on 30 M a rch ,
and the confi r mat i on of hT im itz as Com -
m ander i n Ch i ef of the POA ( Ci n(’PO.1)fol l owed ou 3 xi pr i l . By CCS and ,J CS
i ~gr eer n en t, bot h com m an der s w er e t o h ave
op er a ti on al con tr ol over an y f or ce, r egar d -
l ess of ser vi ce or n at ion , t hat w as assi gn ed
t o t h ei r r esp ect i ve t h ea ter s.
secu r it y of t he sou th er n r ou te t o A ust ral i a
w as acu te i n the days and w eeks i mm ed i -
atel y fol low i ng the Pear l H ar bor at tzck .
I )espi t e w or l d -w i de d em an ds on t he t r oop s
and equ i pm ent of a nat i on just en ter i ng
the war , (l ener al M ar shal l and Adm i r al
K i ng gave speci al at ten t i on to the need
for hol di ng- posi ti ons that w ou l d pr otect
.i ust ral i a’s l i f el in e. Gar r ison for ces, m ost
of them pr ovi ded by the h-m-y, m oved
i nto the Paci fi c i n substan ti al st r ength to
guar d what the Al l i es st i l l hel d and to
bl ock fu r ther ,J apanese advances. 13e-
tween ,J anuar y and Apr i l near ly 80,000
.l r my t r oops l eft the States for Paci f i c
bases.
An i n fan t r y d i vi si on was sent to .%us -
t r al i a to take the pl ace of Aust r al i an
un i ts com mi t ted to the fi gh t i ng i n the
M idd l e East . At the other end of the
l i fel i ne, a new d i vi si on was added to the
H awai i an I sl and gar ri son . M ixed for ces
of i nfan tr y, coast and ant i ai rcr af t ar ti l-
l er y, an d ai r cor ps u ni ts w er e est abl ish ed
i n ear l y Febr uar y at Canton and Chr i st -
m as I sl an ds, sou th west an d sou th of Pear l
88 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANA1,
al most d i vi si on st r ength ar ri ved i n N ew
Cal ed on ia an d th e ,J oi nt Ch iefs sen t ad di -
pr inci pal un i ts assi gned to the new con~-
m and wer e the 8th M ar i nes, the 2d Bat -
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t ion al .i r my gar r ison for ces t o T on gat abu
i n the T ongs I sl ands, sou th of Sam oa,
and nor th to E fate i n the hT ew H ebr ides.
By the end of M ar ch 1942 the suppl y
r ou te to Austr al ia r an th r ough a cor r i dor
of bur geon i ng i sl and str ong poi n ts and
the poten t i al th r eat of m ajor <J apanese
at tack s h ad been su bst an ti al ly l essen ed .
(See M ap 1, M ap Sect i on and M ap 3)
Actual ly the i ni ti al ,J apanese w ar pl an
con tem pl at ed n o ad van ces i nto t he Sou t l ).
Paci fi c t o cu t th e l in e of com mu ni cat i ons
to .~l l st r al i a. T i l e A l l i ed l eader s, how
ever , can be for gi ven for not bei ng cl ai r -
voyan t on th i s poi n t , for the enemy’s
chance to sei ze bl ock i ng posi ti ons al ong
the l i fel i ne was qu i te appar en t . Samoa
seem ed to be one of the m ost i nvi t i ng
tar gets and i ts t i ny gar ri son of M ar i nes
whol ly i nadequate to stand off anyth i ng
but a m inor r ai d . T he necessi t y for
bu il di ng u p Sam oan d efen ses as a pr el ud e
for fu r ther m oves to F i j i and h~ew Cale-
don i a had been r ecogn i zed by Adm i r al
K ing i n h i s i nstr uct i ons to N im itz to hol d
t he H aw ai ian -Sam oa l in e , ti and rein force-
ments fr om the States to back up those
tal ion , I (kh M ar ines, and th e 2d D efense
B at tal i on (d i spatched by r ai l f r om the
east coast ). (;ol onel (l ater B r i gad i er
Gener al ) H enr y L . L ar sen was named
br i gade comm ander . A qu i ck est im ate
was m ade of the speci al engi neer i ng
equ i pm ent w hi ch the br igade wou l d need
to accompl i sh one of i t s m ost im por tan t
m i ssi ons-com pl et i on of the ai r f i el d at
T utu i l a. Per mi ssi on was obtai ned to ex-
pend up to $.200,000 i n the comm er ci al
m ar ket for the pur chase of such ear th -
movi ng equ i pm ent as cou l d not be sup-
pl i ed fr om quar ter master stocks. When
the f i r st car go sh i p ar ri ved at San D iego
on h“ew Year ’s day, the br igade went on
a r ou nd -t he-cl ock l oad in g sch edu le. Si x-
t y-t wo h ou rs l ater al l assi gn ed per son nel
and gear had been l oaded and the 4,798
off i cer s and m en wer e on thei r way to
Tutu i la .
When the news of Pear l H ar bor
r each ed Sam oa, L ieu ten an t Col on el L es-
ter .1. Dessez, com mandi ng the 7th De-
fen se B at tal ion , or der ed h is t roops t o m an
thei r posi t i ons. The Samoan M ar ine Re-
ser ve B at tal ion was cal led to act i ve du ty
TH E S OU TH E RN LI FE LINE 89
On 19 J anuar y r adar pi cked up si gns of
n um er ou s sh ips, an d obser vat ion st at ion s
m inu tes the r esu l ts of hour s of pi ck and
sh ov el w or k .
Gener al L ar sen took im med iate steps
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on t he i sl an d’s h ead lan ds soon con fi r med
th e ar r ival of t he 2d B ri gad e.
Whi l e st i l l at sea, Gener al L ar sen had
r ecei ved or der s fr om the l iT avy Depar t-m ent appoi n t i ng h im M i l itar y Gover nor
of Am er i can Sam oa and gi vi ng h im r e-
sp on si bi l i ty f or t he i sl an ds’ d ef en se a s w el l
as super vi sor y con tr ol over the ci vi l gov-
ernment. As soon as the sh i ps dockecl
an t i ai r cr af t m ach i ne guns of the 2d I )e-
fense B at tal ion w er e pr om pt l y un l oaded
and set up i n the h i l l s ar ound Pago Pago
har bor . T he %h M ar ines took over beachd efen se posi ti on s occu pi ed by th e 7t h I )e-
fense Bat tal i on and im mediatel y began
impr ovi ng and expand i ng them . T he
ar ti l ler ym en of 2/ 10 and the 2d Defense
set up thei r guns i n tem por ar y posi t i ons
wh i l e they went to wor k on per m anent
em placem ents. N avy scout i ng am ph i b-
i ans of a shor e-based squadr on ( VS-I -
D14 ) at tached to the br igade soon wer eal oft on a bu sy sch ed ul e of an ti su bm ar in e
and reconnai ssance m i ssi ons.
T he ai r f i el d on T utu i l a was on l y 10
per cen t com pl et ed w hen L ar sen ar r ived ,
bu t he d i r ected that constr uct i on be
fl f ter h i s ar r i val i n Amer i can Samoa to
ascer tai n the status of the defenses i n
Wester n (B r i t i sh ) Samoa, 40 or so m i l esn or th west of T ut ui l a. On 26 J anuar y the
br igad e i ntel li gence off i cer , I .i eu ten an t
Col onel Wi l l i am L . Bal es, f l ew- to Api a,
the seat of gover nm ent on the i sl and of
U pol u , to con fer w i th the N ew Zeal and
au th or i t i es an d m ak e a r econn ai ssan ce of
U pol u and Savai i , the two pr i nci pal i s-
l ands. T he N ew Zeal ander s wer e qu i te
anxi ous to cooper ate w i th the M ar i nessi nce they had a defense for ce of on l y 157
m en to guar d two l ar ge i sl ands w i th a
com bined coast l i ne of over 250 m i l es.
B al es, w hose i nvest igat ion w as ai m ed pr i -
mar i l y at d i scover i ng the feasi bi l i t y of
devel opi ng ei ther or both of the i sl ands
i n to a m i l i tar y base, r epor ted back that
U pol u ’s har bor faci l i t i es, r oad net , and
sever al poten t i al ai r fi el d si tes m ade i t
r ea di l y su scep ti bl e t o ba se d evel op men t.
H e found, on the other hand, that Savai i
had no safe m ajor anchor ages and that i ts
l ava-cr usted sur face d i d “not offer ai r -
90 P E-4R L H A R BO R T O G ~A D AL C AN A L
of occupyi ng Wester n Sam oa and ex-
tended thei r i n ter est to i ncl ude Wal l i s
(L T ea) I sl an d, a sm al l F ren ch possessi on
son. T o exer ci se over al l au thor i t y,
“Headquarters Samoan Ar ea Defense
F or ce w as est abl i sh ed on T u tu i la. Major
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320 m i l es fr om T utu i l a on the wester n
a pp r oa ch es t o S am oa . N egot i at i on s w er e
en ter ed i nt o w it h N ew Z eal an d r egar di ng
the defense of Wester n Samoa, and the
Fr ee Fr ench gover nment i n r egar d to the
occupat i on of Wal l i s. I n M ar ch war n-
i ng or der s wer e sent ou t to I ,ar sen ’s br i-
gade and both m ar i ne d i vi si ons to be
pr epar ed to fu r ni sh tr oops for the gar ri -
soni ng of Wester n Sam oa and Wal l i s.g
h ’egot i at ion s for th e use of l an d an d oth er
faci l i t i es i n Wester n Sam oa wer e com-
pl eted on 20 M ar ch when I ,ar sen and a
h’ew Zeal and r epr esen tat i ve si gned an
agr eem en t gi vi n g t he A m er i ca ns r esp on si -
bi l i ty for defense of al l the Sam oan i s-
lands. T hi s gr ou p, t oget her w it h Wa]l is,
was now consi der ed a tact i cal en t i ty and
a new M ar in e br igad e w as to be or gan ized
t o occu py t he w est er n i sl an ds.
.4s an advance for ce of th i s new gar ri -
son , the 7th Defense Bat tal i on was sent
to U pol u on 28 M ar ch, and a sm al l de-
tachm ent was establ i shed on Savai i . I n
t he St at es, th e 1st M ar in e D ivi si on at N ew
Ri ver , N or th Car ol i na, or gani zed the 3d
Gener al Char les F. B . Pr ice, who was ap-
poi nted to th i s com mand, ar r i ved w ith hi s
staff at Pago Pago on 28 Apr i l fr om the
States. On 8 M ay the 3d M ar ine Br i gade
convoy ar r i ved off Api a and Gener al B ar -
r et t assum ed m il itar y com mand of l JT est -
er n Sam oa. At the end of the month , the
8th Defense Bat tal i on (Rei n for ced) un-
der Col onel Raphael Gr if f i n moved i n to
Wal l is .
M or e th an 10,000 M ar in e gr oun d t roops
wer e stat i oned i n the Sam oan ar ea by the
begi nn in g of ,J un e, an d r ei nfor cem en ts ar -
r i ved i n a steady fl ow-. M ar i ne ai r was
al so wel l establ ished . Gener al L ar sen ’s
i n ter est and pr essur e assur ed that T u-
tu i l a’s ai r f i el d was r eady for use on 17
M ar ch , t wo d ays befor e t he ad van ce ech e-
l on of M AG–13 ar r i ved . The new ai r
gr oup, or gani zed on 1 M ar ch at San D i -
ego, w as ear m ar ked for Pr i ce’s com man d.
I ni ti al ly th e gr oup com man der , L ieu ten -
an t Col onel T hom as J . Wal ker , J r., had
on ly one t act ical squad ron , T TM F -l ll , op-
er at ing fr om T ut ui la’s ai rf i el d, bu t VM O-
151, a--scou t-bom ber squ ad ron , j oi ned i n
TH E S OU TH E R N LI FE LI NE 91
m.-,
“o
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za
i i
N
o
0
0
0—al
92 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
wel l nave becom e a tar get for enem y at -
tacks, bu t , the deci si ve B at t l e of M i dw ay
for l ear n i ng t i l e fundam ental s of tean l -
w or k i n com bat oper at ion s. As the need
for defense constr uct i on w as m et and the
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for ced t l~e , Japan ese t o cu r b t hei r soar i ng
ambit ion. ’ [ ’ ,Sam oa becam e a vast ad -
vanced com bat t r ai ni ng cam p instead of
a bat t l egr olm cl . M ost of the un i ts com-
i ng ther e af ter the ar r i val of the 2d Br i -
gade dr el v heavi l y on the r ecr ui t depots
for thei r per sonnel :’ and for these M R-
r il l es Sam oan cl n ty was an oppor tun i t y
‘0Cattlpai.vn.s of the Puriik War, 3. See P r r r t
V, “D ecision rr t Midw ay” a nd especia l ly C ha p-
t er 1, “S et t ing t he S t a ge—E a rly Na va l Opera -
t ions” for even t s lea ding up t o t he Midw a ybat t le .
“ At lea st 407. of t h e 3d Ma rB rig init ia l com-
plemen t w rrs st ra ight out of boot ca mp. 3d Ma r
B rig An Rept , 6S ept 42, 9.
d an ger of ,J apan ese at tack s l essen ed , Sa-
m oa becam e a stagi ng ar ea t hr ou gh w hi ch
replacements and r ei n for cem ents wer e
fu nn el led t o t l~e am ph ibi ou s ot ien si ves i n
t he Sol omous.’2 U ni ts and i nd i vi dual s
paused for a wh i l e her e and then m oved
on, u l or e jungl e-w i se and com bat r eady,
t o m eet t h e ,J a pa nese.
“ F rom D ecern t mr 1942 t o .J uly 1943 S a moa
w :is t he t ra in ing cen t er for a ll Ma rine repla ce-
men t ba t ta lions ra ised on t h e ea st coa st of t h eu. s. ~. l v. C ondit , G . D irrm ond, a n d E . 1’.
Turn bla dh, Ma rin e C orps Ground Training in
World War II ( Wa shin gt on : H ist J 3r , G –3,
H QM C, 1956), 181–186.
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PART I I I
The Defense of Wake
CHAPTER 1
Wake in the Shadow of War 1
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I n t i l e st r ategi c context of 1940 and
1941, the impor tance of lVake, both to
t i l e I Tl l i ted States and ,J apan, was con-
si der abl e. <I t th i s t i me the [-l l i ted States
l tad not w on i ts oceam gi rd l ing l ~et of 1’~~-
ci f i c bases, and, w i th the except i ons of
Wake, M i dw ay, an d Gu am , th e i sl an ds be-
tween the H aw ai ians and the Ph i l i ppi nes
w er e t er r a incognz’ta. Wake, a pr yi ng out-
post nor th of the M ar shal l s and on the
fl ank of the M ar i anas, wou l d be a st r a-
t egi c p ri ze f or ,J a pa n’s ocean i n ter est s a nd
a cor respondi ng em bar rassm ent whi le i t
was i n the hands of the ~T ni ted States.
T hese factor s had been noted by the
~T .S. i n th e H epbu rn Repor t of 1938 w hi ch
recommended a $7,500 ,()()() t h ree-yea r p ro-
gr am to cl evel op th e at ol l as an ad van ced
ai r base and al ] i n ter med i ate stat i on on
the ai r r oute to the Far East . .~ ct in g 0] 1
t h ese r ecor r l r ] lel ~d :t ti ol l s, i n i ti al d ev el op -
n ~ent of Wake began ear ly i l l 1941.2 B ase
By 18 Apr i l 1941, Adm i r al H usband E .
K imm el . Commander i n Ch i ef, l :. S. Pa-
ci t i c F l eet , becan)e fear fu l that the de-
fensi ve effor ts had star ted too l ate. h~ a
study sent to the (’h i ef of N :L val (.)per a-
t ion s, K i mm el st ressecl t il e i mpor tan ce of
Wake and asked t l ~at wor k on defense be
gi ven a h i gher pr i or i ty than base com
str uct i on. H e al so r equested that a M :v
r ine defense bat tal ion be assi gned to the
atol l . ’
I n 1941 t he st r en gt ]l of a t yp ica l d ef en se
bat t a ]i on w as 43 ot li cer s an d 939 en li st ed
men, and i ts two most char acter i st i c at-
t r i bu tes wer e bal anced st r uctur e and a
]~i gb d egr ee of st r ategi c m obi l i ty. ~Llt
m obi l i ty d i sappear ed at t l i e bat t al i en ’s
dest i nat i on. once i ts guns wer e i n posi -
t i on , a d efen se bat t al ion su ffer ed fr om i n-
su ff i ci en t t ran spor tat ion an d a sh or tage of
mPn.4
‘lh Paci fi c st r ategy of 1941 contem -
96 P EARL H ARE OR TO G UAD .4LC ANAL
r ine, f i r st aucl l ast> i s an i n fan tr ynm l .~
Wi th i n and t tbcm t the str uctu r e of sl l c] l
l ixh tl y l lel tl bu t secu re bases, t l )e l ’aci fi c
had been pr epar ed i n Tokyo.’[ ’ Bu t i t v-as
I l ot u nt i l N oveu lber l M 1 t l~at d et ai le~l i l~-
stn~ct i ous for comm ander s w i th i n t i l e
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F leet wou l d pl y, awai t i ng t i l e n l on l en t
when bat t l e cou l d be joi ned w i t l ~ el ]en l y
] M val for ces—’bt o get at n aval for ces w i tl ~naval for ces,’-~ as Adm i r al K i mm el pu t
i t—in deci si ve act i on for con tr ol of the
sea.
;i s t n i gl i t b e exp ect ed , t h e .J a p:l l l ese con -
cept of st r at egy i ll t he (Yeu tr :d l ’aci fi c w as
to sei ze or neu t r al i ze t i l e few advanced
I T ni ted St at es bases w est of t he H aw ai i an
I sl ands as qu i ck l y as possi bl e after the
ol l tset of w ar . F or t hi s ptqose ,J apau esef or cesi l l tl l e~l ar sl ]a ll s: l l l ci (x:t r ol i ]l es (t he
Four thF?eet ) w er e or ~ani m d along l ines
resembling an -Imerican amphib ious
for ce.’ Comm anded by Vi ce .l dm i r al
,N ar iyosh i I nou ye, th e Four th f i ’l eet w as
com posed of am pl ~i bi o~l s sh ip])i l l g, n few
ol d cru i sers, dest royers, submar i nes, shore-
based ai rcr aft , an d a ,J apan ese ver si on of
OI W ow n F leet M ar ine For ce: the speci al
n ava l l an di n g f or ce.g F l eet headqua r t er s
w er e at T rn k, w ]l er e A dm ir al I nou -ye’s f l ag
fl ew i n the l igh t cr ui ser Ku.~h{tna.9
T he war m i ssi ons of .i dn~i ral I uouye
(’0 / l l b~)/ < {?F / @@t ~~el ’e f ol ’n l l l l :l t ed and iS -
suecl . I ]] these i nstr uet i ol l s, I yake was
(l ism issed i n a si ngl e ph rase :
F orces of t he I ’our t h Fleet :
D efen d t h e S out h S ea s Isla nds. pa trol , ma in -
t a i n s ur f a ce c~(}llll)lllniea tions, capture
Wa ke . . . .“
Wake wou l d be str ict l y a l ocal oper a-
t i on . By .4dm i r al I nouye’s scheme, 450
speci al naval l and i ng for ce t r oops cou l d,
i n a pi nch , tu r n the tr ick .l z
F I NAL PZL EPARAT ION E,
AU TU M N, 1941 ‘3
On 23 ,J u le 1941 the Ch ief of N aval
oper at i on s d i rected that , el em ents of the
1st Defense 13at tal i on , FM F, be estab-
l ished at Wak e “as soon as pr act icabl e.”
T hi s d i rect i ve (as even tual ly m od i fi ed)
‘0U SSB S(Pac), Na vAn a lysisD iv, ln t erroga -
t icw s of J a pa nese O~ cia t& 2 vols (Wa sh ingt on:
G P O, 1946 ), “J a pa nese Na va l P la n nin g,” I , 176,
h erein aft er cit ed a s 7,’S SB S’ Iwter rof la t ions w i t h
s ub ject or i nt er vi ew ee.
WAK E I N TH E S H .4D OW OF WAR 9’7
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98 P1~L4RLHARROR TO GU~D.4LCANTAL
speci fi ed th at , t il e fol low in g u ni ts sbon ld
com pose t he d efen si ve gar r ison :
F our 3-in ch a nt ia ir cr aft ba tt er ies
tauces var yi ng fr om 30 to 1,000 yar ds.
T i l e beaches and m uch of t i l e ter r ai n i n -
l and wer e cover ed w i th cor al bou l der s,
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Th ree fi -i nch s ea r oa st b at ter ies
Appr olm ia te a ut om at ic w ea pon s
Oa e S (’R –268fir e-c(jT~ t r(~ l r ad ar , a n d on e S CR -
270R s ea r ch r a (lt ir . (’
(U NO’S “a s soon a s pra ct ica ble” w a s
t ra usla t ecl int o immedia t e a ct ion by t h e
P a cific Fleet . .%bout 1 .%ugust Y1a jor
l~ w is .A. H olln w it h five officers a n d 173
enlist ed Ma rin es a nd sa ilors from t h e 1st
D efen se lla t t a lion com men ced loa din g t h e
I ~ S S R~gu7us, a t wen ty-year -ol d “H og I s-
l and” t r anspor t wh i ch wou l d car r y the
bat tal i on ad van ce d et ai l t o Wak e. Regw
ZU .Ssai led on 8 August , and ar ri vecl off
Wake on 19 August . Weapons and cam p
equ ipm en t, w er e l igh ter ed ash or e, an d by
the t i m e the Regu7m depar ted on 22 Au-
gust , a cam p faci ng the l agoon had been
set up on a si te near the west end of
J 1’ake+s west l eg. T o d i st i ngu i sh th i s
cam p fr om the one west of H eel Poi n t
housi ng the 1;200 Paci fi c N aval A i r Base
cont r act wor km en, the M ar ine cam p was
desi gnated as Cam p One. T he ci vi l i an
establ i shm ent becam e known as Cam p
T wo. (See M ap 4)
som e l ar ge en ou gh t o con ceal sever al m en .
T he i n ter ior l agoon, al though at for di ng
su ff ici en t su r fa ce a nd d ep tl ~ f or sea pl an es,was studded w -i tb cor al heads and fou l
gr ound wh i ch l ~ad to be dr edged befor e
sl ~i ps cou ld en ter the si ngl e ch ann el be-
tw eel ~ Wi lkes and Wake I sl and . D espi te
Wake’s l im it ed l an d ar ea, i ts coast l in e ex-
ceed ed 21 m i les. A u excel len t vi gn et te
of Wake i n 1941 was gi ven by Colonel
13ayler:
Wa ke is by n o mea n s t h e ba re sa n dy spit on et hinks of w h en a tolls a r e ment ion ed. C on sid-
era ble a rea s of it a re covered by w oods, a n d
t h ough t he t rees a r e sma ll, t heir t h ick folia ge
a n d t h e scrubby t a n gled underbrush pr ovided
a dmira ble cover . Wa lking in t hese jun gles
w a s difficult but not impossible . .“
I n August 1941, Wake was i n r api d
t r ansi t i on fr om i ts past sol i tude to the
m echan i zed moder ni ty of an out l yi ng ai r
base. Pat r ol pl ane faci l i t i es and a con-
cr ete r am p, th e r esu l t of Pan Am er ican ’s
pioneering, wer e al r eady avai l abl e on
Peal e.’i .J ust i nshor e of Peacock Poi n t
al ong the west , l eg of Wake I sl and a nar -
WAKE IN THE SHADOW OF WAR 99
men blasted, slashed, and dozed the ter-
rain of Wake.became Island Commander, an additionalduty which he would hold until relieved
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In spite of the need for haste, rigid
official separation existed between the con-struction efforts of Marines and those ofthe contractors.18 Operating on a semi-private basis with their heavy equipment,supplies, and facilities the naval air basecontract workers were concerned withbuilding roads, shops, utilities, quarters,
air base facilities, and the like. Theybuilt no defense installations. This con-struction fell solely to the Marines whohad little engineering equipment exceptpicks and shovels or the infrequent lux-ury of a borrowed civilian bulldozer.
The Marines installed their heavy weap-ons by hand, hewed emplacements andfoxholes from the coral, and erected theirown living quarters. Understanding thisbasic difference in available means the
late in 1941 by a naval officer, Commander
W. S. C’ unningham, at this time still nari-gator of the USS Wright.
Major Devereux, as he saw Wake at thistime, describes it as follows :
When I arrived on the island, the contractor’ s
men working on the airfield near the toe of Wake
proper had one airstrip in usable condition and
were beginning the cross-runway. Five large
magazines and three smaller detonator maga-
zines, built of concrete and partly underground,
were almost completed in the airfield area. A
Marine barracks, quarters for the Navy fliers
who would be stationed on the island, ware-
houses and shops also were going up on Wake.
On Peale Island, work was progressing on anaval hospital, the seaplane ramp and parking
areas. On Wilkes, there were only fuel storage
tanks and the sites of proposed powder maga-
zines, but a new deepwater channel was being
100
by t i le M a r in es.22 T h i s they d i d i n udcl i -
t ion t o t hei r n or mal d ut ies, an d t he fu el in g
tasks cam e at al l hour s of the day or ui gl ]t .
P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD .4L C ANAL
Dur ing October ancl N ovember pr og-
r ess on and about the ai r st r i p, by now
a goi ng col ~cer n, i nd icated t hat th er e w as
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I t was i ron i c that m any of these ai rcr aft ,
whi ch cost Wake so m any man-hour s of
vi tal defensi ve pr epar at i ons, wou l d bet r apped on the gr ound by the i ni ti al .J apa-
l ~ese at tack s on Cl ar k an d & T i ch ol s F iel ds
i n t he P hi l i pp in es.
.U thougb th is ser vi ci ng of .i rm y pl anes
r epr esen ted t he h ea vi est si n gl e a dd i ti on al
d ut y i m posed L l pon t he M a ri nes, t hey w er e
al so r equ i r ed to act as stevedor es i n the
t i me-con su m in g a nd exh au st i ng pr ocess of
u nl oad in g sh ips w hi ch ar r i ved at th e at ol l .
T hi s w or k w as r equ i red l mt i l th e channel ,
ber th i ng and tu r ni ng faci li ti es i nsi de th e
l agoon cou l d be com pleted . These ad(l i -
t ion al d ut ies h am per ed d efen se w or k d ur -
i ng the autum n of 1941; bu t for tunatel y
t he d et ach men t n eed ed l i tt le com bat t rai n-
i ng becau se i t con tai ned a n um ber of “ol (l
M ar i nes” of t i l e best type.” On 2 N o-
vem ber , t w o w eek s a ft er M a jor I )ever eu x’s
a r ri va l, t he W ak e ga rr i son w as a ugm en te(l
by a dr aft fr om t i l e par en t ] st l )efense
B at tal ion . T hi s gr oup i ncl uded 9 off i cer s
r oom on Wake for the avi at i on com po-
nent of f i gh ter s necessar y to bal ance and
r ou nd ou t t he d efen se for ce. Com m an der ,A i r cr aft B at t l e For ce, had deter m ined
that th i s was to be M ar i ne F i gh ter
Squ ad ron 211, su ppor ted i n i ts i nd epen d-
en t, r ol e by a pr ovi si onal ser vi ce detach-
m ent dr awn fr om M ar i ne Ai r Gr oup 21,
to wh i ch VM F-211 was assi gned. T o es-
tabl i sh the gr ound faci l i ti es r equ i r ed to
m ai n tai n th i s squadr on , M ajor wai ter
L . J . Bayl er fr om the staff of I M AG-21,together \ vi t ] l a detachm ent of ~~ M a.
r in es com man ded by Second L i eu ten an t
Rober t ,J . Con der man y w er e d ispat ch ed
fr om Pear l on 19 N ovem ber i n U SS
W~i gh t j an ai rcr aft tender w hi ch was al so
br in gi ng ou t, t he pr ospect i ve I sl an d Com -
m ander and com mandi ng off i cer of the
N aval Ai r St at ion .
Whi l e the Wti qh t pl owed westwar dbear in g VM F -21 1’s gr ou nd com pon en ts,
t il e ai r ech el on of t hat squ ad ron , con si st -
i ng of the squadr on com mander , n i ne of-
f i cer s and tw o en l isted pi lots,” had on the
WAK E IAT TH E S H AD OW OF WAR 101
aft er n oon of 27 hTovember received secret
ver bal w ar ni ng or der s to pr el )ar e for en l -
bar kat i on on boar d a car ri er . S LIA or -
st a nd is t f~ ren]a in so a t lea st unt il this F orce
ha s ret urn ed t o H a w a iia n oI )era t in g a rea .
Th er efore I a m sending t his t irst repor t via gua rd
na iil (m t his ship, ra t h er t ha n by a ir ma il a ft er
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der s had been expected by the squadr on
com mander (though not by the pi lots, vi r-
tual l y al l of whom car r i ed l i t t l e m or eth an toi let ar ti cl es and a change of cl oth i -
ng ), an d few pr epar at i on s w er e r equ ir ed .
T he squadr on had on l y to f l y t l ~e 12 new
F4F–3 (Gr um m an Wi ]dcat ) f i gh ter s
fr om 13wa M oor ing M ast (as that ai r st a-
t .i on was then desi gnated) over to For d
I sl and , the naval ai r base i n the m idd l e
of Pear l H ar bor , for fu r ther t r ansfer by
ai r to the fl i gh t deck of the L T SS Eriter-fw i .w. T h i s was a r ou t i ne oper at i on for
M ar i ne pi l ots, and except for thei r un-
fam il iar ity w i th the new ai r cr aft , and the
f act t h at , on e p l an e’s st ar t er m i sb eh av ed ,”
the m or n i ng fl i gh t of 28 hTovem ber on to
the l?n.ter~~~~e w en t off w i t hou t i n ci d en t .”
T he best d escr ipt i on of VM F -21 1’s voy-
age to Wake i s con tai ned i n a per sonal
l et t er , com posed on t he e~’e of t he squ ad -r on ’s debar kat i on , fr om M ajor Pau l A.
Putnam to Colonel Cl aude i i. L ar ki n w -ho
commanded M AG-21, Excer pts ar e
quoted:
& r SEA,
la nding . .
You t ~ ill reca ll th a t I left on e pla n e a t Ford
I sla nd. The Admira l a t on ce ga ve m e a pla net o repla ce it , fr om VF–6 ; a ncl h e nia (le it pla in
t o me a nd t o t h e w l]ole ship th a t n ot h ing sh ould
be over looke(l n or a n y t rouble spa red in or der
t o in sure t ha t I w ill get a shore w it h 12 a ir-
l)la nes ill a s n ea r l)er fect con dit ion a s possible.
I n )media t t = ly I ~ va s given a full complement of
mechs a n d a ll ht in ds a boa rd h a ve cont in ua lly
vied w it h ea ch ot her t o see w h o could d o t h e
]nt )st for me. I feel a bit like t h e fa t t ed ca lf
being groomed for w h a t ever it is th a t h a ppen s
t o fa t t ed ca lves, but it surely is n ice w hile itla sts a n d t h e a irpla n es a re pret t y sleek a n d
fa t t oo. l ’hey h a ~ e of course been ch ecked a n d
double ch ecked from en d t o end, a nd t hey h a ve
a lso h een pa in t ed so t ha t a ll 12 a re n ow of
st a nda rd blue a nd gra y .
The Admira l seems t o be most det er min ed t o
ma in t a in secrecy r ega rdin g t h e posit ion a nd a c-
t ivit y of t his Force. There h a s been a cont in u-
ous inn er a ir lnt rol clur in g da yligh t , a n d a full
sq ua dron ha s ma de a lon g sea rch t o t he fron t
a nd fl ,a nks ea rh m orn in g a nd even in g. They a re
a rmed t o t h e t eet h a nd t h e or der s a r e t o a t t a ck
a ny J a pa nese vessel or a ircra ft on sigh t in order
t o pre~ en t t h e discovery of t his F orce.
My orders, h ow ever , a re n ot so direct . I n fa ct
I h a ve n o orders. I h a ~ e been t old in forma lly
102 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD AL C ANAL
for com bat , ser vi ce;’ accor di ng to M ajor
Putnam . H owever , he added, i t was:
. . . seriously h a ndica pped by la ck of expt ?r i-
passage of ai r pl an es over t hem , even w hen
pu sh ed by h an d, cou ld cau se ser i ou s pl an e
damage. Fuel ing st i l l depended on hand
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en ce in t h e t ype of a irpla ne t h en used. I t is
believed t ha t t h e sq ua dron w a s excellen t ly
t ra in ed a nd w ell q ua li fied for w a r dut y in agenera l sense, but it w a s unfor t un a t e t ha t t h e
n ew t ype of a irpla ne, so ra dica lly differ ent from
t he t ype in w hich t ra ining h a d been conduct ed,
h a d been received t oo recen t ly t o permit fa n lil-
ia riza tion in ta ct ica l fly in g a nd gun ner y .ze
On t h e morn in g of 4D ecembert h is force
w a s met by a h -a v-y P E Y sent out from
Wra ke,” a n d t h e ~ &lF-211 a ircra ft t ook
off from t h e Entwpr k and fol lowed th i s
pl ane to th e atol l. Wi th i n l ess than two
hour s the l ast F4F–3 had pancaked on the
nar row str ip at Peacock Poi nt ,.
M ajor 13ayl er had ar r i ved on 29 N o-
vember and al r eady was busy set t i ng up
a ir ba se com m un i cat i on f aci l i ti es. com-
m ander Cl mn i nghar n had succeeded M a-
jor Dever eux as I sl and Com mander , and
I.ieUkIlal l t Conder man and h i s 49 head-
qu ar ter s an d ser vi ce per son nel w er e w ai t-
i ng t o gr eet th e squ ad ron , bu t t he ai rcr aft
oper at i ng faci li ti es at Wake w er e har dl y
i n a fi n i shed stage. T he l and i ng st r i p,
al th ou gh su ff i ci en t i n l en gt h, w as too n ar -
pL lm ps and n~an power . N o shel ter s or
ai rcr aft r evetm ents exi sted , and the new
pl anes w er e som ew hat puzzl ing to pi lots
and m echan i cs who had no i nst r uct i on
manuals . M ajor Putnam began im me-
d iatel y to negot i ate for the constr uct i on
of r evet men ts,30 an d h e al so began a t rai n-
i ng pr ogr am to be car ri ed on i n con junc-
t i on w i th the dai l y dawn and dusk pa-
t r ol s wh i ch star ted on the m or ni ng after
V M F-211 ar r ived .
T hese pat r ol s, execu ted by four ai r -
cr aft , ci r cl ed the atol l appr oxim atel y 50
m il es ou t , and pi lots com bined th i s du ty
w ith n avi gat ion an d i nstr um en t t r ai ni ng.
I nst r um ent pr act i ce w as par ti cu l ar ly i m-
por tan t because Wake had no el ect r on i c
hom ing or navi gat i onal ai ds su i tabl e for
t i gh ter oper at i ons , and the atol l was a
smal l m ar k for pi l ots to l ocate th r ough a
f loor of i n ter m i tt en t cl ou ds.3’
Ot her ch an ges h ad t ak en pl ace si nce t he
ar r i val of the Wt i gh t . Com mander
3““B a cked by a w rit t en req uest from t he C om -
WAKE I N TH E S H AD OW OF WAR 102
Cunni ngham had br ought w i th hi m Com-
mander Campbel l K eene, ei gh t N avy of-
f icer s, an d 58 bl uej ack et s w ho com pr i sed
t l ~e i ni ti al detachn l en t of the N aval Ai r
cr aft . Onl y the cr ews of the 5-i nch sea-
coast bat ter i es w er e at or n ear au th or i zed
st r engths, and they al so wer e devi ll ed by
l mend ing m inor sh or tages of t ool s, spar e
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Stat i on . Al l these per sonnel , l i ke the
.i r my Ai r For ce com muni cat i on detach-n l en t 32 of ol le off i cer and four sol di er s,
wer e w i thou t ar ms or f i el d equ i pment .
I n spi te of t he efl or ts, m en , an d equ ipm en t
consi gned to Wakej the si tuat i on was
st i l l gr im 011 6 Decem ber 1941. The
gr ou nd d ef en ses, em bod yi ng t he com pl et e
ar ti ll er y of a defense bat tal ion , had been
em pl aced dur ing 12-hour wor ki ng days,
and som e pr otect i ve sandbaggi ng and
camoufl age accom pl i shed. But to m an
t hese w eapon s t he 1st D efense B at tal ion
detachm ent had on l y 15 ot l i cer s and 373
en l i sted men, al though the 1941 T / O
cal led for 43 off i cer s and 939 m en. Th i s
meant that one 3-i nch ant i ai r cr aft bat-
tery 33~ ,as el l t i r el ~ Wi t hou t personnel and
that each of the other two bat ter ies cou l d
m an on l y thr ee of i ts four guns. Thus
on l y si x of the twel ve 3-i nch guns on the
i sl and cou l d be ut i l i zed. Onl y Bat ter y
D had i ts fu l l al l owance of f i r e-con tr ol
equ i pment . Bat ter y E had a d i r ector but
no hei gh t f i nder , and i t had to get al t i -
p ar t s, a nd m i scel l an eou s or d n an ce i t em s.”
l ’eal e I sl an d’s base d evel opm en t an d d e-
fensi ve or gan i zat i on wer e the most ad-
vanced i n the atol l . A l though Bat ter y
B, the 5-i nch seacoast uni t at T oki Poi nt ,
had been fu l l y or gan i zed onl y af ter the
ar r i val of per sonnel on 2 N ovember , i ts
posi t i on was i n good shape. M uch the
same coul d be sai d of Bat ter y D , 3-i nch
an ti ai r cr af t, set u p n ear t he sou th east en d
of the i sl and. Al l em placem ents had not
been completel y sandbagged, bu t ther e
w er e ad equ at e per son nel sh el ter s pl us u n-
der gr ound stowage for 1,400 r ounds of
3-i nch am muni ti on. T el ephone l ines, al -
though not bur i ed , l i nked al l posi t i ons
w i th the i sl and comm and post . Wor k on
Wake I sl and was not far beh i nd . Bat-
ter y A, the 5-i nch seacoast un i t at Pea-
cock Poi nt , w as com pl et el y em pl aced an d
w el l cam oufl aged al th ou gh i t l acked i ndi -
vi dual shel ter s. Bat ter y E, (3-i nch ant i -
ai rcr af t t ), al though wor ki ng w ith on l y 43
M a ri nes, h ad com pl et el y em pl aced , san d-
bagged and cam ou fl aged t wo gu ns an d th e
104 P EARL H AR B OR TO G UAD AL C ANAL
gUUS. w h ich h :ld been empla ced. All brush ea st
of t h e n ew ch a nn el ha d been clea red. The re-
ma in in g brusl] w est of t h e n ew cha n n el w a s
t hick a nd ils a result of . t his [t h e]
1st D efen se B at ta lion 13 of fi cer s, 373 en li st ed
det ach men t :
VMLI -211 a nd a tt ach- 12 of fi cer s, 4 ) en lis ted
ments :
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. .50 ca liber ma chin e guns h a d been pla ced
fa ir ly close t o t h e w ’a t er line. Th e bea ch it -
self d ro~ )lw d a brupt ly from 2>fi t o 4 feet justa bove t h e h igh w at er ma rk.~ ’
I n add i t i on to four .50 cal i ber lY.A and
four .30 cal i ber m ach i ne guns, Pl at t had
t wo sezr cl l l igh ts an d on e 5-i nch seacoast
bat ter y (I .) w l }i cb was set up at K uku
Poi ll ~. T he four 3-i nch guns dest i ned for
Bat ter y F wer e par ked on I $r i l kes w i th -
ou t per sonn el or f i re con t r ol gear . Wi re
com muni cat i ons wer e i n between the i s-l and com mand post an d al l un i ts.3’
Wake, i n tended pr i m ar il y as a pat r ol
pl ane base for P13Y’s, “the eyes of the
F l eet ,” had no scout i ng ai rcr af t af ter the
PBY’s depar ted on 5 December , and on l y
the m ost pr im it i ve faci li ti es for any type
of ai r cr aft oper at i ons. I ts d efen di ng
fi gh ter squadr on was l ear n i ng wh i l e
wor k i ng, and these pl anes had nei ther
ar mor nor sel f-seal ing fuel tanks. I n ad-
(I i t i on , thei r naval type bom b r acks d i d
not , m atch the l ocal su ppl y of bom bs.3i
E xcl usi ve of th e 1,200 ci vi l i an con tr act
U . S , Na va l .\ ir S t a - 10 officer s, 58 en list ed
t iou : (w it hout a rms ).
Ar my .\ ir C orps : 1 officer , 4 en list ed(w it hou t a rm s).
U S S Z’ritOn : 1 enlist ed (w it h out
a rms, la n ded for
m ed ica l a tt en tion ).
TIIus ther e wer e on l y 449 M ar ines on the
at ol l W11Ow er e equ ippecl an d tr ai ned for
combat.
Su ppl ies on Wak e, al th ou gh aggr avat-
i ngl y shor t , i n m any par t i cu l ar i tem s,
wer e gener al ]y adequate. T he M ar ines
had a X)-day sL ~ppl y of r at i ons, and the
ci vi l i an w or ker s l ~ad a si x-m on th su ppl y.
h~o natu r al water suppl y exi sted , bu t a
su i lk i en t num ber of evapor ator s wer e i n
ser vi ce. Am muni t i on and avi at i on or d-
n nl l ce su ppl i es i n i ti al l y cou l d suppor t
l i m i ted oper at i ons, bu t wou l d not w i th -
stand a pr otr acted defense. M ed i cal sup-pl i es wer e those nor m al for a r emote,
ou t l yi ng stat i on and cou l d thus be con-
si dered adequate.3g I n add i t i on to the
n aval m ed ical equ ipm en t an d per son nel on
Wak e, t he con tr act or ’s or gan izat ion oper -
WAK E I N TH E S H AD OW OF WAR 105
i ssued to i nd i vi dual M ar ines, and r eady-
ser vi ce am muni ti on was stowed at ever y
gun posi t i on . A comm on ‘l ,J ’’-l i ne (so-
cm l l ed) wh i ch augmented nor m al tel e-
On the mor ni ng of Satu r day, 6 I )ecem-
ber , M ajor Dever eux found t im e to hol d
the fi rst gener al quar ter s dr il l for the en-
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ph on e ci rcu it s, j oi ned al l bat t er ies, com -
m an d post s, obser vat ion post s, an d oth eri nstal lat i on s w i th wh i ch the com mander
m igh t, n eed con tact , cl ur in g bat t le,’] an d
pr im it ive “w al ky-t al ki es” for mecl a r ad io
n et establ ish ed t o par al lel w ir e com mu ni -
cat i on s betw een com nm nd post s on Wak e
I sl and , Wi l kes, and Peal e. Atop the 50-
foot steel water tank at CU m p One, the
h i ghest poi nt on Wzke, M ajor I )ever eux
h ad establ ish ed a vi su al obser vat i on postl inked by fi el d tel ephone to the com mand
post . Th i s OP, w i th a seawar d hor izon of
about n i ne m il es, was the onl y subst i tu te
for r ad ar .
4’ Ma j W. 1,. J . Iiuglev h’cpt, 3,
t i re defen se bat tal ion . ‘T ’al l to A rm s” w as
sou ncl ecl , an d al l gu n posi ti on s w er e m am
ned (to the exten t wh i ch per sonnel shor t-
ages per m it ted ), com m un icat ion s t est ed ,
an d si mu lated t ar gets w er e “en gaged .’> “
T he dr il l r an sm ooth l y, and M ajor Deve-
r eux gr an ted h i s m en an al most unhear d-
of r ewar d : Satu r day af ter noon off, and
h ol i day r ou ti ne for Su nd ay.
H i s t i mi ng of t hi s “br eat her ” w as bet ter
t ha n h e k new .
u P rior t o t he out brea k of w ar , n o opport unit y
h a d been foun d for t est fir in gs, ca libra t ion, or
ot h er gun nery exercises a ft er empla cement of
w ea pon s on Wa ke. Th e first a ct ua l fir ing w a s
in comba t a ga in st t he J apa nese. Ctf??ninghorn
Interview, 3.
CHAPTER 2
The Enemy Strikes’
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T he Pm n A mer ican A ir ways Ph il ippi ne
Cl i pper wh i ch had spent the n i gh t of 7-8
D ecem ber at Wake r e-em bar ked passen -
ger s shor t l y after sunr i se on M onday ‘
8 D ecem ber , taxi ed i nto the cal m l agoon,
and soar ed tow ar d Guam . Ashor e br eak-
fast was near ly over , and some M ar i nes
wer e squar i ng away thei r ten ts pr i or tofal l i ng ou t for the day’s wor k . M ajor
Dever eux was shavi ng. I n the Ar m y Ai r -
ways Com muni cat i ons Ser vi ce r ad i o van
n ear t he ai rst r ip, an oper ator w as com in g
up on fr equency w i th H i ckam Fiel d on
Oahu when at 0650 a fr an t i c uncoded
t ran sm i ssi on cu t t hr ou gh : Oah u w as u nd er
en em y a ir at ta ck .
Captai n H enr y S. Wi l son snatched the
m essage and r ushed to Dever eux’s ten t.
T he m ajor t r ied unsuccessfu l l y to r each
Com mander Cunn i ngham by tel ephone,
an d t hen cal led th e base com mu ni cat i on
Ar ms.’ Gu nn er y ser gean ts br oke ou t t hei r
m en and made sur e that al l had thei r am -
mun i t i on . T he M ar i nes then pi l ed i n to
t r ucks wh i ch r ushed them to the bat ter y
ar eas. B y 0735 al l posi ti on s w er e m an ned
and r eady, the pl anned w atch w as estab-
l i shed atop the water tank i n Cam p one,
and defense bat tal ion off i cer s had hel d abr ief conference.
T he dawn ai r patr ol was up befor e the
news cam e fr om Pear l,5 bu t avi at i on per -
sonn el t ook h ur r i ed st eps t o safegu ar d t he
new Wi l dcats st i l l on the gr ound. T he
Ph i l i ppi ne Cl i pper was reca lled t en
minutes after i ts takeoff , and i t ci r cl ed
back down to the l agoon. B ut i n spi te of
th ese m easu res, t hi ngs w er e n ot r unn in gsm oot hl y at t he ai rst r ip. VM F-211 had
been on Wake onl y four days and cou l d
har dl y cal l i tsel f wel l establ i shed . A i r -
cr af t r evetm ents st i l l bei ng dozed wou l d
TH E E NE MY S TRIK E S 107
t )rogressiug sinlult a neously on six of t he ~ aw -
t ect ive bunkers for t h e a irpla nes. a nd w hile
n on e w as a va ila ble for immedia te occulmn cy, a ll
w ould be rea dy not la t er th a n 1400. P rot ect ion
a nd ca mout lfa ~ e for fa cilit ies w ere n ot a va ila ble
manne(l. Ma rine unit s a n d t he I sl an {l
Com m an der h ast i ly set u p com m an d post s.
Com mander Cunni ngham l ocated hi s CP
in (’am p T wo, and ~M F-211>s r emained
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but could be ma de rea dy w it h in 24 hours. F ox-
holes or ot her pre~ a red posit ions for person nel
did n ot exist but w ould be complet ed not la ter
t h a n 1400. To move t he a irpla n es out of t h e
regula r pa rkin g a rea ent a iled gra ve risk of
da ma ge, a n d a ny da ma ge mea nt t he complet e
loss of a n a irpla n e beca use of t he complet e a b-
sence of spa re pa rt s . . The S q ua dron C onl-
ma nder decided t o a void cer t a in da ma ge t o his
a irpla n es by moving t hem a cross t he rough
groun d, t o dela y movenlen t s of ma t er ia l unt il
some pla ce could be prepa red t o receive it , a nd
t o t rust his person nel t o ta ke na t ura l cover if
attacked.”
T hus VM F-211’S handfu l of pi l ots and
m ech an ics spen t th e m or ni ng d isper si ng
ai r cr aft as w id el y as possi bl e i n t he u sabl e
par ki ng ar ea, r el ocat i ng the squadr on
r ad i o i nstal lat i on fr om i ts tem por ar y si te
to a cover ed one, and ar mi ng and ser vi c-
i ng al l ai rcr aft for com bat.
At l 0800, on l y a few hour s after t i l ebl azi ng an d d yi ng A ri zon a h ad br oken ou t
her col or s under enem y fi re at Pear l H ar -
bor , M or ni ng (Vol or s sounded on Wake.
D efen si ve pr epar at ion s h um m ed . T r uck s
del iver ed fu l l al low an ces of am mu ni ti on
i ll the squadr on ot f i ce ten t . Avi at i on per -
son nel l ~ad t o st i ck w it h th ei r j obs of bel t-
i ng ext r a am muni ti on and tr ansfer ri l ]g
bul k fuel i nto m or e di spen sabl e dr um s.
A t 0900 t he fou r-pl an e com bat ai r pat rol
r etur ned to base. The pl anes wer e r e-
fuel ed wh i le the four pi lots 7 took a sm ok-
i ng br eak, and then cl amber ed back i n to
F4F ’s 9 th r ough 12 and took off agai n to
scou t the m ost l i kel y sector s for enem y
appr oach . Shor t l y n fter th i s the pi l ot of
the Ph t%pp;n e Cl ~pper , Captai n ,J . H .
H am i l ton , r epor ted for du ty to M ajor
Putnam at VM F-211’S headquar ter s, H e
l md or der s fr om the I sl and (’om mznder
to m ake a l ong-r ange southwar d sear ch
w i tl ~ f i gh ter escor t. T hese or der s, how-
ever , were l a t er cancel l ed .s
Whi l e VM F-211’s com bat ai r patr ol
made a sw ing nor th of Wake at 12,000
f eet , 36 t wi n-en gi ned ,J apan ese bom ber s
wer e fl yi ng nor thwar d towar d the atol l .
Th i s was Ai r At tack For ce N o. 1 of the
Z ’zw nt y-F ow ’t h .+ li r F l ot i ll a, ba sed a t R oi ,
720 m i l es to the south .’ As the enemy
108 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
d ow n i n h i s 10,000-f oot ap pr oach , h e n ot ecl
that t l ~e sou th coast of ’ the atol l was
m asked by a dr if t i ng r ai n squal l at about
2,000 feet . T he t hr ee ,J apan ese d ivi si on s,
For a second t im e w i th i n l ess than ten
m inu tes the ai r st r i p was bom bed md
st r afed . By 1210 the str ike was over . The
enem y pl anes tu r ned awmy and com-
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i n 12-pl an e VS, d ropped r api dl y d ow n i nto
t he squ al l a nd em er ged a f ew secon cl s l at eral m ost on top of the J ?T ake ai r st r i p.
F i r st L ieu tenant Wi ll i am W. L ew i s, com-
m andi ng B at ter y E at Peacock Poi nt , saw
these pl anes at 1150, and he gr abbed a
“J ’’-l i ne tel ephone to war n Dever eux.
,J ust as the major answer ed , a spr ay of
br igh t spar ks began t o sai l t hr ou gh t he ai r
ahead of the enem y for mat i on . One ci vi l-
i an thought “the wheel s dr opped off the~i rpl anes.” But the pl anes had not com e
t o l ose t hei r w h eel s. ,J a pa nese bom bs w er e
fal l i ng on Wak e.
L ew i s, an exper i enced ant i ai r cr aft
ar ti l l er ym an, had not on l y com pl ied w ith
t he com m an di ng ofl i cer ’s d ir ect ive t o k eep
one gun manned, bu t had added another
for good m easu re. Wi th i n a mat ter of
seconds he had two of Bat ter y E ’s 3-i nch
guns f i r i ng at the J apanesej l o and .50
cal i ber guns al ong the south shor e of
N Take qu i ck l y took up the fi r e. A t i gh t
pattern of 100-pound fr agm entat i on
menced thei r cl im b to cr ui si ng al t i tude.
“T he pi lot s i n ever y on e of t he pl an es w er egr i nn in g w id el y. E ver yone waggl ed h i s
w in gs t o si gn ify ‘B anzai ’.:’ 1’
The ener il y at tack bur ned or bl asted
seven of t he ei gh t F 4F –3’s fr om pr opel l er
t o r ud der , an d t he r em ai ni l)g Wi l dcat sLls-
tai ned ser ious but not i r repar abl e dam-
age to i t s r eser ve fuel tank . A d i r ect
bom b h i t destr oyed M ajor Bayl er ’s ai r -
gr ou nd r ad io i nst al lat i on , m ncl t h e w hol eavi at i on ar ea f l amed i n the bl aze fr om
the 25,000-gal l on avgas tank wh i ch had
been h i t i n the fi rst st r ike. Fifty-gal lon
fuel dr um s bur st i nto f l am e. VM F-211’S
t en ta ge, con tai n in g t he squ ad r on ’s su r et y
st ock of t ool s an d spar es, h ad been r i dd led
and par t i al l y bur ned . Wor st of al l , 23 of
the 55 avi at i on per sonnel then on the
gr ound wer e k i ll ed ou t r igh t , or w oundedso sever el y that they d i ed befor e the fol -
l ow i ng m or ni ng, el even m or e w er e woun-
ded but sur vi ved . At one str oke, VM F-
211 had sustai ned near l y 60 per cen t
TH E E NE MY S TRI K E S 109
T wo an d th e ad j aceu t Pan Am er icau ar ea,
the hotel and other Sei ll )l :l ne faci li t i es
w er e af ir e, t he PhiZi~~jine ~v7~]I]Mr hacl r e-
cei ved a few str ay m ach i ne-gun bu l lets,
i n a r eefer box at Cam p T wo, and m ble-
bod i ed avi at i on per sonnel tu r ned thei r
at te,n t ion t o t l l e ai r pl an es an d t o t he gaso-
l i ne t i r es. T he th r ee pl anes st i l l abl e to
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and som e ten ci vi li an em pl oyees of P.f.l
l ~ad b een k il led .” T he el ~en ly d id n ot l ose
n si n ~yl e bom ber a l tl ~ ou gh “sev er a l ” were
d am aged by an ti ai rcr aft f i re.l s ‘1 ’he Ma-
r in e com bat ai r pat rol , w el l above t l~e r ai d
and m om entar i l y scou t i ng to the nor th ,
had n ot m ad e contact . T hese pi lots r e-
tu r necl for l and i ng shor t l y af ter the at -
tack, and by a fi nal st r oke of i l l for tune
Captai n H enr y T . E l r od dam aged h i s
pr opel l er ser i ousl y on a m ass of bomb
debris.
W ak e’s d ef en der s w er e m ost con cer n ed
that th i s f i r st r ai d had str uck alm ost be-
for e they knew that enemy pl anes wer e
overhead. T he r ai n squal l had hel ped the
,J apanese, bu t the atol l ’s l ack of ear l y-
war ni ng equ i pm ent was al most as bene-
f i ci al t o t he en em y. T he gar r ison n eed edr adar , bu t none w as avai l a bl e. T ll rougl l-
ou t the si ege the ,J apnnese pl anes col l -
t i nued to el ude the m ost vi gi l an t vi sual
obser vat i on , and w i th the sound of thei r
f l y wer e sent up on com bat ai r pat r ol . I n
t l ~e sky they wou l d be safe fr om another
sur pr ise r ai d . Cr ews and off i cer s r e-
or gan ized an d r eal located j obs. Seconcl
I .i eu tenan t J ohn F . K inney becam e engi -
n eer i ng ofi cer t o r epl ace F ir st I .i eu ten an t
Gr aves w -h o h ad been k il led .’5 K in ney’s
pr inc ipal assi stan t was T echn i cal Ser -
geant Wi l l i am ,J . H am il ton , an en l isted
pi lot , and th ese tw o m en begi n sal vagi ng
tool s and par ts f r om bur ned pl anes.T hei r et for ts i mm easur abl y ai ded fu tu r e
oper at i ons of VM F-211. Captai n H er -
ber t C’. F reu ler r eor gan ized th e or dn an ce
sect ion , 1.i eu ten an t D avi d D . K l iew er t ook
over t l ~e r a di o sect i on , a nd (“a pt ai n s E l r od
an d T har in su per vi sed con st ru ct ion of i n-
d ivi du al foxh ol es, sh el ter s, an d i nfan tr y
defensi ve wor ks i l l the VM F-211 m ea.
Ot l ~er wor k i ncl uded m in i ng the ai rst r ip
at 150-foot i nter val s w it h h eavy d yn am ite
char ges to guar d agai nst ai r bor ne l and-
i ngs. Fur rows wer e bu l ldozed th r ough-
ou t t i le open gr ound wher e such l and i ngs
110 P EARL H ARB OR TO G CAD ALC ANAL
El sewher e on the atol l new defense
woqk pr ogr essed just as r api d l y.l e Em -
pl acem ents, foxhol es, and cam ouf l age
wer e im pr oved at al l bat ter y posi t i ons.
took off at 0545 over Peacock Poi nt . T hey
r en dezvou sed i n sect i on over t he f i el d an d
then cl im bed upwar d to scou t 60- to 80-
m i l e sect or s a lon g t he m ost p roba bl e r ou tes
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A N avy l i gh ter l oaded w i th dynam i te sur -
r ou nd ed by con cr et e bl ock s w as an ch or edi n Wi l kes channel to guar d th i s dr edged
w at er way. T el eph on e l i nes wer e r e-
pai r ed , key tr unk l i nes wer e doubl ed
w her ever possi bl e, an d ever y possi bl e at -
tem pt was m ade to bur y the m ost im por -
tan t w i r es.” Constr uct i on of m or e du-
r abl e and per man ent com mand posts and
shel ter s began befor e the day ended i n a
col d dr i zzl e. Wor k i ng that n i gh t underbl ackou t r est r ict i ons, avi at i on M ar ines
and vol un teer ci vi l i ans com pl eted ei gh t
bl ast-pr oof ai r cr aft r evetm ents. T he
atol l’s four oper at i onal pl an es w er e thus
r el at i vel y safe w ith i n these. r evetm ents
when 9 Decem ber dawned br i gh t and
cl ear , and Captai n E lr odk pl ane al so, w as
i n a bunker under goi ng r epai rs to i ts pr o-
p el l er a nd en gi n e.Gener al quar ter s sounded at 0500, 45
m i nu tes befor e dawn, and the defense
com mander set Cond i t i on 1. T hi s r ead i -
ness cond i t i on r equ i r ed fu l l m ann i ng
of en em y a pp roa ch . A t 0700 th e fi gh ter s
f i ni sh ed t hei r sear ch w ith ou t si gh ti ng an yen em y pl an es an d t hen t ur ned back t ow ar d
the atol l. T her e the defense detachm ent
sh i fted to Cond i ti on 2 w hi ch r equ i red th at
on l y hal f the guns be manned, and that
fewer m en stood by the fi r e con t r ol i n -
st r um ents. T hi s per mi tted M ar ines to get
after other necessar y wor k ar ound thei r
posi ti ons. At the ai rst r ip L ieu tenant K in -
ney cont i nued w or k on E lr od ’s pl ane, andt he squ ad ron ’s en gi neer i ng pr obl em m ad e
i t evi den t t hat h an gar over hau l an dbl ack -
ou t faci li t i es had to be set up. M ajor Put -
nam deci ded to en l ar ge two of h i s new
pl an e sh el ter s for th is pu rpose. E ntr an ce
r am ps wer e cu t bel ow gr ound l evel , and
the r evetm ents wer e r oofed w i th “I ”
beam s, l um ber , an d l i gh tpr oof t ar pau l i ns.
T hese exped ien ts al l ow ed ext en si ve over -hau l and mai n tenance at al l hour s, and
pr ovi ded m axi mum pr otect i on for pl an es
and mechan ics.
As the mor n i ng wor e on, m en began to
wor k cl oser to thei r foxhol es and to keep
TH E E NE MY S TRI K E S 111
th i s al ar m to the com bat ai r patr ol , and
bat ter y cr ewm en r ushed to gener al quar -
ter s. Soon th r ee bur sts of an t i ai r cr aft
f i re, th e n ew al ar m si gn al , “ w er e expl od-
scor ed a d i r ect h i t on the r ad i o stat i on .
T hi s destr oyed m ost of the N avy’s r acl i o
gear .’” M eanwhi le the ant i ai rcr aft guns
cont i nued to f i re i nto the t i gh t ,T apanese
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i ng fr om al l sector s, and Wake stood by
for i t s second at tack of the war .T he l ead i ng ,J apanese pl anes ap-
pr oached fr om the southeast at 13,000
feet , and ant i ai rcr aft bat ter ies on Peal e
I sl an d an d Peacock Poi nt open ed fi re j ust
befor e the f i r st bom bs wer e r el eased.
M inu tes ear li er the com bat ai r patr ol had
m ade contact w i th one f l ank of the ,J apa-
nese pl anes south of Wake, and L i eu-
tenant K l i ewer and T echn i cal Ser geantH am il ton m anaged to cu t of f a st r aggl er .
T hey shot i t down despi te hot r etu r n fi r e
fr om a top tu r ret , and as the enemy pl ane
spu n aw ay i n f lam es t he gr ou nd bat ter i es’
3-i nch shel l s began to bur st among the
,J apan ese. T he M a ri ne fi gh ter s br ok e con -
t act a nd w i th dr ew .
The fi r st st i cks of bombs expl oded
ar ound Bat ter i es E and A on Peacock
Poi n t and dam aged a 3-i nch gun i n the E
Batter y posi t i on and a r ange t i nder at
Bat ter y A. Other bom bs cr ashed al ong
the east l eg of Wake I sl and and i n to
Cam p Two. Ther e d i r ect h i ts destr oyed
for mat i on , and fi ve bom ber s wer e sn~ok-
ing by the t im e Peal e I sl and was h i t . Amoment l ater one of these pl anes bur st
i n to f l ames and bl ew up i n the ai r . T hat ,
was Wake)s second cer tai n k i l l . T he
oth er s l im ped aw ay st i l l sm oki ng.zl
The hospi tal bur ned to the gr ound—whi l e the two sur geons saved fi r st the
pat i en ts and then as m uch med i cal sup-
pl i es and equ i pm ent as they had t ime to
sal vage. Cam p T wo and the N aval Ai r
Stat i on wer e now as badl y wr ecked as the
avi at i on ar ea had been on the pr evi ous
day, and four M ar i nes and 55 ci vi l i ans
had been ki l l ed . Bu t the defender s had
l ear ned som e l esson s, and th e J apan ese
wer e not to have such an easy t ime her e-
after . M ajor Putnam summed i t up:
The origina l ra id . . w as t a ct ica lly w ell con -
ceived a nd skillfully execut ed, but t herea ft er
t heir ta ct ics w ere st upid, a nd t he best tha t ca n
be sa id of t heir skill is tha t t h ey ha d excellen t
flight disciplin e. Th e h our a nd a lt it ude of t heir
a rriva l over t he isla nd w as a lmost const a nt a nd
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TH E E N’E MY S TRI K E S 113
an d s~~ept~;atte~yJ ’S emp]~~ement dei~n
of accessor ies, 1i gh t f i tt i ngs a]l d other
n l ovabl e objects. For tunatel y on l y one
M ar i ne was k i l l ed . Four other s wer e
by next m or ni ng they wer e i n posi t i on
an (l agai i l r ead y t o sh oot .
GEi’Vl?i’lZ,Y OF T H E REL I EF
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wounded, and one ci vi l i an sust a i necl
shock . B ut m ater iel -w i se, B at ter y 1, wasi n ser ious sl mpe. A l l f i r e con tr ol i nst r u-
m ents except t i le tel escopes on (hm 2 had
been b l ast ed away ordamagedbeyond re-
pai r , the gun tubes wer e dented , f i r i ng
l ocks wer e tor n of f, and tr aver si ng and
el evat i ng r ack s w er e bu r r ed an d d i st or t ed .
E qu i pm ent l oss at B at ter y F , or gan i zi ng
th at m or ni ng, was l ess ser ious. C)ne gun
was dmnaged fr om bl ast and fl yi ng de-br is. I n ad cl i t ion , t he 60-i nch sear ch li gh t
on Wi lkes h acl been kn ock ed en d over en d.
T hi s ser iousl y dam ageci the l igh t ’s del i-
cat e ar cs, bear i n gs, a nd el ect r on i c f it ti n gs.
.\ f ter th i s r ai d M ajor Dever eux agai n
or der ed B at ter y 1? t o d i spl ace. T hi s t i me
i t wou l d set . up nor th of t i l e ai r st r i p and
near the l agoon i n the cr otch of Wake.
T il e dumm yguns at Peacock Poi nt , dam-
aged by t hi s t hi rd r ai d, }~er e r efl u-bi sh ed
d ur in g th e af ter noon of 10 I )ecem ber , an d
B at ter y E ’s unn l a]i l l ed four th gun w as de-
tached for an t i boat em placement el se-
E .r PK I )l T I oN 28
After the Pear l H ar bor at tack , Pr esi -
d en t Roosevel t w ar ned t he A mer ican peo-
pl e to be pr epar ed for the fal l of Wake.
Yet befor e the Ar i zona’s hu l k stopped
bur ni ng, pl ans wer e under way to send r e-
l i ef to the atol l . Bu t w i th m uch of the
Paci f i c F l eet on the bot tom of Pear l H ar -
bor , l it t l e assi stance cou l d be pr ovi ded .
Wake, l i ke other ou ter i sl ands, }vou l dstand or fal l on i t s own L mless i t cou l d be
au gm en ted fr om t he m eager r esou rces
then at Pear l H ar bor . M ar i ne for ces on
oah u i ncl ud ed t wo d efen se. bat tal i on s, t he
3d and 4t l ~~’ el em ents of the I st D efense
B at ta li on , a nd m i scel l an eou s bar r ack s an d
sh ips’ detachments. Any per sonnel sen t
to r el i eve Wake wou l d have to com e fr om
th ese, u ni ts, an d t hat . m ean t t hat ot her i m-por tan t jobs wou l d have to be sl i gh ted .
T her e w as a l im ited sour ce of equ i pm ent
i ncl ud i ng r adar and other suppl i es at
Pear l I kbor i n the, hands of the M ar i ne
D efen se F or ce qu ar ter m ast er ; an d fi gh ter
P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD .4L C AATAL
ai rcr af t , needed al most as m uch as r ad ar ,
wer e al r eady en r ou te fr om San Diego on
boa rd t l ~e I JSS ,~ara toga.:+ ()
on 9 December ‘1 Adm i r al K im r nel ’s
r etu r n to or igi nal bat ter y posi t i ons. T he
Ci nCPac st at l w an ted t o m ak e a com pl ete
new study of the Paci fi c si tu at i on befor e
i t sen t, th is r el ief of f to Wake.33 B esi des,
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staf f deci ded to send r el i ef to I IT ake i n a
t ask for ce bu il t ar ou nd t hi s car r ier , Cr ui s-er D i vi si on 6 (cr u i ser s A st on ”a , M kneapo-
7L i , a ncl ,Ym n F r am wko ), t he n ine dest roy-
er s of D est royer Squ ad ron 4, t he seapl an e
t en der T an gi er , w ll icl l w ou ld car r y t roops
an d equ ipm en t, an d th e fl eet oi ler i17eC7WS.
T hese sh i ps wou l d com pr ise T ask For ce
14, Whi l e i t sai l ed for Wake, T ask For ce
11 bu il t ar ou nd t he U SS L exi ngt on ,, w ou ld
m ake d i ver si onar y st r ikes i n th e vi ci ni ty
of J al u i t some 800 m i l es sou th of Wake.
A th i r d task for ce, com m anded by Vi ce
.I dm ir al H al sey i n t he car r ier E nter pr ise,
wou l d pr ovi de. gener al suppor t by com
duct i ng oper at i on s w est of ,J oh nston I s-
land.32
M en and equ i pment to ai d Wake wou l d
be dr aw n fr om the 4th D efense B at tal ion ,
and on 10 D ecem ber th i s un i t w us al er ted
for i m med iat e. em bar kat ion . T he d est in a-
t i on was not announced, bu t i t d i d not r e-
qu i r e m uch i m agi nat i on for r um or to cu t
th r ough m il itar y secr ecy. “l $r e’r e goi ng
the task for ce had to awai t the ar r i val of
the 17anztoga.Ci n (7Pac fi nal l y deci ded to m ake the
at tem pt to r ei n for ce Waket and em-
bar kat i on of cer tai n un i ts of the 4th De-
fense Bat tal ion began two days l ater , on
12 Decem ber . By th i s t im e the Wake de-
fen der s h ad sen t, a par ti al l ist of t hei r m ost
cr it i cal needs, and Pear l H ar bor suppl y
act i vi t i es f i l l ed th i s as best they COU IC1.
l -’h ese i m por t an t i t em s, w h ich w er e l oa ded
i n the Z’~mgie/ ’ at pi er 10 i n the N avy
l -a rd , 3’ i n cl u ded a n S CR –270 ea rl y-w ar n -
i ng r acl ar un i t and an SCR–268 r adar set
for f i r e con tr ol . A l so stowed on boar d
w er e 9,000 r ou nd s of 5-i nch am mu ni ti on ,
12,000 of t he :1-i n cl ~ sh el l s w i th 30-secon d
t im e fu zes, m or e t han t lm ee m il l i on r ou nd s
of bel ted am mm li t i on for .50 and .3o cal i-
ber m ach in e gu ns, qu an ti ti es of gr en ad es,
am muni ti on for sm al l ar ms, bar bed w ir e,
an ti per son nel m i nes, an d ad di ti on al en gi -
n eer i ng t ool s. (N h er equ ipm en t. w ou ld en -
abl e the men at Wake to r epai r thei r
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118 J ?E ARL H ARB OR TO G CAD ALC ANAL
Bat ter y A, w i th no r ange fi nder , had est i -
m ated the. r ange to these sh i ps, and the
r an ge sect ion per son nel w er e pl ot ti ng t he
tar get wh i l e the gun sect i on cr ews stood
by to fi r e. T he or der to t i r e cam e fr om
t ran spor ts, an d t he l igh t cr ui ser s T at su ta
and T er wyu wh i ch had br oken of f fr om the
Yubar i at the west end of her f i r st f i r i ng
run . T hese cr u i ser s and transports
steam ed nor th at a r ange of about 9,000
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D ever eu x’s com m an d post at 0615, an d t il e
guns at Peacock I ’oi nt opened t i r eol l the
Yubar i and the sh i ps w i tl ~ her wh i l e Bat -
ter y L engaged the other enemy sh i ps
w i th i n r ange of Wi l kes I sl and . Bat ter y
A ’s f ir st sa lvo w en t over t he ,Ja pal l ese f la g-
sh i p, and L ieu tenant %r ni n~~er or der ed
the r ange. d r opped 500 yar ds. T h i s f i r e
fr om the beach caused the cr ui ser to veer
away on a zi g zag cour se, and to concen-
t r ate her f i r e on the B at ter y A guns. H er
sh ot s st r ad dl ed t he M a r i ne p osi t ion s ils she
pu l led aw ay r api dl y. B ar ni nger ad justed
as best he cou l d for the evasi ve tact i cs of
the ,J apanese sh i p, ancl h i s guns soon
scor ed two h i ts. Both shel l s en ter ed the
cr ui ser at the water l i ne am id sh i ps on her
por t si de, an d th e sh ip bel cl lecl steam an d
sm oke as she sl ackened speed. T wo m or e
sh el ls t hen cau gh t h er sl igh tl y :aft of th ese
fi rst w ou nd s, an d sh e tu rn ed to st ar boar d
to h i de i n her own sm oke. A d est r oyer
then at tem pted to l ay sm oke between the
t rou bl ed cr ui ser an d t he sh or e bat ter y, bu t
yar ds sou thwest of K uku Poi n t wh i l e the
cl est royer s (pr obabl y D est royer D ivi si on
29 consi st i ng of the H uyate, (Xte, and
ei ther the Mutszdi or M och izu ki )’7
h ead ed d ir ect l y for sh or e an d open ed f i re.
At about 4,000 yar ds fr om th e i sl and th ey
execu ted a l eft (westwar d) tu r n , and the
l i?cr yate l ecl them i n a r un cl ose al ong the
shore. At that poi n t Bat ter y L opened
fire. At 0652, j ust after the th i r d two-
gu n sal vo, th e H ayat e er upt ed i n a vi ol en t
expl osi on , and as the smoke and spr ccy
(I r if ted cl ear , th e gun ner s on Wi lkes cou ld
see that she had br oken i n two and was
si nk i ng r api d l y. Wi th i n two m inu tes, at
0652, she had d i sappear ed fr om si gh t .”
T hi s pr om pt ed su ch spon tan eou s cel ebr a-
t i ons i n the Bat ter y L posi t i ons that a
T ’et er a n n on com m i ssi on ed of fi cer h ad t o r e-
m ind the gun cr ews that other tar gets r e-
mained.
F i r e then sh i fted to O;te, next i n l i ne
beh i nd the H ayate. Th i s dest r oyer was
n ow so cl ose t o sh or e t hat , M a jor D ever eu x
TH E E A-E MY S TRIK ES 119
su rvi vor s an d si nk , bu t r el i abl e en em y r ec-
or ds i nd i cate on l y that she sustai ned
damage.4g
Bat ter y I J now shi fted fi r e to the tr ans-
por w K ongo .V~r u and K on~yu .U ur u
com m an d p ost , and pu t. C~L mT wo ou t. of
act i on w i th a {I isabl ed r ecoi l cyl i nder .
L i eu ten an t. J Vood row W. K essl er , t he bat -
ter y conm lander , con t i nued hi s duel w i th
on l y one gun, and used per sonnel fr om
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t hen st ea mi n g a ppr oxi m at el y 10,000 ya rd s
south of Wi l kes. One shel l h i t the l ead-
i ng t mn spor t., an d th is sh ip L L ISOu rned t o
seawar d ancl r et i r ed behi nd a smoke
scr een wh i ch pr obabl y was pr ovi ded by
the two fl eei ng destr oyer s, T hei r cour se
wt r ri ed them past the tr anspor t ar ea. By
th i s t ime ci vi l i ans on Wi l kes had joi ned
t h e d e.f en si ve ef f o r t.s a s v ol u n teer a m mu n i -
t i on hand l er s, and the bat ter y next en-
gaged a cr ui ser steam in g n or th war d 91000
yar ds of f the west end of the i sl and . T h i s
was ei ther the Tenr yu or the T atsu ta; bu t
whatever her i den t i t y, she hur ri ed away
t r ai l i ng smoke af ter one shel l st r uck her
near the ster n . T he depar tu r e of th i s
sh ip, at abou t. 0710, r em oved th e l ast tar -
get fr om the r ange of Bat ter y L . I n a
busy hour , th i s un i t had fi r ed 120 5-i nch
sh el l s w hi ch sa nk on e d est r oyer , d am aged
another , and i nfl icted dam age to a t r ans-
por t and a l i gh t cr u i ser . ~wo M ar i nes
h ad su st ai ned sl igh t w ou nd s.
M eanwhi l e the other hal f of the ,J ap-
GL m T wo to hel p keep up the fi r e.. T en
rounds lilt er a shel l caught the Ya.yoi i n
her ster n :L nd set , her afi re. K essl er then
sh i fted h i s f i r e to t l ~e second shi p wh i ch
was maneuver i ng to l ay a sm oke scr een
for the i l ] j u r ed Y<~yoi . U nder th i s con-
ceal ment al l th r ee destr oyer s r ever sed
cour se and r et i r ed southwar d out of
range.
T he J apanese for ce was now in fu l l
retirement. .k t 0700 Adm i r al K aj i oka or -
der ed i L w i thdr awal to K wajal ei n . Bad
weather and ~cc~l r ate M ar i ne fi r e had
com pl etel y wr ecked the adm ir al ’s pl an to
take Wake w i th 450 m en. But comm and-
er s on the atol l took i mm ed iate pr ecau-
t i ons to gu ar d agai nst a d an ger ou s r el ax-
at ion of defen ses. T hey r eason ed th at t he
,Japunese m igh t have car r i er ai r cr af t
r eady to con t i nue the at tack wh i ch the
sh i ps had star ted . and M ajor Putnam was
al ready al oft w i th (T aptai ns E lr od , Fr eu-
l er , and Thar i n to r econnoi ter the ar ea
fr om 12,000 feet . Wl~en th i s sear ch l o-
120
fr om these two tar gets. Bu t the T er wyu
su ffer ed bom b d am age t o h er tor ped o bat -
t er y, a nd t he T at su ta.’.~ t op si d e r a di o sh ack
was h i t . (T nptai n F r eu l er l anded a 100-
pound bom b on the ster n of the t r anspor t
P EARL H ARB OR TO G U.4D ALC AXAL
t he d es tr oy er H ayate was sunk by shor e
bat ter ies and the dest r oyer K i sam gi by
the VM F-211 bom bs. T wo m or e destr oy-
er s, t he Oi te an d t l~e Y uyoi , w er e d am aged
as w as a dest r oyer -t r anspor t. T he tr ans-
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K ongo M ar u , and saw h i s tar get f l ar e upw i th gasol i ne f ir es. Af ter d roppi ng thei r
tw o bom bs each , the fl ier s hur r i ed back to
Wake to r ear m.
T wo fr esh pi l ots, I ~i eu tenant K inney
an d T ech ni cal Ser gean t H am i lt on , su bst i-
tu ted for two of the or igi nal f l i er s dur ing
on e of th ese sh ut t les bet ween th e at ol l an d
the enem y sh i ps, and the ai r at tacks con-
t i nued for a total of 10 sor t i es dur i ngwh i ch the M ar ines dr opped 20 bom bs and
fi red appr oxi matel y 20,000 r ounds of .50
cal i ber am m un it ion .51 T he d estr oyer
K isar a.gi , pr obabl y h it ear l i er by Capt ai n
E lr od , f i nal ly bl ew L ~pj ust as L i eu ten an t
K i nney nosed over at her i n an at tack of
h is ow n. One of t he dest royer - tr anspor t s
1so sustai ned damage fr om the ai r
strikes.T h i s act i on was not al l “ducks i n a bar -
r el ’> to the M ar ine f l ier s, and any dam age
to the scanty Wake ai r for ce w as a ser ious
one. ,J apan ese f l ak cu t. t he m ai n fu el l in e
por t K ongo M ar u was bom bed and setafi r e. .M 1 t hr ee cr ui ser s ( Y u bat i, T at su ta,
an d T enr yu ) r ecei ved i nj ur ies fr om ai r or
sur face a t tacks.52
,J apan ese per son nel casu al ti es can be
fi xed on l y appr oxi matel y. Assum ing that
th e tw o sunken dest r oyer s wer e m anned
by cr ew s com par abl e to those r equ i red by
si mi lar U . S. types (abou t 250 off i cer s an d
m en per sh i p ), i t w ou l d be l ogi cal to cl ai mappr oxim atel y 500 for these two l osses
w i th the fai r assum pt i on that few i f any
su r vi vor s escaped i n ei th er case. Per son -
nel l osses on the other seven sh i ps dam -
aged ar e not known, bu t i t must be
assu med t hat casu al ti es d id occu r .53
5’T h e w i del y-cr ed i ted cl ai m , or i gi n at ed i n
good f ai t h, t h at d i ve-bom bi n g a tt ack s sa nl i acru i ser of f ~ J ’akecannot be suppor t ed . M l t h ree
cru i sers ret u rned to 11’akel ess than two w+eeks
l at er t o su ppor t t he t i nal at tack on t he atol l.
T h e of fi ci a l ly est ab li sh ed occa si on of t h e l oss
of each i s as fol l ow s : ~u har i { Ph i l i ppi ne S ea,
CHAPTER 3
Wake Under Siege ]
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,Scar cel y had t i l e VM F-211 pl anes r e-
tu r ned to the f i eld befor e i t was t i m e for
L ieutenants Davi dson and K i nney to f l y
the on l y two ser vi ceabl e f i gh ter s on the
ear l y m i dday com bat pat r ol . I t was
then near l y 1000, al m ost t i m e for the
.Japanese bom ber s to ar r i ve, and the
M ar ines soon spot ted 30 of these enem y
pl anes com i ng out of the nor thwest
at 18,000 feet . Davi dson downed two of
these ai rcr aft , and K inney tu r ned a th i r d
homewar d w i th sm oke t r ai l i ng beh i nd i t.
T hen the f l i er s pu l l ed aw ay as the enem y
for mat i on enter ed t i le r ange of t i le Wake
gu n s .
T h i s an t i ai r cr af t f i r e spl ashed one
bom ber i n the water off Wi l kes and
d am aged thr ee oth er s. Bom bs hi t cl ose to
Bat ter y I ) on Peal e, and other s expl od ed
on Wake. T her e wer e no M ar i ne casual -
t i es, and dam age was sl i gh t , bu t the pat -
gan th i s d i spl acem en t after dar k. Sand -
bags nt the ol d posi t i on cou l d not be r e-
cl ai med , an d cem en t bags an d em pty ar r-
m un it i on boxes h ad to ser ve th is pu rpose
at the I l ew l oczt i on . T he wor k was
fi n i shed by 04L 5, and Bat ter y D agai n
was r eady to f i r e.
On 12 Decem ber the J apanese cam e to
w or k ear ly. T wo four -engi ne K aw ani sh i
pat r ol bom ber s ar r i ved fr om M ajur o at
abou t 0500 an d bom bed an d st r afed Wak e
an d Peal e I sl and s. B om bs hi t th e ai rst r ip
bu t cau sed l it tl e d am age. Capt ai n T har in ,
v-ho had just taken off on the m or n i ng
r econ nai ssan ce pa tr ol , i nt er cept ed on e of
the bi g f l yi ng boats and shot i t down .
After t his ra id t he I t ’a ke defenders Went
on w it h t heir w ork. Rea ch defenses w ere
improved on l~ illt es, a nd t he ordna nce of-
t icer , G unn er ~ ~ a rold C. ~ or t h, serviced
B a t t ery L’s ba t t ered 5-inch gun s. At t he
122 P EARL H .4RB OR TO G UAD AL C AN.4L
enem y d i d not ar r i ve for the usual noon
raid.3
T h i s fr eedom fr om attack was a wel -
com e and pr of i tabl e i nter lude for the gzr -
r isen . Captai n F reu l er ,w h ohadbeenat -
the sun beh i nd h i m . H e st r afed the J ap-
anese boat w i th h i s .5o cal i ber guns, and
then dr opped h i s two bombs as he pu l led
ou t of h i s gl i de. Sei ther bomb h i t ., bu t
K l i ewer est i m nted that they expl oded
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tem pt i ng si nce the open i ng of the war tod evi se som e m ean s of em pl oyi ng w el der ’s
oxygen to augm ent the dw i nd l ing suppl y
for the fi gh ter pi lots, f i nal ly m an aged, at
gr eat per son al h azar d , t o t ran sfer t ,l ~egas
fr om com mer ci al cyl i nder s to the fl i er s’
oxygen bot t l es. Wi thou t th i s n ew suppl y
th e pi lots cou l d not h ave fl own m any m or e
h i gh a lt i tu d e m i ssi on s.
Another i mpor tan t exper im ent fai led .M ar i nes tr ied to fash i on a wor kabl e ai r -
cr aft sound l ocator ou t of l umber . I t was
“a cr ude pyr am i dal box w i th four un-
cur ved pl ywood si des,” by M ajor Deve-
r eux’s descr i pt i on . I t was too cr ude to
be of any val ue; i t ser ved on l y to m agn i fy
the r oar of the sur f.
T hat even i ng I J i eu tenants K inney and
K l iew er an d T ech ni cal Ser gean t H a mi l tonr ead i ed Wake’s th r ee pl anes for the fi nal
pat r ol of the day. K l i ewer dr ew a pl ane
th at w as al ways d i ff i cu l t to star t, 4 a nd h i s
takeoff was del ayed for near l y f i f teen
w i th i n f i f teen feet of the tar get . Bombfr agm ents punctu r ed h i s w i ngs and tai l
as he made h i s l ow pu l l -ou t , and wh i l e he
cl im bed to cr u i si ng al t i tude he saw the
enem y cr aft submer ge i n the m i dst of a
l ar ge oi l sl i ck .’
A fter thei r var ious act i vi t i es on 12 De-
cem ber , t he atol l d efen der s en ded t he d ay
w i th a sol em n cer em ony. A l ar ge gr ave
had been dug appr oxim atel y 100 yar dssou th west of t he M ar in e ai d st at ion , an d i n
th i s the dead r ecei ved a comm on bur ial
w hi le a l ay pr each er f r om t he con tr act or s
cr ew r ea d si m pl e p r ayer s.
N ext , d n~ 7t h e ,Japan ese d id n ot bot her
Wake at , al l, and M ar ine off i cer s thought
i t possi bl e that K l i ewer ’s at tack on the
enem y subm ar ine lm d br ought them th i s
day of fr eedom . T he. t i l ~y atol l , fr e-
q(l el lt l y conceal ed by cl ouds, w as a d i ff i -
‘ Th e fa t e of th is subma rin e is n ot kn o\ ~ 7n .
E n emy records a re n ot clea r . B ut a ft er t h e fa ll
were killetl :\lltl one wounded, :1lld n direct
hmb llit in ail ;~iq)lniie Ye\-etiiielit fill-
idled oti aiiotlier figllter pl:iiie, lea\-iiig tile
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atoll‘ s a\-iat ioii niiit only one plane tliatc~ollltl f ly . ! ’ Lieutellant K i n n e y , I’ MF-
I l‘ s engineering ofker, spriiitetl for tile
revetinent where he w-as joined by Tech-
iGal Sergeant TI:mlilton tint1 ,~Gtion
M:tchinist’ s Mate F i rs t (‘ l a s s ,James F .
Hesson, l’ SS,10 his two assistants. kspite tlie fire
of the plane,
rear’ end
islletl the
mbelierable feat of removing tlie unclain-
aged engine fiviii tlie fuselage ;ii1d drag-
ging it clear.
Thwiiig his iiiori ing patrol fliglit of 15
I)ec+eiiiher, Rlajor Putiinni sighted another
shnarine southwest of Wake. ISut it ap-
J>eilre<l to llare orange markings, :lllcl Put-
nam thought it
124 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
T hei r bom bi ng was l ess et fect i ve. T hey
appar en t l y t r ied to h i t B at ter y D cm Peal e
I sl and , bu t m ost of the bom bs fel l har m -
l essl y i n to the l agoon and the other s
cau sed n o d am age.
B ut exper ience h ad taught the atol l de-
fender s not to expect ~ r est af ter th is day-
l i gh t r ai d was over . T he f l yi ng boats had
becom e al most as per si st en t as t he sh or e-
ba sed bom ber s, a nd a t 1745 t ha t a ft er n oon
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M eanw hi le defensi ve \ vor k con t i nueddur i ng ever y dayl i gh t hour not i n ter -
r upted by such bombing r ai ds. Another
ai rcr aft w as patched up, per sonnel shel -
ter s for al l hands had been com pl eted i n
the VM F-211 ar ea, and at Peacock Poi n t
Bzt ter y A now - had two deep under -
gr ou nd sh el ter s w ith r ock cover t hr ee feet
th i ck .” And befor e n i gh t fal l on 15 De-
cem ber t he ga rr i son com pl et ed i t s d est r uc-t i on of cl assi fi ed docum ents. T hi s secur -
i t y wor k began on 8 Decem ber when the
Com m andant of the 14th N aval D i st r ict
or der ed Com mander Cunn i ngham to de-
st roy r eser ve cod es an d ci ph er s at t he h Ta
val A i r Stat i on l lz bu t codes r em ained i n -
tact i n the VM F-211 ar ea. N ow M ajor
Rayl er and Captai n T har i n shr edded
these cl assi f i ed paper s i n to au oi l d r umand bur ned them i n a gasol ine fi re.”
On t h e l(l t h t lie , Japanese made anot ] l er
dayl i gh t r ai d . T w en ty-t hr ee bom ber s
fr om Roi cam e out . of the east at 18,000
on e of t he K aw au isl l is cam e d ow n t hr ou gha l ow cei l i ng to st r afe Bat ter y D on Peal e
I sl and . Poor vi si bi l i ty pr even ted the
M ar i nes fr om r etu r n i ng fi r e, bu t the at -
tack bacl caused l it t l e dam age. T he pl ane
dr opped four hea~y bom bs, bu t th ese fel l
l ~ar ml essl y i nto th e l agoon. M ar ines w ho
wer e keepi ng scor e—and m ost of them
wer e-m ar ked th i s down as Wake’s 1(M
ai r r ai d.After th i s at tack Wake had an uneasy
n i gh t . I t was bl ack w i th a heavy d r i zzl e,
an d m aybe. t hi s pu t sen ti nel s on ed ge j ust
en ou gh t o ca use t hem t o “see t hi n gs’’-al -
though no one cou l d bl am e them for th i s.
At any r ate l ookouts on R7i lkes passed an
al ar m at (E200 t l )at they had si gh ted 12
sh i ps, an d ever ybody fel l ou t for gener al
quar ter s. N oth i ng cam e of th i s al ar m andpostwar ,J apanese and I T. S. r ecor ds i m
ci i cate that ther e wer e no sn i ps n t al l
ar ou nd Wake t hat n igh t.
At 0600 on 17 I )ecem ber I ,i eu tenant
WAK E L?ND E R S I E G E 1 25
en gines a nd propellers from scra p pa rt s sa l-
va ged from w recks. . . a ll t his in spite of t he
fa ct tha t t hey w ere w orking w it h n ew t ypes
[of a ircra ft ] w it h w hich t hey ha d n o previous
exper ien ce a nd w ere w it hout inst ruct ion ma n -
ua ls of a ny kind. . . Their per forma nce w a s
t he outst a nding even t of t h e w hole ca mpa ign.”
i m pr ovem en ts com pl et ed . T he i sl an d com -
m and er pr efaced h i s pr el im in ar y r epl y to
th is qu er y w ith an accou nt of th e l atest ai r
r ai d , and fol l owed th i s w i th a dam age r e-
por t wh i ch sum mar ized h i s bat t l e l osses
si nce the begi nn i ng of the w ar . H e
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“~ n~ illes ha l ,e been t ra ded from pla n e
t o pla n e, h a ve been jun ked, st ripped, re-
built , a n d a ll but . crea t ed,” a not her repor t
sa id of K inney ’s engin eer in g w ork.16
.% 131’7 tha t a ft ernoon 27 J a pa n ese
bombers from Roi ca me out of t h e sout li-
w est t it 193000 feet . Their bombs ignit ed
a diesel oil t a nk on TVilkes a nd dest royed
t ile defen se ba t t a lion messha ll a s w ell a s
mueli t ent a ge a nd q ua r terma ster gea r a t
C a mp On e. ~ bomb explosion a lso da nl-
a ged on e of t he eva pora t or units upon
w hich lt r t ike depen ded for it s w a t er sup-
ply. The 3-incl~ guns bronglit dow n on e
of t h ese pla nes,
lJ a t er t ha t da y on e of t he K inn ey-
pa t ched fight er pla nes w a shed out dur ing
take-oflj and i t had to be sent back to the
boneyar d . T hen at I ’i 50 cam e the heavi -est r ai d the K awan i sh i f l yi ng boats ever
put i n to the ai r agai nst Wake.’i E i gl ~t of
t hese pl an es bom bed an d st r afed th e atol l
bu t i n fl i ct ed l i tt l e d am age.
poi n ted ou t that hal f of h i s t r ucks and en-gi neer i ng equ ip men t h ad been d est royed ,
that m ost of h i s d i esel fuel and dynam ite
w er e gon e, a n d t h at h i s ga r age b la ck sm i t h
sh op, m ach in e sh op , a nd bu i l di ng su ppl i es
war ehouse ei ther had been bl asted or
bu rn ed to th e gr ou nd .
I n a suppl em en tar y r epor t sen t l ater ,
Com mander Cunn i ngham tol d the Pear l
H ar bor au thor i t i es that ever ybody onWake had been busy defend i ng the atol l
an d k eepi ng t hem sel ves al ive. T hey cou ld
not do const r uct i on wor k at n i ght , he
poi n ted ou t , and i f t hey used too m uch
heavy equ i pm en t dur i ng the day they
cou ld n ot h ear th e bom ber s appr oach in g.
B esi des, h e r ei ter ated , m uch of h is equ ip-
m en t h ad been d est r oyed by th e bom bi ng
r ai ds, an d m ost of h i s r epai r faci l i ti es h adm et the sam e fate. On top of al l th i s, he
ad ded , ci vi la n m or al e w as ba d. Cunning-
ham sai d he cou l d not pr om ise a com pl e-
t ion d at e on an yth in g u nl ess th e J apan ese
126
Wake, however , and the defender s con-
si der ed i ts act i vi t y om inol l s. I t l v l S al -
m ost d i rect l y over h ea d a t a bou t 25,000 f eet
when f i r st si gh ted. Wel l beyond ant i ai r -
cr aft or f i gh ter r ange, i t f l ew nor thwwt
al ong t he axi s of th e atol l , an d th en tu rn ed
P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD AL C ANAL
.it 105012’7 bombers from R oi ca me in
from t he n ort hw est a t a bout 18,000 feet .
They w orked over t h e VNI F–211 a rea
sout h of t h e a irst r ip, fin ished off t h e Ma -
r in es’ messha ll a nd t en t a ge a t ~ a mp Onel
a nd st ruck t he P a n.Lir a rea . B a t t er ies D
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sou th, pr esu mabl y r et ur ni ng to Roi . De-fen der s bel ieved t hi s t o be ~ ph ot o-r econ -
na issance f l i gh t.
N ext m or ni ng th e d efen der s con ti nu ed
thei r r ou t i ne wor k, t r yi ng to add to thei r
d ef en si ve i n st al l at i on s bef or e t he bom ber s
wer e due. T h i s was a r ou t i ne now fa-
m i li ar to them . After bei ng cl ear ed fr om
mor ni ng gener al quar ter s, the m en went
about thei r wor k un t i l the m idday r ai d
sen t them to gun posi t i ons or to cover .
After that r ai d w as over , the m en cl eaned
up after the bombs or went ahead w i th
thei r other du t i es. T hen l ate i n the after -
noon they had to take t ime out to deal
w i th the fl yi ng boats. At n i ght they coul d
u su al ly sl eep w hen t hey w er e n ot on sen tr y
du ty, or stand i ng some other type ofvwtch. Fol l ow i ng th i s pat ter n , cr ew
n ~em ber s of t he va ri ou s bat ter i es h ad com -
pl eted thei r stu r dy em placem ents, and
ever ybody had cont r i bu ted to the con-
a nd F, hit four of t hese bombers, a n d ob-
servers on t he a t oll sa w on e of t h em spla sh
a ft er it s cr ew ba iled out , over t h e w a t er .
llomh da ma ge a t C a mp On e w a s ser ious,
but elsew h ere it w a s slight , a n d t h ere w ere
n o ca s ua l t ies .
D ecember 20 da w ned gloomily w it h
hea vy ra in, a nd ceilings viere low a n d visi-
bilit y poor a ll da y. This w ide w ea t h er
front a ppa rent ly dissua ded t h e J a pa nese
from a t t empt in g t h eir usua l n oon visit ,
but it did n ot st op a U . S . Na vy’ P B Y
w h ich a rr ived th a t da y a n d pr ovided
~ ~ ~ a ke w it h it s first physica l cont a ct w it h
t he fr ien dly out er w orld since t h e sta rt of
t he w a r . This pla n e la nded in t h e la goon
a t 1530 t o deliver det a i led informa t ion
a bout t he p] t in ned relief a nd r ein force-
ment of t he a t oll. Th ese repor t s coll-
t a in ed good new s for nea r ly everyon e.
~ ~ 11 civilia ns except . high-pr ior it y w orkers
w er e t o be eva cua t ed. fl Ma r ine fight er
squa dron (VhlF-221 ) w ould ff y in t o re-
WAK E L’ND E R S I E G E 12’7
tenant Com mander Gr eey pr epar ed r e-
por ts to seucl back to Pear l I I ar bor .
M aj or B ayl er , h is m issi on l on g si nce com -
pl eted , w ou l d car ry the paper s back as he
com pl ied w ith h i s or der s d i rect i ng h i m to
r et ur n fr om Wak e bi by fi r st avai labl e Gov-
t i ve, Pl atoon Ser geant , J ohnal son E .
Wr igh t , and wounded the, r ange off i cer
a nd t hr ee ot her M a r in es.
N OW t her e w as on ly on e fi r i ng d ir ect or
l uechan i sr n l eft . on the atol l , and i t be-
l onged to B at ter y E l ocated i n t i le cr otcl ~
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er n m en t a i r t r al l sl )o > t:l t i ol l .” M r . H eve-
nor , the B ur eau of the Budget ofl ici al who
had m issed the Ph i l i ppi ne Vl i pper on 8
December , i ~l so pl anned to l eave on the
P13Y, bu t , som eone poi n ted out that he
cou l d not t r avel i n a N aval ai rcr af t , w i th-
ou t par achu te and M ae West , nei ther of
w hi ch w -as avai labl e. So M r . I levenor
m i ssed another p l ane.
A t 0700 n ext m or ni ng, 21 D ecem ber , th e
PRY d epar te~l . Wi th i n l ess than two
h our s, at 0850, 29 ,T apau ese N avy at tl ck
bom ber s, cover ed by 18 fi gh ter s, l ashed
cl own at Wake thr ough the over cast and
bon lbed an d st rafed al l bat ter y posi ti on s.
T hese w er e pl an es fr om (7u rr i er D ivi si on 2
(Sor yu and H i,yu), cal led i n by the ,J apa-
nese to hel p soften Wake>s unexpected
toughness.” Due to the l ow cei l i ng, the
at tack w as con su m mat ed bef or e t he 3-i n ch
bat t er ies cou ld get i nto act ion , but th e .50
cal i ber an t i ai r cr aft mach i ne guns em
ga ged t h e en em y. T he at tack cau sed l i tt le
of Wake I sl and . But Bat ter y E had no
hei gh t f i nd er , al th ou gh B at ter y I ) st i l l h ad
on e of t hese. T ]l u s t i le t wo ;l -i ncl ~ bat ter i es
had onl y enough fi r e con tr ol equ i pm ent
for on e bat ter y. B ecause of B at ter y E ’s
m or e d esi r a bl e l oca ti on , a nd beca use. i t h ad
esca ped d am age si nce i ts m ove t o t hi s spot ,
M ajor Dever eux deci ded to main tai n i t as
hi s pr imar y ant i ai r cr aft defense of the
atol l . Thus by tak i ng over Bat ter y D ’s
hei gh t , f i nder , cer tai n other f i re con tr ol
gea r , one gu ] ], ancl t he necessa ry personnel ,
B at ter y E becam e a fu l ly m anned and fu l -
l y equi pped four -gun bat ter y. T wo other
B at ter y D gu l )s ~ver e sh i fted to a new po-
si t i on on Peal e I sl and wher e they cou l d
assu me beach-d efense m issi ons, an d t he
four th gun r emzined at the or i gi nal bat-
ter y posi t i on . I hunmy guns al so wer e
m ou nted th er e to cr eat e th e, i mpr essi o~l
that the bat ter y was st i ll i n tact . As a fur -
ther measur e of decept i on , Bat ter y F on
Wi l kes, al so r educed to two guns, woul d
128
By 22 Decem ber VM F-211 agai n had
tw o ai rpl anes capabl e of f l igh t , and C’ap-
tai n Fr eu l er and T ~i eu tenan t Davi dson
took them up for m or n i ngpatr ol . Davi d -
son had been out n lm ost an hour and was
P EARL H ARB OR T() G UAD AL C ANAL
t ir e f r om th e ,J apan ese pl an e w ou nd ed t he
M ar i ne pi l ot i n the back and shou l der .
F reu ler pu sh ed h is pl an e over i nt o a st eep
d i ve, m an aged t o sh ak e of f l ?i s p u r su er , a nd
d ragged t he sh at t er ed , scor ch ed F 4F i nt o
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cover i ng t he n or th er n appr oach es t o Wak eat 12,000 feet when he spot ted enem y
pl anes com ing i n . H e cal l ed Captai n
F r eu ]er , who YVaS hen south of the atol l ,
and the M ar i nes began i ndependent ap-
pr oaches to cl ose w i th the enem y. T he
J apan ese f l igh t con si sted of 33 car r ier at -
t ack pl an es (d ive bom ber s) escor ted by si x
f i gh ter s, al l fr om t he Sor yu -H i ryu car r ier
division. T he fi gh ter s w er e at 12,000 feetan d t he d ive bom ber s at 18,000. T he f i gh t-
er s w er e of a sl eek n ew type, t he f i rst Z er os
t o be en cou n ter ed ov er W ak e.
Captai n F reu l er d i ved h i s patched-up
F4F–3 in to a d i vi si on of si x f i gh ter s,
down ing one and scat ter ing the other s.
Com i ng ar ound qu i ck l y i n a d i f f i cu l t op-
p osi t e a pp r oa ch , F r eu l er a tt ack ed a not her
of the Zer os and saw i t expl ode on l y 50f eet bel ow . T hi s expl osi on t em por ar i ly
engn l fed the (2r um r nan i n a cl oud of
thun es and fl yi ng fr agm ents. T he M ar ine
pl nne w as bad l y scor ch ed, i ts m an i fol d-
the fi el d for a cr ash l and i ng. I n the wor dsof L i eu ten an t K in ney> w hose sh oest ri ng
m ai nten an ce h ad k ept V M F-211 fl yi ng for
f i f teen days: ‘(T h i s l eft us w i th no ai r -
pl anes.>’ I n spi te of the M ar i ne squad-
r on -s I ast bl aze of h er oi sm , t he en em y d ive
bom ber s cam e on i n to st r ike at al l bat ter y
posi t i ons. Bu t the atol l pi l ots wer e not
m uch im pr essed by the wor k of the J ap-
an ese n aval avi at or s. ‘(We w ho h ave beenused to seei ng on l y th e pr opel ler hub ar e a
bi t taken aback by thei r sh al low d i ves an d
t hei r i n accu r aci es,” L i eu ten an t B ar n i nger
sai d . T he J apanese bombs d i d not cause
m uch damage, and ther e wer e no casual -
t i es on t h e gr ou n d.
Bu t now that , car r i er ai r was bei ng
br ought to bear agai nst them , the Wake
defender s concl uded that i t wou l d not bel ong befor e th e J apanese cam e back w ith
a bi gger task for ce and a bet ter an l ph i b-
i ou s pl an . Gr ou nd d efen se pr epar at ion s
i n ten si fi ed t h at a ft er n oon . VM F-21 1’s
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130 P EARL H ARB OR TO G U.4D .4LC AA’AL
32 and 33) wou l d r un agr ound on the
sou th shor e of the atol l near the ai r st r ip,
and the appr oxi m atel y 1,000 m en of the
speci al n aval l an di ng for ce ~“ l voL d d t l ~en
be car r i ed to the beach i n fou r to si x l ancl -
i ng bcr r ges. T \ ~o of the~e woL dd l and on
the i sl and and to l ook out for L -. S. sur -
face forces.
Wi th these f i nal pl ans i ssuecl , t he i n -
vasi on for ce w el l r eh ear se], an d car r i er s
Sor y71j an d I Fi ryu on thei r w ay dow n fr om
nor th of M idway, the oper at i on agai nst
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Wi l kes I sl and , two on Wake I sl and be-
tw een th e ai rst ri p :u ld (U am p on e, an cl th e
other tw o pr obabl y pr ovi ded for wou l d
pu t thei r t r oops ashor e just west of Pea-
cock Poi n t .’” I f t hese speci al l and i ng
for ce t roops r an i nto ser iou s t rou bl e on th e
atol l , the naval for ce WOL I I CIend i n 500
m en or gan ized fr om sh ips’ la n [] in g f or ces .
.lnd if this combined force fa iled t o sl~ b-
due t he a t 011 clef enc~ ersj more help w oulcl
be sent , by mea ns of a n t I1t inla t e rcncl des-
pera te exped ien t. Th e clest royers of t he
ta sk force w ould be bea ch ed, a nd t heir
crew s w ould sw a rm n shore. i kcl m i rn l
I n on ye W:LS det ermineci tha t t his second
a t t a ck should not f a il.
The possibilit y of l.~ . ~ . na 17a l surfa ce
in tervent ion w -a s t aken irit o considera tion.
This possibilit y lia d been clkimissed duril~ g
pla n nin g for t he a t t a ck of 11 I )ecember
beca use t he ,J a pa nese rea soned t l~ a t t ile
shock of P ea r l H a rbor w ould immobilize
llmerica n surfa ce ~ l~ era t ion s for some
Wake w :l s r e:u l y to go. At 0900 on 21
Decem ber Acl r ni r al K aj i oka cl ear ed Roi
w it h t ] l e sh ips of h is am p]l ibi ou s for ce an d
l l ea cl ecl b ack u p t ow a r d t h e A m er i ca n -h el d
atol l .
Z ’H E REL IEF AT T EM PT ,
1,5–?.j D KI J EM RER “
N ow the U . S. com mander s tak i ng hel pto Wake wer e i n a r ace w i th Adm i r al
K aj i oka, even i f they d i d not know i t .
.i dm ir al F let ch er ’s T ask F or ce 14 sor ti ed
f 1om Pear l H ar bor i n two task gr oups on
15 and 16 I )cwem ber ,32 r endezvoused
southw est of Oahu dur ing the after noon
o f t ] l is secon d d ay, an d sai led w estw ar d t o-
w ar d Wake. F l etcher ’s for ce was to ar -
r i ve at t l ~e atol l on 23 Decem ber (east]on gi tu de t i me). T her e the pi l ot s of
M ajor Ver ne ,J . M cCaul ’s VM F-221
woL dcl f l y i n fr om the car ri er ,~m ’atogc~
w hi l e t l ~e T angi er anchor ed off Wi l kes
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CHAPTER 4
The Fall of Wake’
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.A t Wak e, 23 D ecem ber began w it h i nt er -
n l i tt en t r ai n squ al l s, an d sh or t l y aft er 0100
t he d ef en der s saw a su ccessi on of vi vi d, i r -
r egu l ar f l ash es beyond the hor izon nor th
of Peal e I sl and . M en on the atol l cou l d
hear noth i ng above the r ai n and the boom
of the sur f, bu t i t was obvi ous that the
fl ash es w er e n ot si gn al s or se:l rch li gh tsc
They wer e too br il l i an t and i r regu l ar for
t hat . Ol cl f leet -d ut y h an ds w er e r em i nd ed
of n igh t bat tl e pr act ice at sea. W as t her e
a n aval bat t le, or w er e t he ,J apan ese com -
i ng back ? T i l e defender s con l d on l y
guess.
By th i s t im e the M ar i nes wer e used to
seei ng l igh ts, even though these w er e um
uwm l . B u t at 0145 cam e a m or e ur gen tal ar m . T he wor d over the “,J ’’-l i ne an -
l ~cn m ced t ha t t he .J ct pa nese w er e l an di n g
at ,T ok i Poi nt on Peal e. Ma j or I ) evereux
al er ted al l un i ts and then tel ephoned
where of f shore. By th i s t im e al l un i t s
had sent thei r men to gener al quar ter s,
and at (’am p one. ~Second I ~i eu tenan t
Poi ndexter l oaded h i s scan ty m obi l e r e-
ser ve un i t of ei gh t M ar ines 2 a nd four .30
cal iber m ach i ne gL ms i nto thei r t r uck , r e-
por ted h i s act i ons to the com mand post ,
an d m oved ou t, t ow ar d Peal e I sl an cl . Bu t j
the wor d fr om K essl er lm d convi nced
Deve~eux th at i f the enem y wer e l and i ng,
they wer e not doi ng i t on Peal e I sl and .
H e pl l t a dam per on the gener tcl a]ar m ,
a]d or der ed t l ~at Poi ndexter be i n ter -
cepted when h i s t r nck passed t ]~e com -
m and post . H e hel d the m obi l e r eser ve
t her e t o a wa it d evel op men ts.
I )evel opm en ts w er e n ot l on g i n com in g.
Adm ir al K a j i oka’s am ph i bi ous for ce had
at l ast si gh ted the atol l ’s fai n t ou t l i ne,
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1:34 1’lMRL H ARB OR T() G UAD AL C ANAL
c-ess. l ~ igl l t st ’{}u l cl bseel l ot k hor el ~ or t l l
of Peal e I sl and and al l al ong the south
coasts of Wake an(l Wi l kes I sl and . At
about 0230 3L ~r i nes on Peacock Poi n t ,
thought they cou l d see the out ] i nes of two
bar ges h ead i l ~g i i l on g t he coast t ow ar {l t he
above t l ~e sur f, and M ar i ne Gunner M c-
K in st r y opened fi re w ith a .50 cal iber m a-
ch i ne gun at , a dar k shape near the beach
below. T en m inu tes l ater Captai n Pl at t
r equested per m i ssi on to i l l um inate the
beach w i th h i s 60-i nch sear ch l i gh t ., and
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ai rf i el d, bu t these evi den t l y w er e the pa-
t l ol cr aft l l w~d i ll gi l lt o\ v:l rcl t l ler eef . B y
now M ajor Dever eux, M ajor Pot ter , h i s
execu t i ve off i cer , a radioman, and a
sw i tchboar d oper ator i n the defense de-
t ach men t com man d post w er e sw am ped by
r epor ts of sounds, l igh ts, an d shapes. As
l ~e col lect ed t hi s i nf or m at ion an d r el ayed
r epor ts to Com mander (’unn i nghar n,
l )ever eu x sa w t ha t t he gr ea test tllLX2ilt was
devel opi ng al ong the south coast of t i l e
at ol l , an d h e d ispat cl )ed L i eu tel )au t Poi w
d ext er >s ei gh t-m an m obi le r eser ve to d e-
fen si ve posi ti on s bet lveen (’am p on e an d
t i l e a i r st r i p.
Poi nd ext er ’s m en h ad n ot l eft t l~e tr u ck ,
an d t he l i eu ten an t, h ad t hen ) t ran spor ted
down the i sl and and i nto posi t i on w i th i n
15 m inu tes. The ar ea i n to wh i ch the-y
m ovecl w as just w est of the r oad junct i on
]l ear the w est end of the ai rst r ip. There
th i s sm al l for ce comm anded the south
shor e r oacl as wel l as the cr it i cal beach
the l and i ng was d i scover ed . T wo bar ges
cou l d be seen on the beaches at Wi l kes,
the l i gh ts al so r eveal ed the patr ol cr aft
agr ou nd of f Wak e.
N ei ther of the 5–nch bat ter i es wh i ch
comm anded the south appr oaches to
Wake’ cou l d bear agai nst the l and i ngs.
T er rai n m asks l ikew i se pr even ted them
fr om fi r i ng at Pat r ol Cr aft 3.2 and 33 on
the r eef}” T he on l y weapon l ar ger than
a m ach in e gu n t hat cou ld engage th ese d e-
st royer -t ran spor ts, al read y begi nn in g to
sp ew O L L th ei r h um an ca rgo, w as t he 3-i n ch
gu n em pl aced on t he r i se bet ween t he bea ch
r oad an d V M F-2117S h ar d-st an d par ki ng
ar ea. But th i s gun was not m anned.
Real izi ng th e i mpor tan ce of t hi s w eapon ,
Second L ieu tenant Rober t M . H anna, i n
com man d of t he an ti ai rcr aft m ach in e gu ns
about the fi el d , gather ed a scr atch cr ew
con si st i ng of on e M ar in e, Cor por al Ral ph
J . H ol ew insk i , and th r ee ci vi l i ans” and
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136 P EARL H ARB OR TO G TJ AD ALC ANT.4L
r aced to th i s gun . M ajor I )ever eux al so
r eal ized t he cr i ti cal i m por tan ce of h ol di ng
th i s ar ea, and he or der ed M ajor Putnam
and the 20 men of VM F-211 to for m an
i nfan tr y suppor t. between the 3–nch gun
an d t he en em y l an di ng.
mach i ne guns wer e i n the Peacock Poi n t
ar ea. At the bat ter y posi t i ons gun cr ews
stood by thei r w eapons an d m anned such
l o~i ~l per i met er d efen ses as t hei r m eager
st r ength perm i t t ed .
L i eu ten an t H an na an d h is j ur y-r igged
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Al l defense un i ts on Wake I sl and wer ed i sposed to meet the enem y. H anna and
the VM F-211 “i n fan tr ym en” hel d the
l ef t f l an k sou th of t he ai r fi el d par ki ng ar ea.
T o the west , and squar el y i n the path of
the enemy’s i ni t i al r ush towar d the west
end of the fi el d, w er e Second L ieu tenant
K l i ew er an d th ree avi at ion M ar in es. T hey
guar ded one of the gener ator s wh i ch was
w i r ed to detonate the m i nes bur ied i n theai r st r i p. At the r oad junct i on far ther
west Poi ndexter ’s mobi l e r eser ve was
al ready fi ri ng i ts four m ach i ne guns east -
war d al ong the beach at Pat r ol Cr af t 32
t i ’h er e t he en em y t r oops h ad r ev ea led t hem -
sel ves by i nj ud ici ou s u se of pyr otech ni c
si gnal s. At Cam p One four .30 cal i ber
m ach i ne guns w er e m anned for beach de-
fense by B at ter y 1’s gun shed cr ew and the
N aval A i r Stat i on sai l or s who had been
ser vi ng as l ookouts on th e w ater tank OP.
Beh i nd th i s gener al l ine, two .50 cal i ber
cr ew qu i ck l y got the 3–nch gun i n to ac-t i on . T hey l ai d the weapon by est i m ate
an d “K en tu cky w in dage”;’ an d fi red th ei r
f i rst r ound at Patr o7 ~~r(~~t J3 w ll icb w as
l ess than 500”yar cl s away. The shel l h i t
t he br id ge of t he d est royer -t r an spor t, an d
w ounded the captai n, th e navi gator , and
f ive seam en . T w o ot her sai lor s w er e k il led .
Whi l e men of the U ch i da and Z taya un i ts
swar med off the sh i p, H anna and h i s cr ewf i red 14 m or e r ou nd s i nt o t he su per str uc-
tu r e and hu l l of the cr af t . F i nal l y i t bur st
i nto f l am es, i l l um in at in g th e l an di ng ar ea.
“T he scen e w as t oo beau ti fu l t o be a bat tl e-
f i el d,” r epor ted a ,J apanese obser ver on
boa rd t he cr u i ser Y uba ri .’4
F l am es fr om th i s sh i p l i gh ted Pat r ol
Cr [(~t 32 far th er w est al on g t he beach , an d
H anna sh i fted h i s f i r e to th i s vessel .T h r ee-i n ch sh el l s h u l led t h i s t r an sp or t -d e-
st r oyer , and cr ews fr om both these sh i ps
joi ned the SN L F’ t r oops l andi ng on the
i sl and . T h i s added possi bl y 100 extr a
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‘rH E FAr,r J OF J Y.lK E 139
B ui i nter ior l and i I lgs or 110, ti le Wake
(I ef en del ’s l u ~d t l ~ei r l M n d s f ul l . ,J a pa lw se
cr ~~ iser s began t o bom bar d t he a tol l ”s m ai n
i sl an d at abou t (1330. ‘1’h e l an di n gs com
t i nued i n spi te of the fact that Bat ter y F .
l ~ow t i ret l a il ’ bl l r st s ov er t he. bea ch es, an d
however , by enemy nm cl~i ne-gun a]~d
s]ll:~ll-i~~ms t i r e wh i ch k i l l ed one M ar ine
and l )i l lned C1O]VUhe other s. zo .i f ter a
t i me (+r aves w it ll (l rew h is u ni t n or th war d
tow :ud t i le con~]t l an d post w her e i t l ater
l )ar t i ci lm ted i n defensi ve efi or ts col n-
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et lem y i nfan tr y col l t i l ~u ed t o pl ess cl oserto H anna’s ?-i nch gun south of the ai r -
st r i p. T he VM F-211 t r oops st i l l hel d ,
bu t th ei r par t i al per in let er w as bei ng com -
pr essed t i gh ter a]}d t i gh ter ar ound t i l e
gun. T h i s act i on was now l i t t l e m or e
than a bat t l e for ~j r eser vat i on of t i l e
w eapon an d t l] e ~f:l r i l lesi l l vol ~r ed . M aj or
l ’l ~t l mm ’s m en cou l d l ~ot check th e , J a p -
anese pel let rat i oj l far th er t o th e w est , n or
cou l d they pr even t the enen]y fr on l m ov-
i ng beh i nd them or i n to t l ]e i sl and t r i -
a nxl e a bov e P ea cock P oi n t . .I n d t he ,J al }-
al }ese J vantecl to concent r ate i n th i s t r i -
al ]gl e so t l ~ey cou l d l aunch an at tack u1)
t l ~e i sl al ~d ’s east l eg. T he ~IIF–211
troops col dd on l y hope to cl i ng to the
sl i gh t h i l l ock of thei r posi t i ol ~j and stay
t her e a s l on g a s possi bl e.l i
M eal lw ll i l e (V opor al (i raves an d h is de-
t:lClld gllll S(~llit(l f r ol l l Bat ter y 1) wer e
t ry ing to r each H ti l l l l a~s 3-i nch gun.
Dever eux had tol (l then l to detr uck at the
m al lded by M ajor Pot ter .I tJ i s not cl ear what sor t of an enem y
for ce Cor por al (i raw xs en col mt er ed i n t il e
Peacock t ri an gl e, or h ow t he ,J apan ese got
ther e. T her e ar e i nd i cat i ons that a l and-
i ng n~l gl ~t ha~~ebeen m ad e i n that ar ea,
w i th bar ges com ing i n on t i l e sou th coast
between I Iat ter y A o]) Peacock Poi n t and
t i l e I I ann :~-T M F-211 posi t i on . Dev-
er eux sai d after th e w ar that , he bel ieved
a l and i ng took pl ace at th i s poi n t , bu t the
I I l at ter never has been confi r med. $ ome
.Jalml ~ese accou] l ts , i ncl l l d i ug those of
Capt ai n K oyam a an d a cor r espon den t,”
m en ti on a l an di l~g “n ear t he sou th east t ip
of Wake” to over r un Bat ter y A, wh i ch
n l ust l ~a ve been l ’el ~~eu l ber ed f rom t he a c-
t i ol ~ of 11 I )ecen~ber -especi al ly by m en
in the cr u i ser J ’vbar i. 13u t Captai n K o-
ya n] a a l so i l ~si st ed t h at t l ~e ,J a pa nese m a de
on l y t \ vo bar ge l al ~d i l ~gs w i th a. total of
f ou r barges. .~u d t hese a r e accol m ted f or
140 I ’E .\ RL H .\ I {R OR TO G U .kI ).\ LC AN.kL
euen l y for ce i n the t r ial lg]e. And fr on l
t her e t he .T apan ese t hr et r ten ed t he en ti r e
ei lst el ’11 r i m of t il e at ol l . I k t ter y E was
n ow r ecei vi ng l igh t m or tar an d l ol l g-r xl lge
n lach il ~e-gu n t ir e, an d B at ter y .~ l i kew ise
began to r ecei ve enemy m or tar f i r e.” I n
t he face of th is, Capt ai n Rar ni nger ar mecl
al ong t i l e r oad , bl l t t i l e enen l y now at -
tem pte(l to i nf i lt r ate ar ound t i l e st r ol l s
poi n t . M c:i na]l y con tar tecl another n~:b
ch in e gu n posi ti m~ son ~e 400 yal ’d s t o t i le
sou th on t il e atol l ’s f3ilSt sh or e, an d t hese
two sect i ons al ter nated i n fi r i ng at the’
enemy.
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l ~i s r an ge sect ion w it h t wo .30 cal iber n ]:l -
ch i ne gu]~s and for m ed an i n fan tr y m l t -
post l i ne on the l ~i gl ~ gr ound beh i nd hi s
5 -i n ch gu n s.
T he enemy f i r e agai nst B at ter y E
seem ed to com e fr om the th i ck br ush o]~
t i le other si de of a]] i nl et sou thwest of the
bat ter y posi t i on . I )i r ect 3-i nch fi r e i n to
t hi s xr ea si len ced on e au tom at i c w eapon ,bu t t hi s di cl n ot seem t o ease t il e pr essl lr e
much. L i eu tenan t L ew i s then sent i ~
pat r ol of appr oxi matel y 10 m en under
,Ser ~ean t Raym on C~r agg t o i nvest igat e.
Gr agg went ou t to t i l e r oad nor th of the
ai rst r i ])l and l )at r ol led to the sout l ~west
al ong th i s l o:l d . Wi t l l i l l 50 yar ds of t l ~e
bat ter y Gr agg’s l x~t r ol r an i l i to heavy
.J a pa l~ ese t i r e w l ~i cl l f ol ’ced t l w l fa ri l ~es t o(l epl o-y. .I nswer i ng t i l e euwny fi r e, the
pat rol h el d h er e u nt il t he su rr en der .
At about 0430 the .50 cal iber nm ch i ne-
gw n sect i on at t il e east en d of t he ai rst r ip,
T hi s .J apanese for ce pr obabl y w as the
Zt ([ya unit . T h i s r ei n for ced com pany
evi den t l y i nf i lt r ated beh i nd the Putnam -
H annz posi ti on at the 3-i nch gun wh i le t i le
U ch i d{t co~ np at i y r em ai n ed n ear t he bea rl l
to deal w i th that weapon whi ch had fi r ed
on the pat r ol cr aft . T he enemy at f i r st
h ad t rol lbl e ]ocat in g M c.?M m ]l y’s gL m sec-
t i on , bl l t befor e dayl i gh t they wer e al la r ou n d t h e p osi t i on . M c.L n a ll y’s n l en con -
t i n ued t o ] l ol d , h ow -ev er , a nd t h e cor p or a l ’s
r epor ts to I )ever eux gave the major h i s
on l y l ink w ith t i le act i on sou th of t i le con l -
n la ncl post .
By 0500, a hal f hour befor e dawn, i t
w as cl ear t hat t he J apan ese h ad a su per i or
for ce. f i rm ly establ ished on the atol l, and
t hat t he en em y w as fr ee t o i nf il tr at e al m ost
at w i l l ar ound and between the i sol ated
posi t i ons of the defender s. At th i s t i me
Com mander Cunn i ngham sent h i s m es-
sage, ‘t En em y on i sl an d i ssu e i n d ou bt .>’ 23
-— ... .-—141H E FALL OK }\ .%K Yj
hal f of the 200 defender s had to r em ai n at
Bat ter i es A and E, and another 15 M a-
r ines m anned m ach i ne guns and sear ch-
l igh ts at H eel Poi nt w her e t he i sl an d’s en st
leg cr ooks towar d Camp Two. T1l us On lY
abou t 85 m en cou ld oppose t he en em y l an d-
i ng for ce, an d h al f of th ese w er e nm cl li ne-
T hi s w as r epu lsed by cl ose-i n f i gh ti ng w it h
submachi ne guns and gr enades, bu t the
,J apan ese cam e back agai n at daw n. T hi s
t i me the enem y m ade a shout i ng bayonet
char ge agai nst , the M ar i nes, bu t agai n
K li ewer and h i s men, now ai ded by the .50
cal i ber mach i ne guns at the west end of
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gu n cr ew m en . M ar ines ser vi ng as r if l e-
m en agai nst the enemy on Wake I sl and
n um ber ed bet ween 40 an d 45.
When Cunn i ngham sent hi s message,
M ajor Putnam st i l l hel d the posi t i on
a r ou n d H a n na J s .ggn , bu t t h e ,J a pa nese n ow -
had these M ar ines sur rounded. H er e. the
defen der s h ad su st ai ned a nu mber of cas-
ual t i es, i ncl ud i ng the death of Captai nElrod.z4 Camp One al so cont i nued to
hol d , and L ieu tenant Poi ndexter had r e-
j oi ned h is sm al l m obi le r eser ve for ce near
the r oad junct i on west of the ai r st r i p.
T her e at f i r st d aw n t he M ar i nes w er e t ak en
under heavy fi r e f r om the br ush off thei r
l eft (nor th ) f l ank. L i gh t m or tar shel l s
began to fal l ar ou nd th e gu n posi ti ons, an d
on e of t he .30 cal iber w eapon s w as pu t ou t
of act i on. I n danger of bei ng out f l anked
her e, Poi ndexter or der ed a w i thdr awal to
Cam p One w her e h e w oul d con sol idate for
t he. a ir st r ip, m an aged t o h al t t he a tt ack .
E nem y pr essu re agai nst M cA nal ly’s m a-
ch in e-gu n posi ti on east of t he ai r st ri p al so
i ncr eased dur ing the hour befor e dawn.
T he M ar i ne str ong poi n t now had been
l ocated , and the defender s wer e under
heavy xt t ack by sm al l-ar ms f i re an d gr en-
ades. M cAnal l y’s gunner s al r eady had
broken LI p a n umber of en emy rushes by
h oldin g t heir fire unt il it w ould be most
effect ive, but t hese 10 men could not ex-
pect t o hold out for long a ga inst t he
rein forced compa n y opposin g t h em.
This w a s clea r a lso t o D evereux a t t he
comma nd post , a nd a t 0530 h e direct ed
lI n jor P ot t er, w h o unt il now ’ ha d a ssisted
in t h e comma nd post , t o a ssemble every
l~ ea dq ua rt ers, service, supply , or ca sua l
~ ~ a r in e in t h e comma n d post a ~ a , includ-
ing (Xorpora l G ra ves$ det a ched squa d from
~ ~ a t t ery ~ j a nd t o form a fina l defensi~ ’e
142 P EARL H .4RB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
t r y25 a tt ack . Cn less h e w as t o l ose t hese
per sonnel , M ajor Dever eux had no al ter -
nat i ve bu t to pu l l them back . Th i s he d i d
shor t l y after 0600, when M cAnal l y was
or der ed to ~vi t.h dr aw n or th war d an d joi n
M aj or Pot t er ’s l in e.
After Captai n Godbol d’s r eser ve for ce
M eanw hi le Secon d L i eu tenan t Rober t
W. Gr eel ey h ad r each ed t he com man d post
w i th the fi r st 20 men fr om Batter y D .
T her e M ajor Pot ter , t r yi ng to pi ece out
and extend h i s spar se l i ne to the r i ght
(w est ), d i rect ed t hat t he r ei nf or cem en ts be
pl aced on t hat f l an k ar ou nd t he ed ge of t he
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l ef t P eal e I sl an d, F i r st L i eu ten an t K essl er
becam e comm ander ther e si nce h i s Bat-
ter y B was al l that r em ai ned on the i sl and .
I n the l i ght of dawn K essl er cou l d see on
Wi lkes a l in e of .T apan ese fl ags acr oss t he
center of t i l e i sl and , and a l ar ge enemy
fl ag w avi ng fr om t he appr oxi m at e posi ti on
of M ar i ne C~unner M cK instr yk pr ovi -
si onal 13at ter y F. Th i s he r epor ted toM aj or D ever eu x, w ho cou ld on ly con cl ud e
that Wi l kes, wh i ch had been si l en t si nce
abou t 0300~ h ad sh ar ed t he f ~t e w hi ch n ow
appear ed i mm in en t for Wake I sl an d.
Above the br ush znd sl i gh t r i se of
gr ou nd w hi ch t opped t he w est , l eg of Wak e
I sl and , K essl er cou l d al so see the super -
st r uctu r e of Patr ol Cr aft 39. obser vi ng
that the sh i p appear ed i n tact , K essl er at0600 r equ est ed M a jor D ever eu x’s p er n li s-
si on to fi r e on i t . Al though the l i ne of
f i re an d i nt er ven in g par ti al m ask 2em ad e
t hi s h aza rd ou s, t he r equ est w as a pp roved ,
cl ear ing or igi nal ly dozed out to pr epar e
for the nor th -south l eg of the ai r st r i p.
Captai n Godbol d ar r i ved w i th other r e-
i nfor cem en ts at abou t 0700,27 an d th ese
men joi ned those al r eady emplaced by
Gr eel ey. T hi s l ine now tur ned to the r igh t
(nor th ) to r efuse the f l ank al ong the edge
of th e cl ear ing. Pot ter ’s l ine, now con-
tai n i ng about the equ i val en t of a r i f l epl atoon , thus extended fr om near the
beach , acr oss the two r oads south of the
CP, and to the ai r st r i p cl ear i ng wher e i t
made a nor thwar d tu r n . Thus a gap of
appr oxi m at el y 450 yar ds exi st ed bet ween
the sk i r m i sh l i ne and the shor e of the
l agoon. T h i s gap the defender s wou l d
at tem pt to cover by fi r e.
By dayl ight the atol l defender s cou l d
make out the l ar ge task for ce wh i ch sup-
por ted the l andi ng oper at i ons. T her e
wer e then 13 shi ps at var ious posi ti ons
ar ound the i sl and (the four cr u i ser s of
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TH E FALL OF WAK E 145
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146
of the bel eaguer ed m en cm (;L Iu 9. F r om
t hem h e l ear n ed t ha t t he en em y w er e bn i l d-
i ng u p pr essu r e t o ext en d t hei r beach head
far ther i n l ancl . At about WOO Captai n
I ’l at t m oved out to the Gun 11 posi t i on
near the beach, and fr om ther e he cr ept
t h r ou gh t h e b r ush t o a ~’:l n t agel ~ oi l ~ tex stof ~I L 1n10. I t was now abou t 0500, ancl
J ?E AR L H AR ROR TO G l_’.kD AL C.4NAL
der ed h i s l i ne to open fi r e. On e en em y
w as k i ll ed an d th e oth er s sought cover be-
h i nd a l ar ge cor al r ock near the beach .
M c.%l i ster ’s m en con t i nued to f i r e i n to
th i s ar ea to keep the .J apanese pi nned
down wh i l e Gunner M cK i nst r y and Pr i -
vate F i r st Cl ass ~Vi l l i am (’. H al stead
wor ked thei r way ou t to th i s r ock and fi n -
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Pl at t d eci ded qu ick l y th athem ust m oun t
a cou ]l ter zt t ack i f th e ,J apan ese w er e to be
pr even ted fr om stagi ng dayl igh t at tacks
w hi ch ~ vou ld en abl e t hem t o over r un GL U 19
and spr ead out i n to the i n ter i or of the
is land.
H e hur ri ed back to Gun 10 and or der ecl
l ’l atoon Ser gean t Raym ond L . C’ou l sonto r ound up the .30 cal iber m ach i ne-gun
(*r ews ancl sear ch l i gh t per sonnel fr om
K nku Poi n t , pl us anyone el se he cou l d
1ay hol d of, and assem bl e them at Gun 10
for the coun ter at tack . I n 2,5 m i nutes
Cou l son was back w i th the two m ach i ne-
gun cr ews ancl ei ght r i f l em en-about a
sq{m d i n al 1. ‘1’hese m en the capt ai u l ed
back thr ough the under br ush towar d the
,J apa nese.
‘1’h e M ar in es cr ept an d cr aw led to w it h-
i n 50 yar c]s of th e ,J apanese. Pl at t th en
pl aced h is t wo m ach in e gu ns on each f l an k
i sh ed of t t he r est of th e pat r ol .
M et i nwh i l e Pl at t ’s coun ter at tack had
su r pr ised the other f l ank of the penet r a-
t i on , and the J apanese at that poi n t wer e
i n t r ou bl e. Obvi ou sl y t hey h ad expect ed
no opposi t i on fr om the west , and thei r
l i gh t m ach i ne guns had been si gh ted for
f i r e t o t he ea st agai nst t he M c.k li st er -M c-
K in st r y l in e. Pl at t ’s at tack car ri ed the
M ar i nes i n to the for m er posi t i on of I lat -
ter y F , and the J apan ese w er e dr iven back
towar d the beach and towar d the M ar i ne
defen se l ine by the i sl an d r oad.
I t w as now dayl i gh t , ancl M c.i l i ster
cou l d see th i s M ar i ne at tack on the far
si d e of t he ,J a pa nese p osi t ion . When h i s
m en fi n i shed m oppi ng up the enem y
i ~~ou l id th e r ock n ear th e beach, th e l ieu -
t en an t gat her ed 24 M a ri nes i nt o a sk ir m ish
l i ne of h i s own and l aunched a counter -
at t:l ck fr om h is si de of th e bat tl ef i el d. T he
TH E FAI ,I , OF WAK E 147
thei r fr on t l ines. T wo wounded J apanese
w er e capt ur ed . T he ot her fou r J apan ese—
i f the T al cano un i t actual l y i ncl uded an
even 100—wer e not accounted for . M a-
r ines found sever al smal l m aps of Wake
i n the ef fects of the dead J apanese, al ~d
M ar i ne posi ti on s w er e m ar ked accu rat el y
act i on agai nst the M ar i nes sudden l y
ceased.
Pl at t moved the m en for war d agai n i n a
d i sper sed for m at i on , and near the ol d
ch an nel h e saw t hr ee m en advan ci ng fr om
the other d i rect i on . T wo w er e obvi ousl y
M ar ines, Pl at t deci ded , bu t the fi gur e i n
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on these m aps. The photogr aph i c m i s
si ons over the atol l had obvi ousl y pai d of f
wel l .
B y 0800 Capt ai n Pl at t h ad r eor gm ized
h i s Wi l kes defender s, and he agai n t r ied
to establ ish con tact w ith Wake I sl and . H e
w as abl e t o con tact t he m otor pool at Can lp
One wher e Poi ndexter ’s for ce had nmn-
aged to hol d thr oughout the ni ght , bu the cou]d not g-et thr ough to Dever eux I t
the defense bat tal ion (3P. At about noon
t he m en on W il kes obser ved J a pa nese l an d-
i ng boat s h ead ed f or ~$r ak eI sl an d an d sev -
er n l sh i ps appr oach i ng towar d Wi l kes
channel . Pl at t or der ed M cAl li ster to get
h i s 5-i nch guns i nto act i on agai nst these
vessel s, bu t the gun cr ews found that the
~v ea pon s w er e beyon d u se. T he t rai ni ngm ech an ism on Gu n 1 w as w recked , an cl th e
Gun 2 r ecoi l cyl inder had been r iddl ed by
bomb f ragmen t s.
Wi lkes h ad been un der at tack by t he d ive
t he r ear w as a ,J apan ese off i cer ar m ed w it h
a l ar ge swor d . The captai n m oved for -
w ar d an d soon r ecogn i zed M a jor D ever eu x
who tol d h im that the i sl and had been
surrendered. I t was then shor t l y af ter
1330. Pl at t ’s for ce d i d not get a chance
to hel p i n the t i ght i ng on Wake I sl and , bu t
i t h ad gi ven sL ~cha good accou nt of i tsel f
i n ear l ier act ion t hat a J apan ese off icer w asl )r om pted l ater to m ake th i s est im ate of
th e Wi lkes fi ght in g: “I n gen er al , th at par t
of t he oper at ion w as n ot su ccessf ul .;’ 3’
T l i E ,vL ’l L ’RK :T Z)K 12 .I .V D A FT ER
Pr i or to m ovi ng down the r oad towar d
th e J apan ese, w ho w er e st il l r ecei vi ng d e-
t er mi ned sm al l-ar ms fi re fr om th e few M a-
r ines south of the comm and post , M ajorI )ever eu x passecl w or d of t he su rr en der t o
al l nn i t s i n com muni cat i on w i th h i s com -
m and post . T hese wer e Bat ter i es A and
E on Wake I sl and , Bat ter y B on Peal e,
148 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD .4LC ANAL
r esu lts, t he fi r i ng l ock s w er e r em oved an d
sm ash ed , an d gr enad es w er e r ol led dow n
t he m uzzl es to expl od e i nsi de an d d am age
t he r i fl i ng. .411 el ect ri cal f i r e con tr ol d at a
r ecei ver s wer e sm ashed, el ect r ic cabl es
chopped up, and the bat ter y com mander
f i r ed t wen ty r ou nd s of .45 cal i ber am m un i-
he and M al l eck wal ked on towar d the
,J apan ese.
N ear t he h ospi tal D ever eu x an d t he ser -
geau t w er e h al ted by a J apan ese r i f l em an
w l~o mot i oned for them to th r ow down
t l ~ei r ar ms an d h el mets. T hen t he sol di er
took them to the hospi tal wher e the ,J ap-
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t ion th rou gh th e d el icat e opt ical an d el ec-
t r o-m ech al li cal par ts of t he hei gh t f i nd er
an d d ir ect or . After com pl et i ng these
m ea su r es, L i eu ten an t L ew i s assem bl ed t he
m en of B at ter y E and m ar ched them under
a wh i te f l ag to the bat tal i on com mand
post.
At Bat ter y A, the 5-i nch fi r i ng l ocks
wer e br oken and bur ied , and al l gun tel e-scopes smashed. The r ange keeper was
damaged beyond r epai r . A fter that a
wh i te f l ag was r un up, and L ieu tenant
B ar ni nger or der ed hi s m en to eat as m uch
as t hey cou ld h ol d. H e then hel d h i s m en
on the posi ti on to aw ai t ar r i val of the J ap-
an ese. E lsew her e, t he h ar d-pr essed r i fl e-
m en st ri pped th e bol ts fr om t hei r r i f l es an d
fl ung them i nto the br ush .I t w as af ter 0800 befor e al l th is h ad been
at tended to, and the r if l e f i r e of Pot ter ’s
l i ne w as st il l cover i ng t he f in al oper at ion s
anese al r eady wer e i n char ge. They had
ki l l ed one pat i en t and wounded another
w hi le capt ur i ng t he h ospi tal , an d n ow t hey
h ad al l t he pat ien ts ou tsi de t ru ssed u p w it h
t el eph on e w ir e. Com m an der (h nn in g-
] l am Ar r i ved by tr uck wh i le Dever eux was
expl ai n i ng h i s m i ssi on to an Engl i sh -
sp ea ki n g t J ap an ese of fi cer , a nd t he M a r in e
m ajor tur ned over h i s sur render du t i es tot he i sl an d com m an der . A < J ap an ese of fi cer
then escor ted Dever eux and M al leck for -
war d to pass the sur r ender or der to M a-
r i ne un i ts on the west l eg of Wake I sl and
and on Wi lkes I sl and .
T hey found the VM F-211 r if l em en and
H auna’s un i t st i l l hol d i ng ar ound the
3-i nch gun i n spi te of con t i nu i ng effor ts
by the ,J apanese. T he J apanese, unabl et o ad van ce, h ad t ak en u p posi ti on s beh in d
n ear by pl an e r evet men ts, an d t he fi gh ti ng
l ~er e was a dead l ock. Captai n T har in w as
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152 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
over m uch of the bat t l e, bu t he al so-and
per haps m or e i mpor tan t t o th is case—be-
cam e u navoi dabl y d ecei ved as t o t he pr og-
r ess of the si tuat i on . I n i gnor ance of
w hat happened on Wi lkes or at Cam p One,
h e su r mi sed t hat al l w as l ost i n t hose ar eas.
B ur ied tel ephone l ines an d r el iabl e f i el d
t i onal . Enem y d i ve bomber s on 23 De-
cem ber h ad com p l et el y d i sa b-l ed on e 5-i n ch
bat ter y (Wi l kes) and l ar gel y dest r oyed
t he fi re con tr ol i nst ru men ts of th e r em ai n-
i ng two. Wi thou t ai rpl anes, f i re con t r ol
i nst ru men ts, r ad ar , spar e par ts, an d per -
son nel t o br i ng t he d efen se t o fu ll st ren gt h
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r ad i os w ou l d have pr evented th i s fai lu r e
of com muni cat i on , an d the sur render de-
ci si on wou l d not have been m ade at that
par ti cu l ar stage of the act i on . T he Wake
gar ri son , however , had nei ther the per -
sonnel to di g by hand, nor the mach i ner y
to di g by m echan i cal m eans, the m any
m i l es of d i t ches wh i ch wou l d have been
n ecessar y t o bu r y t he t el eph on e l in es.
P er h aps on e. of t he f un da men ta l r eason s
for the state of the Wake defenses
st em med fr om th e fact t hat base d evel op-
m ent had consi sten t l y r ecei ved pr ior i ty
over defense pr epar at i ons. T hat the de-
fen si ve i nst al l at ion s w er e i n as good a con -
d i t i on as they wer e when the J apanese
st ru ck m ay be cr ed it ed t o t he tr em en dou s
ef for ts of th e sm al l M ar in e gar r i son .
A ll th in gs tak en i nto accou nt , h ow ever ,
the deci si on to sur render Wake was r ea-
sonabl e, especi al ly when consi der ed i n
Wake cou l d not car r y on . T he on l y
answer was sur r ender . T h i s took pl ace
f i fteen days af ter the i ni ti al at tack , an d i t
was el even hour s af ter the fi gh t i ng com -
m en ced on sh or e befor e Wi lk es I sl an d su r-
rendered.
Dur i ng th i s per i od the M ar i nes sus-
tai ned al most . 20 per cen t casu al ti es, bu t
they exacted a heavy tol l fr om the J ap-
anese. N ear l y 500 enemy had been l ost
i n the abor ti ve l and i ng at tem pt of 11 De-
cem ber , the defender s on Wi l kes I sl and
accou nt ed for n ear ly 100 i n t hei r d efeat of
t he T ah mn o unit, a nd Poi n dext er cou nt ed
appr oxi mat el y 80 en em y bod ies du ri ng h is
mor ni ng at tack fr om Cam p One. Gi ve the
H anna-VM F-211 posi t i on cr ed i t for atl east 20 mor e k i l l s, and th i s wou l d br i ng
the Wake total to 700 enem y. Other s m ust
have l ost thei r l ives on Wake I sl and l and-
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PART W
M ar ines i n the Ph i l i ppi nes
CHAPTER 1
China and Luzon
I n the fi r st few months after Pear l H ar - I -”’ ..-. ,– .- ., . – ,.uacue nas Iascea ro r aDouL mree mont n s a s com-
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bor , i t seem ed that noth i ng cou l d stop the
J apanese. One by one, the wester n ou t -
posts i n t he F ar E ast w er e over wh el med.
A l l i ed gr ound t r oops, i n desper atel y un-
equ al con t est s, w er e f or ced t o r et r ea t, f i gh t ,
and r et r eat agai n ; at sea and i n the ai r
the pi t i fu l l y few sh i ps and pl anes whi ch
had sur vi ved the i n i t i al onsl aught wer e
hoar ded agai nst the sur ety of fu r ther en-
emy advances. A gr im hol d i ng bat t l e was
joi ned al ong a l ine pr otect i ng Aust r al ia
an d N ’ew Z eal and an d th ei r Sou th Paci fi c
l i fel i ne to the States. Yet , despi te i ts
st rat egi c i m por tan ce, t hi s vi tal d efen si ve
act i on gave fi r st pl ace i n the news to the
ou tcom e of a h opel ess st r uggl e h un dr ed s of
m i l es beh i nd the enemy’s for war d posi -tions.
For alm ost f i ve months, two names—
B ataan and Cor regi dor —dom inated the
head l i nes, tak i ng fi r e i n the m inds of the
pa red w it h our speedy vict or ies in Ma la ya , D ut ch
E a st I ndies, a nd ot her a rea s in t he P hilippines.
As t he Ant i-Axis pow ers propa ga ndize a bout this
ba t t le a s bein g a uniquely hopeful ba t t le a n d t he
first st ep t ow a rd even t ua l vict ory , t he rest of
t h e w orld ha s con cent ra ted upon t h e progress of
t he ba tt le t act ics on t his sma ll penin sula . H ence,
t he vict ories of t hese opera tion s do not only mea n
t h e suppression of t h e P hilippin es, but w ill a lso
h a ve a bea rin g upon t he E nglish a nd America nsa nd t heir a tt it ude t ow ard cont inuing t he vva r.1
L i eu tenan t Gener al M asah ar u H om ma
w as r i gh t: the ou tcom e of the bat t l e d i d
have a d i r ect bear ing on the .411i ed at t i -
tude towar d vi gor ous pur su i t of the war .
Per haps i n no i nst an ce si nce th e defense
of t he .41am o st i rr ed A m er i ca ns i n an ot her
cen tu r y d i d an unsuccessfu l bat t l e car ry
w ith in i ts w agi ng and i ts en di ng t he sou rceof so m uch n at ion al pr id e an d d ed icat ion.
T H E AH AD O W OF TJ T AR2
156 P EARL H ARB OR TO G IJ AD AL C ANAL
Depar tm ent , wh i ch had r equested th i s
m ove, fol l owed thr ough w i th a d i rect i %r e
or gan i zi ng a new comm and, ~T Si4FFE
(U n i ted States Ar my For ces i n the Far
E ast ), w hi ch i ncl uded al l Am er ican Ar my
and Com monw eal th t r oops i n th e Ph i li p-
pi nes. T o head U SAFFE the Ar m ycal led ou t of r et i rem ent i ts for mer ch ief of
T he d i vi si ons had never oper ated as such
i n fi el d m aneuver s and wer e scant i ly pr o-
vi ded w ith ar ms an d equ i pm ent .. I n or der
to m old an effect i ve fi gh t i ng for ce fr om
the Ph i l i ppi ne Ar my, M acAr thur needed
just abou t ever yth i ng i n the m il itar y sup-
pl y catal ogs, bu t m ost of al l he neededt im e—ti me for t rai ni ng, t i me for m at er iel
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st aff , Gen er al M acA rth ur , w ho h ad ser ved
as M i l i t ar y .4d vi sor t o t he Com m on weal th
Gover nm ent si nce 1935. H e was gi ven
r an k as a l ieu ten an t gen er al an d w ith ch ar -
act er i st ic en er gy t ack led t he en or m ou s j ob
of pu t t i ng the Ph i l i ppi nes i n to a state of
r ea di n ess a ga in st a tt ack .
T he bu l k of U SAFFE ’S tr oop str ength
was dr awn fr om the Ph i l i ppi ne Ar my
whi ch was, i n J ul y 1941, an ar my i n name
on l y. I t consi sted of the i sl ands’ pol i ce
f or ce, t he 6,000-m an Ph il i ppi ne Con st ab-
u l ar y, a token ai r for ce and i nshor e naval
pat r ol , and ten ter ri tor ial r eser ve d i vi s-
i ons. Si nce the star t of the Com m on-
w eal th % d efen se tr ai ni ng pr ogr am i n 1936
abou t 110,000 F il ipi nos h ad r ecei ved a f ew
m onths of basi c m il i tar y i nstr uct i on , bu t
m ost of t hese r eser vi st s h ad n o exp er i en ce
w ith cr ew-ser ved weapons and on l y r ud i -
an d m en to r each the Ph i li ppi nes fr om the
U n i ted S ta tes.
T he i nst r uctor s and cadr es need ed for
t r ai ni ng the Ph i li ppi ne .4r my w er e dr aw n
fr om the, Constabu l ar y and the r egu l ar
Ar my un i ts avai l abl e to U S.4FFE. M ost
of the 22,000 U . S. Ar my tr oops i n the
i sl ands wer e ser vi ng i n Coast Ar ti l l er yr egim ents, the Ar my .4i r Cor ps, or the
Ph il i ppi ne D ivi si on , sol e r egu lar i nfan tr y
d i vi si on i n the i sl ands. Over h al f of these
m en wer e m em ber s of cr ack Ph i l i ppi ne
S cou t u n i ts.s T h e r egu lar s su ff er ed , t oo,
f r om a gen er al l ack of u p-t o-d at e w eapon s
an d equ ipm en t,4 bu t t hey w er e w el l t rai ned
to use what they had.
T he T t’ar Depar tm ent suppor ted M ac-
Ar thur ’s r equests for add i ti onal t r oops
an d su ppl ies t o t he fu ll est exten t possi bl e
i n l igh t of the countr y’s wor ld -w i de com -
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C H I NA AND LU ZONT 159
t i on of concr ete bl ockhouses on al l r oads
l ead ing ou t of Sh an ghai .
B oth t he M ad ison an d H ar ti ~on needed
to be conver ted to t r oop use after thei r
ar r ival at Shangh ai , an {d t he fi rst sh ip w as
not r eady unt i l 27 N ovember . By 1600
that date, the M adi son w i th hal f the r egi -
ment and hal f i t s equ i pment on boar d
the r i ver wer e al i ve w i th f l ag-wavi ng
Ch inese as a power l i gh ter took the M a-
r i nes downst r eam to thei r sh i p. At 1400
the H ar ri son weighed anchor and sai l ed
for the Ph i l i ppi nes, mar k i ng the end of a
col or fu l er a i n M ar i ne an nal s.
AS soon as the H am”son cl ear ed the
Whangpoo Ri ver , mach i ne guns wer e
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sai led for Ol ongapo. Whi le th i s for war d
echel on, the 2d Bat tal i on and hal f of the
Regi mental H eadquar ter s and Ser vi ce
Com pa ni es, w as l oad i ng ou t, a m essage w as
r ecei ved fr om CinCAF to exped i te the
evacuation. E ven t hou gh t he con ver si on
wor k on the Eation w as t hr ee d ays sh or t
of complet i on , the deci si on was made to
cl ear Shanghai the fol low i ng day w i th the
r est of the r egiment and i ts r emain i ng
equipment.
D espi te t he sh or t n ot ice an d t he h ar ass-
i ng tact i cs of the J apanese, 12 the Regi -
m ental R4 and Quar ter m aster , M ajor
Regi nal d H . Ri dgel y, J r., was abl e to l oad
al l or gan izat i on al gear , over 500 t on s, by
1300 on the 28th. At 0900 that mor n i ng,
the r egi ment assem bl ed at the 1st B at ta-
l i on ’s bi l l et , for med up beh i nd i ts band,
an d m ar ch ed d ow n B ubbl ing Wel l-N ank-
ing Roads to the Pr esi den t L ine’s dock on
br oken out and m anned for an t i ai r cr af t
d ef en se, an d bl ack ou t r egu la ti on s w er e p ut
i nt o eff ect .13 F li gh ts of J apan ese ai r cr aft
checked the l i ner r egu l ar l y as i t moved
out i n to the Ch ina Sea, bu t ther e wer e no
i nci dents, and contact was made on the
29t h w i th su bm ar i ne escor t s d i sp at ch ed by
.Adm i r al H ar t . On 30 N ovem ber and 1
Decem ber the two t r anspor ts ar r i ved at
Ol on gapo w her e t he t roops d isem bar ked .
Onl y a few suppl ies wer e unl oaded at the
n av al st at i on , ost en si v el y beca use C in CA F
h ad i ssu ed or der s t hat th e shi ps m ust pass
th r ough the m ine fi el d i n to M an i l a Bay by
n i gh t fal l on the cl ay of ar r i val . Actual ly,
Adm i r al H ar t had gi ven or al or der s to hi s
staff that the M ar i nes wer e to be l anded
w ith f i el d equi pm ent on l y, because i t was
h is i nt en ti on t hat :
. . . t h ey w ould get in t o t he field, nea r Olon-
ga po, a s soon a s t hey could. We [H a rt a nd his
160 P EARL H ARR OR TO G UAD AL C ANAL
r eady too l ate, however , to r escue the
N or th Ch i na M ar ines. T he J apanese war
pl an s h ad been act ivat ed , an d t he car r ier
task for ce th at w ou ld st r ike Pear l H ar bor
was at sea en r ou te to i t s tar get . T he
t r oops, sh i ps, and pl anes that wou l d be
sen t agai nst t he Ph il i ppi nes w er e con cen -
t r ated at For m osa, the Ryukyus, and the
m ach i ne guns and sever al T om m y guns
and BARs had al r eady been br oken out
of thei r cosm ol ine pack i ng. D espi te thei r
cl esper ate si tuat i on the M ar i nes wer e
r ead y t o f i gh t.
H ui zenga and a J apanese captai n hel d
an ar med par ley w her e the l ieu ten an t w asgi ven t i me t o com mu ni cate t o h is su per ior
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Palaus w i th or der s to begi n thei r at tack
on X-Day—8 Decem ber 1941 (M an i l a
T i me) .’5
8 DECEM BER 1941”
When the dawn of the fi r st day of the
Paci fi c War r eached the Ch i na Coast , the
at tack on Pear l H ar bor was over and the
t roops i n t he Ph il ippi nes h ad been al er ted
to thei r danger . At the Ch inwangtao
d ock s, Secon d L i eu ten an t R ich ar d M . H u i-
zenga w as super vi si ng the stockpi li ng of
suppl i es for the expected ar r i val of the
Pr esi den t I ?ar r i son . A t r uck dr i ver
br ought h i m wor d that the r ad i o at h i s
r ai lhead , Cam p H ol com b, w as fu l l of new s
of Pear l H ar bor . A l though the J apanese
m ad e h al f-h ear ted at tem pts t o st op h im on
h i s th r ee-m i l e dr i ve back to the cam p,
H ui zenga was abl e to get th r ough to h i s
at T i en tsi n , M ajor L uther A. B r own, the
en em y’s d em an d t hat h e su rr en der th e d e-
t ach men t. Or der s soon cam e back t o offer
no r esi stance and the M ar i nes wer e
st r i pped of thei r weapons. L ater i n the
day they wer e r etu r ned under J apanese
guar d to the M ar i ne bar r acks at T i en t -
sin.”
T he si tuat i on of the detachm ents at
T i en tsi n and Pei pi ng was sim i l ar to that
of the one at Cam p H ol com b; J apanese
tr oops sur r ounded thei r bar r acks i n
str ength and d em anded thei r sur render .
Si nce t he em bassy gu ar d w as n ot r equ ir ed
to m ain tai n a cont i nuous watch on Cin-
CA F’S com man d” r ad io ci rcu it , ‘8 th e f i rst
w or d t hat th e sen ior M ar in e off i cer , Col o-
nel Wi l l i am W. Ashur st , had of the ou t-
br eak of host i l i ti es cam e fr om the J apa-
nese. H e was gi ven t i l l noon to m ake h i s
C H I NA AND L U ZON 161
Ashurst could h a ve open ed t ire on t he be-
siegers—his men h a d a lrea dy demon -
st ra t ed a t ~ a mp H olcomb tha t t hey w ere
w ill ing t o t a ke on hopeless odds. B ut
t here w a s n o purpose in fight in g if t he en d
result could only be useless bloodsh ed.
I n t h e a bsen ce of in st ruct ions t o t h e con -
t ra ry , C olonel Ashurst t ook t h e on ly sen -
sible course open t o h im a nd order ed his
A cacophony of sound br oke the st i l l -
uess at Ol ongapo w hen the al er t r eached
the naval base at 0350; the bugl er of the
guar d bl ew “Cal l to Ar ms ;“ the steam
w hi st le at t he pow er pl an t bl ast ed a r ecal l
si gnal to PBY cr ewm en; and the sh i p’s
bel l at the main gate cl anged cont i nu-
ousl y.” Compan i es im med iatel y mus-
ter ed i n f r ont of thei r wooden bar racks
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men to l ay down thei r ar m s. A str ong
possi bi l i t y exi sted that i f no r esi stance
was offer ed the em bassy guar ds w ou l d be
consi der ed par t of the di pl om at i c en tou-
rage, en t i t l ed to r epatr i at i on . As the
i ni ti al t r eatm ent of the M ar ines was r el a-
t i vel y m il d and they r epeatedl y r ecei ved
i nfor mal assur ances fr om the J apanese
that they wou l d be exchanged, few at-
t em pt ed escape. J JT hen these r um or s
pr oved fal se, the oppor tun i t y had
passed.lg
By the t i me Ashur st ’s r epor t of h i s de-
ci si on to sur r ender r eached H ar t i n M a-
n i l a, the Phi l i ppi nes wer e i n the th i ck of
the war . T he fi r st news of the J apanese
at tack was pi cked up at 0257 by a r ad i o
oper ator at Ci nC.4F H eadquar ter s who,
r ecogni zi ng the techni que of the sender ,
vouched for the r el i abi l i t y of the now
and i n the str eets of ten t ar eas and wer e
put to wor k set t i ng up mach i ne guns for
an ti ai rcr aft defen se and di ggi ng i nd ivi d-
ual pr otect i ve hol es. Col on el H ow ar d
i n i t i ated the fi r st m oves i n what was to be
a hect i c per iod of r ed i sposi ng, r eor gan-
i zi ng, an d r ei nfor ci ng t he r egi men t w hi ch
l ast ed t hr ou gh ou t t he m on th of D ecem ber .
When the 4th M ar i nes ar r i ved fr om
Shan ghai i ts st r ength stood at 44 off i cer s
a nd w ar r an t of fi cer s an d ’728 en l ist ed m en ;
or ga ni c n ava l m ed i cal per son nel r ai sed t he
total st r ength to 804. The r egiment “had
been per mi tted to dw i ndl e by at t r i t i on” 22
i n Chi na so that i t consi sted onl y of H ead-
qu ar ter s Com pan y, Ser vi ce Com pan y, an d
t wo ba tt al i on s—t he ba tt al i on s sh or t on e of
thei r r if l e com pan i es and the com pan i es
each sh or t on e of t hei r t hr ee r i fl e pl at oon s.
B y u t i li zi ng the m em ber s of the r egi men-
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CH INA AND LU ZON 165
fen se of th e i sl and nor th of L ingayen Gul f
and was of necessi t y spr ead so th i n that
i t cou l d of fer n o ef fect iv e r esi st a nt e.
T he sam e si tuat i on hel d t r ue i n sou th-
er n L uzon w her e th e d efen di ng for ces, tw o
Ph i l i ppi ne Ar m y d i vi si ons, were com-
pl et el y u nabl e t o cover al l possi bl e l an di ng
beach es. On 12 D ecem ber , w hen a J apan -ese convoy car ryi ng th e ad vance assau lt
detachm en t of the 16th D i vi si on , staged
ar m or pl ate to pr event penet r at i on .)’ 38
T he enem y at tacked agai n on the 13th ,
th is t i me bom bin g fr om al ti tu des beyond
the r ange of the M ar i ne au tom at i c
weapons. T he few h i ts scor ed wer e al l i n
the town of Ol ongapo; ther e was no dam -
age to the naval stat i on and on l y a few
M ar ine casual t i es. T he F i l i pi nos who i g-nor ed th e ai r r ai d w ar ni ng suffer ed heav-
i l y; a bomb hi t r i gh t i n the m i dst of a
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f r om t he Pal au s, r each ed L egaspi i n sou th -
easter n L uzon , ther e was noth ing to op-
pose thei r l and i ng. T he t r oops wer e
a sh or e, h ad t ak en t hei r a ir fi el d obj ect ive,
and wer e m oving nor th by n i ght fal l . I n
a ll t her e w er e l ess t ha n 10,000 en em y t r oop s
ashor e at th i s t i m e, but they had beh i ndthem the r est of the Fou r teenth Arm y and
com mand of the SeL Land ai r to i nsur e i ts
a r ri va l on sch ed ul e.
T he heavy ai r at tacks of the 8th and
10th were on l y har bi nger s of fu r ther
a er i al a ssa ul ts. Rei n for ced by Ar m y
fi gh ter s and bomber s oper at i ng fr om
n ew ly-sei zed ai r fi el ds, t he n aval pl an es of
t he F or m osa-based l ?l eu en th AiT FZeetsp rea d ou t ov er L u zon seek in g n ew t ar get s.
T he f i r st tu r n of Ol ongapo and the 4th
M ar i nes cam e on 12 December , the day
that mar ked the end of effect i ve U ’. S. ai r
l ar ge gr oup of townspeopl e who wer e
‘(stand ing un der a t r ee w atch ing the per -
f or m a nce,” 3 7ki l l i ng 22 and woundi ng at
l east as m any m or e. Al though al ar m s
w er e fr equ en t t her eaft er , t he J apan ese d id
not at tack agai n un t i l the 19th and then
thei r ai m was bad and they l i ber al l ypl ast er ed t he bay w it h bom bs.
Du r i ng th i s per iod , wh i l e the or i gi nal
J apan ese l an di ng for ces w er e ad van ci ng
t ow ar d M a ni la, t op-l evel d iscu ssi on s w er e
hel d between H ar t and M acAr thur and
thei r staf fs r egar di ng em pl oym ent of the
4th M ar i nes.’s On 2’0 Decem ber , M ac-
Ar thur for mal l y r equested that the r egi -
m ent be assi gned to h i s com mand “as de-vel opm ents of the N avy pl an can m ake i t
a va i l ab le.” 3 g Adm i r al H ar t concu r r ed
and d i r ected H owar d to r epor t to
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170 PE ARL H A RR OR T O Gu AD AL CA NA L
m ach i ne guns and a bat ter y of four 3-i nch
gu ns t ak en fr om Cavi te t o th e an ti ai rcr af t
defenses, bu t the pr imar y funct i on of the
bat tal i on was now that of i n fan t r y. I t
w as r eor gan ized an d r e-equ ipped a t M a ri -
vel es t o fi l l t he r ol e of t he m issi ng bat tal i on
of the 4th M ar ines; the for mal change of
t i t l e to 3d Bat tal i on , 4th M ar i nes cam eon 1 J an uar y.
Wi th the except i on of B at ter i es A and
to som e m en w as the vi si on of a Gi br al tar ,
and they tal ked know i ngl y of the (non-
exi st en t ) i nt ri cat e u nd er gr ou nd syst em of
defenses.54
At 080029 Decem ber , Col onel H ow ar d
r epor ted to Gener al M oor e for or der s as
F or t M i l l s’ beach d efen se com man der an d
t hen st ar ted ou t t o m ak e a r econ nai ssan ce
of the i sl and . H i s men, tem por ar i l y
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C and the r adar detachm ent of Adams’
bat tal ion wh i ch r em ai ned on Bataan , the
whol e of the 4th M ar i nes m oved to Cor -
r egi d or i n su ccessi ve ech el on s on t h e n i gh t s
of 27 and 28 Decem ber . Enough r at i ons
for 2,000 m en for si x m onths, ten un i ts
of f i r e for al l weapons, two year s suppl yof sum m er khak i , and the med i ci nes and
equ ipm en t t o ou tf i t a 100-bed h ospi tal ac-
com pan i ed the m ove. F or tunatel y, the
Qu ar ter m ast er , M a jor Ri dgel y, d isper sed
t hese su ppl i es i n sm al l , scat ter ed d um ps as
th ey ar r ived an d th ey em er ged r el at i vel y
u nscat hed fr om t he f i rst J apan ese ai r r ai d
on Cor reg i dor .
M any of the M ar i nes i n the bam boojungl es sur round i ng M ar ivel es, who had
to sh ift cam p con st an tl y t o avoi d bom bi ng
an d sl eep “on the gr ound near a foxhol e or
quar ter ed i n M idd l esi de Bar racks, wer e
star tl ed to hear the ai r r ai d si r ens sound
shor t l y befor e noon. N o one pai d too
m uch at ten t i on to them as Cor regi dor had
never been bom bed, bu t soon thei r t r ust-
i ng at t i tude changed. “Al l hel l br oke
l oose,” and as one 1st B at tal i on off i cer
d escr i bed t he scen e, “t her e w e w er e—t he
whol e r egi ment f l at on our bel l i es on the
l ower deck of M idd l esi de B ar racks.” 55
T he J apan ese pl an es, 40 bom ber s of t he
5th Ai r Gr oup w i th 19 cover i ng fi gh ter s,
at tacked at 1154. For the next hour a
par ade of Ar my ai r cr aft f l ew the l ong
axi s of Cor r egi dor d roppi ng 200- an d 500-
pound bom bs fr om 18,000 fr et , and d i vebomber s at tacked the ant i ai r cr af t bat -
ter ies, st r af i ng as t hey pl unged down. .& t
1300, the Ar my pl anes gave way to the
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B ATAAN P RE LU DE 175
T H E .N A VAL BA T T AL ZON ‘
A lth ou gh th e far th est d istan ce fr om th e
r ear boundar ies of the cor ps ar eas to the
souther n shor e of Bataan was on l y ten
m il es, t he d efen si ve pr obl em faci ng B ri g-
ad ier C~en er al A ll an C. M cB r id e’s Ser vi ce
Com mand was acu te. J $’i th a r el at i vel yfew m en M cBr i de had to guar d over 40
m il es of r ough, jungl e-cover ed coast l ine
cr ewm en fr om the subm ar i ne tender
Can opu s, 80 sai lor s f r om t he Cavi te N aval
Amm uni t i on Depot , and 120 gener al
du ty m en fr om Cavi te and M ar i vel es.
H e was al so assi gned appr oxim atel y 120
M ar i nes, m em ber s of Bat ter i es A and C
whi ch had r em ai ned beh i nd on B ataan
under naval con t r ol when the r est of the
1st Separ ate B at tal i on (now 3/ 4 ) had
m oved t o Cor r egi d or .
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agai nst enem y at tack . A successfu l am -
ph ibi ou s t hr ust w hi ch cu t t he vi tal coastal
suppl y r oad cou l d m ean the pr om pt end
of the bat t l e for 13ataan . To pr otect the
east coast he had the new ly-or gan i zed 2d
(Constabu l ar y) D i vi si on ; on the west
coast he had a m ot l ey com posi te for ce ofser vi ce t r oop s a nd p la nel ess p ur su i t squ ad -
r ons conver ted to i nfan tr y, backed up by
a few el ements of the 71st D i vi si on and
a Con st abu lar y r egi men t. Respon si bi l it y
for th e secur i ty of the n aval r eser vat i on
at M ar ivel es r em ai ned w i th the N avy.
I n or der to pr ovi de pr otect i on for
M ar i ve]es and suppor t the Ar m y i n the
defense of the west coast , Adm ir al Rock -wel l on 9 J anuar y d i r ected Captai n J ohn
H . S. I )essez, com mander of the sect i on
base. to for m a naval bat tal ion for gr ound
T he m en of F i rst L ieu tenant Wi ll i am F.
H ogaboom ’s Bat ter y A had or i gi nal l y
been sl at ed t o pr ovi de r epl acem en t an d r e-
l i ef gun cr ews for Bat ter y C (F i r st L ieu-
tenant Wr i l l ar d C. H ol dr edge ) whose 3-
i nch guns wer e set up i n a r i ce paddy
between the town of M ar i vel es and the
sect i on base. But on 5 J anuar y H oga-
boom had r ecei ved i nst r uct i ons fr om a
U SA FF E st aff off i cer , “appr oved by n aval
au thor i t i es on the ‘Rock ’,” G to move h i s
un i t to the si te of M acAr thur ’s advance
CP on B ataan wher e the M ar i nes wer e
to fu r n i sh the i n ter i or guar d . T h i s as-
si gn men t w as sh or t-l ived , h ow ever , si nce
Com mander Br i dget needed the m en to
ser ve as t act ical i nst ru ct or s an d cad r es for
the naval bat tal ion , and on 14 J anuar y he
176 PE ARL H A RB OR T O GU AD AL CA NA L
. . . perh a ps t w o-t h irds of t he sa ilors kuew
w h ich en d of t h e r ifle should be pr esen t ed t o
t h e en emy, a nd h a d even pra ct iced on a t a rget
r a nge, but field t ra in in g w as pra ct ica lly a closed
book t o t h em. Th e exper ien ced Ma rin es w er e
sprea d t hinly t hr oughout ea ch compa ny in h ope
th at t hr ough precept a nd exa mple, t heir qua lit ies
w ould be a ssimila t ed by t h e rests
E ven a ft er t h e forma t ion of t he na va l
ba t t a lion, t h e pr ima ry responsibili t y for
a n t ia ircra ft defen se of M ar i vel es st i l l
oped an d fi xed Par ker ’s d efen ses an d w er e
pr obi ng for weak spots pr epar ator y to an
al l -ou t a ssau l t. I t was i nevi tabl e that
th ey fou nd th e open an d h igh ly vu ln er abl e
l ef t f l ank. By 22 J anuar y Par ker ’s posi -
t i on al on g t he sl opes of M t . N at i b h ad been
t ur n ed an d al l r eser ves w it h t he except ion
of one r egim ent had been com m i t ted tocon tai n the penetr at i on . I n or der to pr e-
ven t the defend i ng for ces fr om bei ng cu t
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r ested w ith th e M ar ine bat ter ies and on l y
a r el at ivel y f ew men , m ost ly h TCO’s, cou ld
be spar ed to hel p t r ai n the bl uejacket
com pan i es. H ol d r edge’s 3-i nchen r e-
qu i r ed at l east skel eton cr ews and H oga -
boom ’s un i t , af ter i t s r etu r n fr om
L ’SAFFE con tr ol , was d i r ected to m ount
and m an n i ne .50 cal i ber m ach i ne-gun
posts i n the h i l l s ar ound the har bor .
T her efor e, i n bot h bat t er ies t he m aj or i ty,
of m en avai labl e for gr ound com bat wer e
sai lor s; Bat ter y A joi ned one of f i cer and
65 bl uejackets on 16-1’7 ,T anuar y and a
N avy othcer and 40 m en joi ned H ol -
d r edge’s bat ter y on the 18th and 19th?
T hr ough out th e n aval bat tal ion , t r ai ni ng
w as con fi ned t o fu nd am en tal s as B ri dget
st r ove to qual i fy h i s m en as i n fan t r y. AS
w as the case so of ten i n the Ph i li ppi nes,
of f, U SAFFE or der ed a gener al w i th -
d r awal to the Bagac-Or ion defense l i ne,
to be com pl eted by the 26th .
T he enem y advanci ng al ong the m oun-
tai nous west coast d i d not con tact Gen-
er al J $r ai nw r igh t’s f or w ar d posi ti on s u nt il
15 ,J anuar y. By that date, H om ma, im -
pr essed by the l ack of r esi stance i n th i s
sector , had al ready or der ed the 2(W I n -
~an tr y of the 16th D i vi si on to r ei n for ce
and expl oi t the dr i ve, st r i ke th r ough to
th e B agac r oad junct i on , and gai n th e r ear
of Pa r ker )s cor p s. A l though I Cor ps had
been st r i pped of r eser ves to back up the
sagg i ng eastern defense l i ne, Wainw r i ght ’sf r on t-l in e t roops w er e abl e t o st an d off t he
i ni ti al J apan ese assau lt s. Wh en H om m a’s
f r esh t r oop s a tt ack ed on t he 21st , h ow ever ,
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180 PE ARL H A RROR T O GU AD il L CA N AL
oskaw ayan had been counted . B ri dget ’s
un i t had l ost 11 k i l l ed and 26 wounded i n
act ion ; th e Scou t casu al ti es w er e 11 d ead
and 27 wounded; and the J apanese had
l ost t hei r en ti r e l an di ng for ce.
Dur ing the next few days patr ol s, ai ded
by shi p’s l aunches ar mor ed and m anned
by cr ew men fr om the Canopu-s, m opped
up the ar ea, k i ll ing st r aggl er s and tak i ng
a few pr i soner s, bu t the th r eat to M ar i -
th e J apan ese offen si ve spu tt er ed t o a h al t
i n fr on t of the Bagac-Or i on l i ne. T he
i n i ti al enem y advance on B ataan had not
been m ad e w it hou t cost , ,an d th e casu al ty
r ate now soar ed so h i gh that the at tack -
i ng t r oops wer e r ender ed i nef fect i ve. On
13 Febr uar y H om ma found i t necessar y
to br eak con tact , pu l l back to a l i ne of
bl ock i ng posi ti on s, an d to r egr ou p h is bat-
ter ed for ces. T he l u l l i n the Fm wteenz%
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vel es was ended. Sim i l ar act i on by ade-
quatel y suppor ted Scout un i ts w i ped out
the Quinauan Poi n t l and i ng for ce by 7
Febr uar y. T he major J apanese at tem pt
to r ei n for ce the bel eaguer ed t r oops on
Quinauan was beaten back by the com-
bi ned f i re of ar ti ll er y, naval guns, and the
st r afi ng of the four P40’s r em ain i ng on
B ataan . E lem ents of an enem y bat tal ion
wh i ch d i d get ashor e on a poi n t of l and
just above Qui nauan on 27 J anuar y and
2 Febr uar y wer e al so f i n i shed off by the
scouts.
B y 13 Febr uar y the l ast sur vi vor s of the
amph ibi ous at tem pts had been ki l led or
captured. T he m ak e-sh ift beach d efen se
for ces wh i ch had i n i t i al l y con tai ned the
l an di ngs h ad bar el y m an aged t o h ol d t hei r
Ar my’s at tack was on l y tempor ar y, how-
ever , as H om ma was pr om i sed r epl ace-
m en ts an d r ei nfor cem en ts. When the
second phase of the bat t l e for Bataan
opened, the scal es wer e heavi ly t i pped i n
favor of t he J apan ese.
T he detachm ent of Canopus cr ewm en,
the sai lor s fr om the Cavi te N aval Am mu-
n i ti on D epot , and the m ajor it y of the gen-
er al du ty m en, n i ne off i cer s and * 27 en-
l i sted m en in al l , wer e tr ansfer red to the
4th M ar ines on Cor regi dor on 17-18 Feb-
ruary . Com man der B ri dget an d h is n aval
avi at ion con ti ngen t m oved t o F or t H u gh es
on the 30th wher e Br idget became beach
d efen se com man der w ith M aj or St uar t W.
K ing of the 4th M ar ines as h i s execu t i ve
off i cer . Bat ter y C of 3/ 4 r em ained at
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CH APT ER 3
The Siege and Capture of Corregidor
T H E J APAA7ESE PL AN fl ‘
On 9 A pr i l t he vi ct or iou s F ou rteen th
Am y paused on the shor e of I %taan w i th
pl an . I n m id-Apr i l a sever e ou tbr eak of
m alar ia i n the r anks of the .@h Di vi si on ,
H om m a’s ch osen . l an di ng for ce, sever el y
ham per ed at tack pr epar at i ons, bu t am -
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i t s n ext t ar get .—Cor r egi d or —d ea d cen ter
i n i t s si gh ts. M any enem y staf f off i cer s,
both i n T okyo and on L uzon, wanted to
l aun ch an i mm edi ate am ph i bi ous at tack ,
tak i ng advantage of the ar my’s success
on B at aa n. T he dear th of l and i ng cr aft
i n M a ni l a B ay, h ow ever , ef fect ivel y ser ved
to postpone the oper at i on . M ost of the
.J apanew l and i ng bar ges and boats w er e
l ocated i n L i ngayen Gul f or Subi c Bay
and had to he m oved past Cor regi dor ’s
guns to the desi gnated stagi ng ar eas on
the easter n coast of Bataan . (See M ap
8, M a p Sect ion )
On the n i gh t of 14 Apr i l the fi r st sm al l
gr oup of boats sl ipped by T he Rock , hug-
gi ng B ataan ’s shor e wh i l e the enem y
shel l ed and bom bed the i sl and ’s nor th
p hi bi ou s t r ai n i n g a n d r eh ea r sa l s con t i nu ed
despi te the tem por ar y decr ease i n the
d ivi si on ’s eff ect ive st ren gt h. E mer gen cy
suppl ies of qu i n i ne tabl ets wer e fl own to
L uzon i n t im e to check the spr ead of the
d isease an d r estor e fi gh ti ng t ri m.T he Four teen th Ar my was obsessed, w i th
the need for decept i on and secr ecy and
st r ingen t secur i t y m easur es w er e taken
t o con ceal t he pr epar at ion s for th e at tack
on C or r egi d or . A consi sten t effor t was
m ad e to cr eate t he i mpr essi on th at Cavi te
Pr ovi nce w as the J apan ese am ph i bi ous
base and that For ts F r ank and D r um wer e
the tar gets. L and i ng cr af t m aneuver edoff Cavi te’s shor es wh i l e the ar my’s ai r
and ar ti l l er y pou nded the defenses of the
souther n i sl ands. Two bat tal i ons of the
TH E S I E G E AND CAP TU RE OF C ORRE G I D OR 185
i sl an d’s d efen ses.s N in e J apan ese bom b-
i ng squ ad ron s, ca pi tal i zi ng on t he gr ad ua l
w eak en in g of an ti ai rcr af t f i re, w er e over -
head to add thei r bom bar dm ent to the at -
t ack p r ep ar a ti on .
T h e en em y Jth Divt i ion was rein forced
for the assau l t w i th two i ndependen t en -
gi neer r egi m ents to m an the t r anspor t
and suppor t l and i ng cr aft as wel l as
a tank r egi m ent and th r ee m or tar bat -
tal ion s to pr ovi de ad di ti onal f i repow er .
an te of Sate’s un i t wh i ch w as schedu l ed
to m ak e a con cur rent at tack agai nst Ram -
say Bat ter y h i l l . T hr oughou t the whol e
oper at i on the ar t i l l er y on Bataan , op-
er at i ng u nd er ar my con tr ol , w as to d el iver
pr epar ator y and suppor ti ng t i r es, and i n
dayl igh t hou r s the ar my’s ai r squad r ons
w er e t o f l y cl ose su ppor t m issi on s,
T he _@h Divi sion had th r ee i nfant r y
bat tal ion s i n r eser ve for i ts at tack but d id
not expect th at th ey w ou ld be need ed. T he
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T he actual l and i ng oper at i on was to be
m ade i n two stages w i th Col onel Gem -
p ach i Sa te’s 6 1st Z n fa n .t r y R e@r n en t ( two
i n fant r y bat tal i ons, a tank com pany, a
m oun tai n ar t i l l er y bat ter y, and m or tar
u ni ts) d esi gn at ed t he i ni ti al assau lt for ce.
Sato was to l and h i s un i t i n successi ve
w aves, bat tal i ons a b r e as t al ong the
beaches betw een I nfant r y and Caval r y
Poi n ts on the n i gh t of 5 M ay. After es-
t ab li sh i ng a bea ch h ea d, h e w as t o sen d m ost
of h i s m en agai nst M al i n ta H i l l wh i l e the
r em ai nd er of th e r egi men t d rove acr oss t he
tai l of th e i sl and to i sol ate an d con tai n the
defender s east of I n fan t r y Poi n t . T he
pl an cal l ed for the 61st Regi m en t to be i n
possessi on of M al in ta H i l l by d aw n, r ead y
t o su pp or t a secon d l an di ng.
J ap an ese w er e con fi den t t ha t t hei r pr epa r-
ator y bom bar dm en t had knocked m ost of
the f i gh t out of Cor r egi dor . Ever y ter -
r ai n featu re on th e i sl an d w as pl ot ted an d
r egi ster ed on ar t i l l er y tar get m aps and
any si gnal for suppor t fr om the assau l t
for ces wou l d cal l down a sm other of ac-
cur ate f i r e on the defender s. T he enem y
fel t cer tai n that dusk of 7 M ay wou ld see
thei r assau l t t r oops i n con t r ol of Cor -
regidor.
L I FE OAT A BU L L ’S EYE 4
Dur i ng the 27 days between the fal l of
Bataan and the assau l t on Cor r egi dor ,l i fe on T he Rock becam e a l i vi ng hel l . T he
m en i n the open gun pi t s and exposed
b ea ch d ef en ses w er e su bj ect ed t o a n i n cr ea s-
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TH E S I E G E AND C AP TU RE OF C ORRE G I D OR 18’7
i sl and by dayl i gh t ; enem y ar ti ll er y spot -
ter s al oft i n obser vat i on bal l oons on Ba-
taan and i n pl anes over head had a cl ear
vi ew of thei r tar gets. T he dense vegeta-
t i on whi ch had once cover ed m ost of Cor -
r egi dor w as st r i pped aw ay by bl ast and
fr agm en tat ion t o r evea l t he d isp osi ti on s of
H ow ar d’s com man d. T he t un nel s th rou ghM al i nta H i l l , thei r l ater al s cr owded w i th
h ead qu ar ter s i nstal lat i ons an d hospi tal
beds, offer ed r efu ge for on ly a fr act i on of
st ain ed fr om per spir at ion a nd dirt . Th ei r g a un t ,
un sha ven fa ces w er e st ra ined a nd ema cia t ed.
S ome of t h em w ere a lrea dy suffer in g from beri-
ber i a s a result of a st a rva flon diet of rice for
w eeks. We did w ha t w e could for t h em a n d t hen
put t hem t o w ork on t h e bea ch defenses.’
The sa ilors from Ma riveles, most ly
crew men from t he now -scut t led Cizn.opus,wer e kept together and for med i n to a new
275-m an r eser ve bat tal i on for the r egi -
m en t , the 4th Bat tal i on , 4th M ar i nes.a
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the 11,000-m an gar r i son and the r est of
the defender s had to st i ck i t ou t ~i th l i t t l e
hope of pr otect i on fr om th e d ead ly dow n-
pour .
M ost of the escapees fr om Bataan wer e
or der ed to joi n the 4th M ar ines, thus add -i ng 72 off i cer s an d 1,173 en li sted m en to i ts
st r ength between 9 and 12 Apr i l .5 T he
m ajor i ty of the Ar my com bat veter ans,
h ow ever , “w er e i n su ch poor ph ysi cal con -
d i t i on that they wer e i ncapabl e of even
l i gh t wor k ,” ‘ an d h ad to be h ospi tal ized .
T he m i xed col lect ion of i nfa nt ry, a rt il l er y,
avi at ion , an d ser vi ce per son nel fr om both
Am er ican an d Ph il ippi ne u ni ts assi gn ed t oth e beach defen se bat tal ions w as i n l it t l e
bet ter shape than the m en who had been
com mi tted to the hospi tal under M al i n ta
N ot on l y was the desi gnat i on of 4/ 4 un-
usual , bu t so was i ts m akeup and i t s per -
sonnel. On l y si x M ar i nes ser ved i n the
bat tal ion : i ts com mand er , M ajor F r an ci s
H . Wi l l i am s, and f i ve N COS. T he staff ,
com pany com mand er s, and pl atoon l ead -
er s wer e d r awn fr om the n i ne Arm y and 18
N a vy of fi cer s a ssi gn ed t o a ssi st W il l ia ms.g
T he fou r r i f l e com pan ies w er e d esi gn ated
Q, R, S, and T , the h i ghest l et ter ed com -
pan i es the m en had ever hear d of. An -
oth er boast of th e bl uejackets tu rned M a-
r in es w as th at th ey w er e ‘the h i gh est pai d
bat tal i on i n the wor ld , as m ost of the m en
‘ Jenk ins ,~~.
* Most su r vi vor s of 4/ 4 r ef er t o t he ba tt al i on
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TH E S IE G E AND CAP TU RE OF C ORRE G I D OR 189
an u t ter d i sr egar d for h i s own safety i n
the face of any need for h i s pr esence.
Sur vi vor s of h i s bat tal i on agr ee w i th
star t l i ng unan i m i ty that he was a gi an t
am ong m en at a t i m e when cou r age w as
commonplace.
R aw cou rage w as a n ecessi ty on t he for ti -
f i ed i sl an ds a ft er B at aa n’s fal l , si nce t her e
was no defi l aded posi t i on that cou l d not
be r each ed by ,J apa nese 240m m h ow it zer s
fi r i ng fr om Cavi te and Bataan . T he
There w ere ma n y more ca sua lt ies th a n w e ha d
suffer ed in t he pr eviou s five m on th s.la
About th r ee days pr ior to the J apanese
l an di ng, L ieuten an t Col onel B eecher r e-
por ted to Col onel H ow ar d th at d efen si ve
i nstal lat ion s i n th e 1st B at tal ion % sector
were:
,.. p r act i ca l ly d est r oy ed . V er y l i t tl e d ef en -si v e w i r e r em a i ned , t a n k t r a ps con st r u ct ~ w i t h
great di f f i cul tyhad been rendered useless, and al l
my weaponsw ere in temporary emplacementsas
t he or i g i nal emp l acemen t s had been dest r oyed .
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bom ber s over head , i ncr easi ngl y bol d as
gu n af ter gu n of the an ti ai rcr aft d efen ses
w as knocked ou t, cam e d ow n l ow er to pi n-
poi nt tar gets. Counter bat ter y and an t i -
ai r cr aft t ir e si len ced som e en em y gu ns an d
accoun ted for a num ber of pl anes, bu t
noth i ng seem ed to hal t the bu i l dup of
p r ep ar a tor y f i r es.
On 28 Apr il H owar d i ssued a war ni ng to
h i s bat tal i ons that the next day w ou l d be
a r ough one. I t was the Em per or ’s bi r th -
d ay an d th e J apan ese cou ld be expected t o
“cel ebr ate by u nu su al aer ia l an d ar ti l l er y
bombardment.”’4 T h e col on el ’s p r op h ecy
pr oved to be a t r ue on e, an d on th e 29th on e
obser ver n oted t hat even “th e k itch en si nk
cam e over .”’5 T he bi rth day cel ebr at i on
I tol d Col on el H ow ar d at th i s t i me th at I w as
ver y dub i ousas t o my abi l i t y t ow i t hst anda l and -
i nga t t ack i n f or ce. Col onel Howard repor t ed t hef act s t o Genera l Wai nw r i gh t, who, accord i ng t o
C ol on el H ow ar d , sa id t h at h e w ou l d n ev er su r -
r en d er . I p oi n ted ou t t o Col on el H ow ar d t ha t I
h a d sa id not hing a bout surren der but tha t I w a s
merely report ing t h e fa ct s a s it w a s my dut y
t o d o?f
T he i ncr ease i n th e fur y of th e J apan ese
bom bar dm ent w i th the com i ng of M ay,
coupl ed w i th the fr equent . si gh t i ngs of
l and i ng cr aft al ong the easter n shor e of
B ataan , cl ear ly poi nt ed to th e i mm in en ce
of an enem y l and i ng at tem pt . T he l ast
successfu l effor t t o evacu ate per son nel
fr om the i sl and for t s was m ade on the
n i ght of 3 M ay. T he subm ar ine Spear t sh
190 P EARL H AR B OR TO G UAD ALC AATAL
sen t ou t thei r r egim ental jour nal , i ts l ast
en t r y, dated2 M ay, the l ist of the fi ve m en
who had been ki ll ed and the n i ne who had
been ~vou nd ed d ur i ng t he d ay’s bom bar d-
ment.
T o one of the l ucky few who got or del s
to l eave on the A’pear $sh the r eced i ng i s-
l and l ooked “beaten and bu r n t to acr isp.>’ lD I n one day, 2 M ay, U SF I P est i -
m ated that 12 240mm shel l s a m inu te had
fal len on Cor reg-i dor dur ing a fi ve-hour
r ed uced . Casu al ti es m ou nt ed as t he m en ’s
f oxh ol es, t r en ch es, a nd sh el t er s cr u m bl ed
l mder th e fi re. L -n i t l eader s check i ng the
st rr te of t he d efen ses w er e especi al ly vu l-
ner abl e to the fr agments of steel wh i ch
sw ept the gr ound bar e. B y the J apanese-
i tppoi nted X-Day (5 M ay) the 1st Bat tal -
i on h ad l ost th e com man der of Com pan y A ,
M ajor H ar r y C. I .ang, and Captai n Pau l
A. B r own, com m and i ng Com pany B , had
been h ospi tal i zed as a r esu lt of sever e con -
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per i od . On the sam e day the ,J apanese
fl ew 55 sor ti es over the i sl ands dr oppi ng
12 1,000-pound, 45 500-pound, and 159
200-pound bom bs.’” T he dam age w as ex-
t ensi ve. Bat ter y Gear y’s ei gh t 12-i nch
m or tar s w er e com pl et el y d estr oyed as w ason e of B at ter y Cr ock et t’s t wo 12-i nch gu ns.
T he enem y fi re al so knocked ou t of act i on
two mor e 12-i nch m or tar s, a 3-i nch gun,
th r ee sear ch l igh ts, f i ve 3-i nch and th ree
.50 cal iber an ti ai rcr af t gu ns, an d a h ei gh t
f i nder . Data tr ansm i ssi on cabl es to the
guns wer e cu t i n m any pl aces an d al l com -
~nun i cat i on l i nes wer e damaged. T he
beach defenses l ost four m ach i ne guns, a
37m nl , and a pi ll box; bar bed w i r e., m i ne
fi el ds, an d r m~i boat obstacl es w er e tor n
cu ssi on su ff er ed d ur i ng a n en em y bom bi n g
at tack .” T hr ee Ar my off i cer s at tached to
th e Reser ve Com pany, an off i cer of Com -
pany B , and another of Com pany D had al l
been severel y wounded .D espi te t he d am age t o d efen ses i t h ad so
l abor iou sl y con st ru ct ed , t he 4t h M ar in es
w as r eady, i ndeed al most eager , to m eet a
,J apan ese assau lt af t er d ays an d w eeks of
absor bi ng pu ni sh men t w it hou t a ch an ce t o
str ike back . On the eve of a bat t l e -wh i ch
n o on e d ou bted w as com ing, t he r egi men t
w as per haps th e m ost u nu su al M ar in e u ni t
ever to take the fi el d . F r om an under -
st r ength two-bat tal i on r egi ment of l ess
than 800 M ar i ne r egu l ar s i t had gr own
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TH E S I E G E AND C AP TU RE OF C ORR E G I D OR 193
pl an m i scar r i ed , and for a wh i l e i t . was
t ou ch an d go for th e assau lt t r oops.
T he ar t i l ler y sh oot w en t off on sch ed ul e,
bu t Sat e’s f i r st w aves, t ran spor t i ng m ost of
h i s IstBat ta l ion, w er e car r ied by an u nex-
pect ed ly st ron g i ncom i ng t id e h un dr ed s of
yar d s t o t he east of t he d esi gn at ed l an di ng
beaches. Gu i des i n the oncom ing cr aftw er e u nabl e t o r ecogn ize l an dm ar ks i n th e
dar kness, and fr om water l evel the tai l of
the i sl and l ooked mar ked l y un i for m as
Sate, who l anded w i th the fi r st waves,
sor el y n eeded h is gd Battal ion’s strength.
T hi s st r aggl ing bat tal ion w hi ch began
head i ng shor ewar d abou t m idn i gh t su f-
fer ed m uch m or e dam age than the fi r st
w aves. T he r em ai ni ng coast d efen se gun s
and mor tar s on Cor regi dor , backed up by
the f i r e of For ts H ughes and D r um ,chur ned the channel between B ataan and
Cor regi dor i nto a sur gi ng fr oth , wh ipped
by shel l fr agm ents and expl osi ons, T he
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sm oke and dust r ai sed by the shel li ng ob-
scu red th e sh or el in e. T he 61at Regiment’s
2d B at tal ion , sl ated to fol low cl ose on the
h eel s of t he Ist,w as d el ayed a nd d i sr u pt ed
by fau l ty boat hand l ing and t i de cur ren ts
un t i l i t cam e i n wel l ou t of posi t i on andunder the fu l l l i gh t of the moon.
When the J apanese pr epar ator y f i r es
l if ted shor tl y after 2300, the t r oops al ong
t he E ast Sector beach es spot ted t he scat -
ter ed l and i ng cr af t of the I st Bat t& ion ,
61st head i ng i n for the beaches at N or th
Poi n t . T he few r em ain i ng sear ch l i gh ts
i ll um inated the bar ges, and the i sl and ’s
tai l er upted w i th f i r e. Enemy ar t i l l er yk nock ed ou t t he sear ch l igh ts a lm ost a s soon
as they showed them sel ves; bu t i t made
l it t l e d i ffer ence, si nce st r eam s of t r acer
m oon ’s stead y l igh t r eveal ed m an y d ir ect
h i ts on bar ges and showed heavi l y bur -
dened enem y sol d i er s st r uggl i ng i n the
water and si nk i ng under the weigh t of
thei r packs and equ i pm ent . St i l l , som e
m en r eached shor e and Colonel Sato wasabl e to or gan i ze a dr ive towar d h i s objec-
t ive, M al in ta H i ll .
I n di vi du al en em y sol di er s an d m ach in e-
gu n cr ew s i nf il tr at ed acr oss K i nd ley F iel d
and th r ough the r ubbl e of tor n bar bed
w ir e, bl asted t r ees, an d, cr ater -pocked
gr ound to D enver B at ter y, a sandbagged
ant i ai r cr aft gun posi ti on wh i ch stood on
r el at i vel y h i gh gr ound south of Caval ryPoint. T he Am er i can gunner s, whose
weapons wer e out of act i on as a r esu l t of
t he bom ba rd m en t, w er e u na bl e t o beat back
P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD AL C ANAL
br ought up some m en to establ i sh a l i ne
“al on g t he h ogsback t o pr even t t he en em y
fr om com ing dow n on the backs of the m en
on the beaches. ;> 30
Pi ckup cam e up shor tl y af ter Gunner
F er rel l got h i s m en i nto posi ti on and con-
si der ed pu l l in g L i eu ten an t H ar r is’ pl at oon
out of i t s beach defenses to l aunch an
at tack agai nst t he en em y. After a con-
fer ence w i th H ar r i s the company com -
m ander deci ded to l eave the 1st Pl atoon
i n posi t i on . ,J a pan ese l an di n g cr af t w er e
th i s t i me or how- m any casual ti es the 61st
Zn~an .t r y’s assau l t compan i es had su f fered ,
bu t i t was pl ai n that the enemy at Denver
B at ter y ou tnum ber ed the sm al l for ce tr y-
i ng t o con tai n t hem , an d ,J apan ese sn iper s
an d i nf i lt rat i ng gr ou ps soon began t o cr op
u p i n t he. r ear of Pi cku p’s posi ti on .
T he si tu at i on cl ear ly cal led for th e com -
m it men t of ad di ti on al m en i n t he E ast Sec-
tor . Col onel H ow ar d had m ade pr ovi si on
for th i s soon af ter get t i ng wor d of the
l an di n g a tt em pt . H e a ler t ed S ch aef fer ’s
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st i l l com i ng i n , and the pl atoon ’s w i th -
d raw al w ou ld l eave sever al h un dr ed yar ds
of beach open. T he fact that enemy
t r oops wer e ashor e had been com muni -
cat ed t o L i eu ten an t Col onel B eech er ’s CP
j ust i n si d e M a l iu ta T u nn el ’s east en tr an ce,
and sm al l gr oups of m en, a squad or so at
a t im e, wer e com ing LI p to bu i l d on the
l i ne i n f r on t of Denver Bat ter y. T he
en em y n ow f ir ed h i s m ach i ne gu ns st ea di l y,
an d i nt er m it ten t bu t h eavy sh el l f i r e st ru ck
al l al ong the r oads fr om M al i n ta to Den-
ver . Casu al ti es w er e sever e th rou gh ou t
t he ar ea.
B y 0130 su rvi vi ng el em en ts of 1/ 4 on t he
easter n t i p of the i sl and w er e cu t off com -
pl etel y fr om the r est of the bat tal i on .
com man d of tw o com pan ies fi rst , bu t h el d
off com mi t t i ng Wi l l i am s’ bat tal ion un t i l
the si tuat i on cl ar i f i ed i t sel f. T her e was
n o gu ar an tee t hat t he ,J apan ese w ou ld ac-
com modate the 4th M ar ines by l and i ng al l
thei r t r oops i n the E ast Sector ; i n fact ,
ther e w as a gener al bel ief am ong th e m en
m an ni ng th e d efen ses w hi ch com man ded
the r avi nes l ead i ng to T opsi de that the
East Sector l and i ng was not the main
effor t an d t hat th e en em y w ou ld be com ing
i n agai nst West and M idd l e Sector
beach es.3] Com pl icat in g t he en ti re pr ob-l em of com man d i n t he con fused si tu at ion
dur i ng the ear ly mor n i ng hour s of 6 M ay
was the fact that , onl y r unner s cou l d get
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196
the fl ar es was r igh t , and Fer guson ’s pl a-
toon was for tunate i n tak i ng i ts shel li ng i n
an ar ea w her e t he J apan ese h ad pr ovi ded
deep bom b cr ater s. T he pl atoon cam e
thr ough w i th on l y ei gh t casual t i es. As
soon a s t he bom ba rd m en t l i ft ed , F er gn son
m oved tow ar d D enver un t i l he w as for ced
to depl oy by heavy m ach i ne-gun and m or -tar f i r e. H e l ooked for the 3d Platoon to
com e u p on h i s r igh t accor di ng to pl an , bu t
on l y i ts com mander , Quar ter master Ser -
geant J ohn E . H ask i n , and f i ve m en ap-
P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD AL C ANAL
Ma ny close fr ien ds died th a t morn in g in
t h e da rkness a n d choking dust a s t h e J a p-
a n ese a nd t h e America ns a n d Filipinos
fa ced ea ch ot h er from posit ions less t ha n
for t y ya rds a pa r t . S ome men cut off be-
h in d t h e en em y lin es st ill kept fir in g a t
occa sion a l la n ding cra ft th a t w ere comin g
in t o reinforce sa te. H oga boom could seet h e t ra cers of a single .50 ca liber a nd felt
th a t “t he bullet s sma cking int o t h e a r mor
of t h e ba rges sounded like r ivet ha mmers
ra t t ling a w a y.” % 13very movemen t of t he
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pear ed , th e r est h ad been l ost i n t he sh el l-
i ng. Capt ai n Ch am ber s sen t u p t he r eser ve
pl atoon , wh i ch was i n even wor se shape,
havi ng been caugh t i n the open near the
tunnel en t r ance. Quar ter m aster Cl er kH er m an L . Snel l i ngs had on l y four sur -
\ ,i vor s a li ve a nd u nw ou nd ed .
Com pany O now contai ned bu t one pl a-
toon an d had not yet m ade i ts at tack .
M a jor S ch aef fer est abl i sh ed con tr ol over
the scat ter ed gr oups of m en fr om the 1st
Bat tal i on and the r eser ve and l aunched
t h r ee sep ar a t e cou n ter a tt ack s on t h e d u g-i n
J apanese. Som et i mes th e m en w ou l d getup the sl opes l ead i ng to the bat ter y gun
pi ts, bu t they wer e always dr iven back ,
J apa n ese bot a t s w h ich st ood in n umber off-
shore w a s coun t ed a s a n a t t empt a t la n d-
ing, a lt hough ma n y of t hem w ere impro-
vised gun boa t s w h ose mission w a s pr ot ect -
in g a n d support in g t h e la n din g cra ft . B ut
det a ch men t s of S a t e’s force kept coming in
a ll n ight , a n d on e en emy lieut en a n t , prob-
a bly a member of one of the 61.~t’support -
i ng un i ts, gave a vi vi d descr i pt i on of the
hel pl ess feel i ng of the m en i n the bar ges
as they wer e caught i n Cor regi dor ’s f i r e:
America n h igh pow er ed ma ch in e gun s pour ed
a st rea m of bullet s on us from a ll direct ion s.
Rifle fire a dded t o t h e ha il of dea t h . Our men
w ho w er e h uddled in t he cent er of t he boa t w er e
a ll eit her kil led or w oun ded. Th ose w ho clun g
t o t h e sides w ere hit by sh ells t ha t pierced t h e
TH E S I E G E AND CAP TU RE OF C ORRE G I D OR 197
f i r epow er of the Denver posi t i on . Each
at t ack by Sch aeffer js m en th in ned t he M a-
r in e l in e st i l l m or e, L ost w er e off i cer s an d
N (2OS whose l eader sh i p w as vi tal t o the
oper at i ons of m i xed un i ts such as those
wh i ch hel d the J apanese at bay. Captai n
Cast l e of Com pany D was k i l l ed t r yi ng to
si l ence a m achi ne gun , and m any sm al l
un i t l eader s who st i l l hel d thei r pl ace i n
l i ne wer e bad l y wounded. T he si tuat i on
was so desper ate that Col onel H owar d
cou l d no l onger hol d h i s l ast r eser ves ou t
m an down . At 0430, Col onel H owar d
or der ed Wi ll iam s to take h is bat tal ion ou t
of the tunnel and at tack the J apanese at
D en ver B at ter y.
T he com pan i es m oved out i n col um n.
About 500 yar ds out fr om M al i n ta they
wer e caugh t i n a heavy shel l i ng that
sh ar pl y r ed uced t hei r st ren gt h an d t em po-
r ar il y scat ter ed the m en . T he su r vi vor s
r eassem bl ed an d m oved t ow ar d th e f i gh t-
i ng i n l in e of sk ir mi sh er s. Com pan ies Q
and R, com manded by two Ar my off i cer s,
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of the act i on . H e or der ed the 4th Bat -
tal i on to m ove i n to the East Sector and
j oi n t he em bat t led d efen se l in e.
T H E 4T H BAT T .4L IOi V
I ,3J A 12T I Oi V 38
M ajor Wi ll iam s’ 4th B at tal ion h ad been
al er ted ear ly i n the n i ght ’s act i on , and he
h ad or d er ed t he i ssu e of ext ra a mm u ni ti on
and gr enades. A t about 0100 he got the
wor d to m ove the bat tal i on i n to M al i n ta
T unnel and stand by. T he sai l or s pr o-
ceeded cau t i ousl y down the sou th shor e
r oad, w ai ted for an enem y bar rage whi ch
was h i t t i ng i n the dock ar ea to l i f t , and
t hen d ash ed acr oss t o t he t un nel en tr an ce.
Captai ns Pau l C. M oor e and H ar ol d E .
D al ness, r esp ect ivel y, m oved i n on t he l eft
t o r ei nfor ce th e scat ter ed gr oups of r if l e-
m en fr om Com pani es A and P w ho wer e
t r yi ng to con tai n the J apanese i n the
br oken gr ound nor th of Denver Bat ter y.
T he bat ter y posi ti on i tsel f w as assi gn ed to
Com pany T (L ieu tenan t Bethel B . Ot ter ,
U SN ), and two pl atoons of Com pany S,”
or i gi n al l y d esi gn a ted t h e b at t al i on r eser v e,
wer e br ought up on the ext r em e r i gh t
w her e L ieu tenant Ed war d N . L i t t l e, U SN ,
was to t r y to si l ence the enem y m achi ne
guns near the water tower . T he bl ue-
j ackets f i l l ed i n the gaps al ong the l i ne—
wi de gaps, for ther e was l i tt l e that cou l d
be cal led a f i rm defen si ve l in e l eft—an d
198 PE ARL H A RB OR T O GU ~D AL CA NA L
practical ly nonexi sten t . Wi l l i ams, by
m utual consent ( Schaef fer w as seni or ),
took over comm and of the fi ght i ng si nce
he was i n a far bet ter posi t i on to get the
best ef for t ou t of h i s bl uejackets when
they a t tacked .~
At dawn M ajor Wi l l i ams m oved al ong
the fr on t , tel l i ng h i s off i cer s to be r eady
to jump of f at 0615. ‘l ’he company and
pl atoon com mand posts wer e r igh t up on
the fi ri ng l ine and ther e wer e no r eser ves
l eft ; ever y off i cer and man st i l l abl e to
w eapon s t hat m ight h ave open ed a br each
i n the D enver posi ti on , the at tack stal led
com pl etel y. M ajor Schaeffer sen t . War -
r an t off i cer F er gu son , w ho h ad su cceed ed
to com mand of Com pany O when Captai n
Ch am ber s w as w ou nded, t o Col on el H ow -
ar d ’s CP to r epor t the si tuat i on and r e-
quest rei n f or cemen t s. Fer guson, l i ke
Schaef fer and m any of the sur vi vor s of 1/ 4
and the r eser ve, was a wal k i ng wounded
case h imsel f. By the t im e Fer guson got
back th r ough the enemy shel l i ng to M a-
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stand took par t i n the at tack . C)n the l ef t
the J apanese w er e dr iven back 200–300
yar ds befor e Wi l l i ams sent a r unner to
check th e ad van ce of M oor e an d D al ness;
the r i gh t of the l i ne had been unabl e to
m ake m or e than a few yar ds befor e the
w i ther i ng fi r e of the Denver and water
t ow er d efen ses d rove t he m en to th e d eck .
T he l ef t com pan ies sh ift ed t ow ar d D en ver
to cl ose the gap that had opened whi l e
the m en on the r i ght t r i ed to knock out
t he ,J apan ese m ach in e gu ns an d m or tar s.
L i eu ten an t ot t er w as ki ll ed w hi le l ead in g
an at tack , an d hi s execu ti ve, Capt ai n Cal -vi n E. Chunn, took over : Chunn was
w ou nd ed soon aft er as C om pan y T ch ar ged
a ,J apanese un i t whi ch was set t i ng up a
l in ta at 0900, Wi ll iam s had r ecei ved w hat
few r ei nfor cem en ts H ow ar d cou ld m ust er .
Captai n H er m an H . H auck and 60 men of
th e 59t h Coast Ar ti l l er y, assi gn ed by Gen -
er al M oor e to the 4th M ar i nes, had come
up and Wi l l i am s sent them to the l eft
f l ank to bl ock J apanese sn i per s and m a-
ch i ne-gun cr ews i n fi l t r at i ng al ong the
bea ch es i n t o t h e r ea r a r ea s.
At about 0930 m en on the nor th f l ank of
the M ar ine l ine saw a coupl e of J apanese
tanks com ing off bar ges near Caval r y
Poi nt , a m ove th at spel led the end on Cor -
r egi dor . T he tal ~ks w er e i n posi ti on to ad-vance w i th i n a hal f hou I , and , just as the
m en in fr on t of Denver Bat ter y spot ted
them , enem y fl ar es went L lp a gai n and ar -
TH E S IE G E AND C AP TU RE OF C ORRE G I D OR 199
t he ar ti l l er y on B ataan to i ncr ease i ts f i re,
and a r ol l i ng bar r age swung back and
for th bet ween M al i nt a an d D en ver , d em ol -
i sh ing any sem bl an ce of or der i n t he r ank s
of the m en str ai ni ng to r each the dubi ous
shel ter of the tr ench . “D ir t, r ocks, t r ees,
bod i es, an d d ebr i s l i ter al l y f il l ed , t h e a ir ,” 4’
and pi t i fu l l y few men made i t back to
Mal in ta .
Wi l l i ams, who was wounded, and
r ou gh ly 150 off i cer s an d m en , m an y of t hem
al so casu al ti es, gat her ed i n t he t r en ch r u in s
cer h e con su l ted , t hat t he d ef en ses ou tsi d e
M al in ta coul d l ast m or e than the r em ai n-
i ng hour s of the day, and he set the hour of
sur render for noon i n or der %o avoi d the
hor r or s wh i ch woul d have accr ued had I
l et the fi gh t goon unt i l dar k.” *
T he or der to sur rend er w as passed to t he
tr oops on T opsi de and M idd l esi de al ong
w ith i nstr uct i ons to dest r oy al l w eapons
l ar ger t han .45 cal iber . T he si ck ened m en
of the 4th M ar ines’ 2d and 3d B at tal ions,
w ho h ad been for ced t o st an d by h el pl essl y
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to make a stand. T he J apanese wer e l ess
than thr ee hundr ed yar ds fr om thei r posi -
t ion an d en em y t an ks cou ld be seen m ovi ng
up to out f l ank thei r l i ne on the r i gh t . T he
M ar i ne major , who had been a tower ofst r ength th r oughout the hopel ess fi ght ,
w en t i nt o th e tu nnel at 1130 t o ask H ow ar d
for an t i tank guns and m or e men. But the
bat t l e w as over : Gener al Wai nw ri ght had
m a de t h e d eci si on t o su r r en d er .
SU RREN DER 4’
Col onel H owar d had per sonal l y r e-
por ted the l and i ng of the J apanese tanks
to Gener al Wainwr i ght at 1000. The
U SF IP com man der , w ho h ad k ept cu rr ent
as t hey h ear d and w atch ed th e bat tl e t o th e
ea st , car r i ed t he or d er even f ur t her , sm ash -
i ng t hei r r i fl es agai nst t he r ock s. V et er an s
of f i gh t i ng i n Wor l d War I and a dozen
“ban an a w ar s” st ood u nash am ed ly cr yi ng
as they wer e tol d they wou l d have to sur -
r ender , I nsi de M al in ta, Col onel H owar d
or der ed t he r egi men tal an d n at ion al col or s
of th e 4th M ar in es bu rn ed, t o pr even t th ei r
fal l i ng i n to enemy hands. T wo 1st Bat -
t al i on of fi cer s, Ca pt ai n Cl ar k an d L i eu ten -
an t M anni ng, a fi el d musi c, and an i n ter -
p r et er w er e sel ect ed t o ca r r y W ai n w r igh t’s
f l ag of t ru ce to t he J apan ese. .4s t he w hi te
f l ag was car ri ed ou t of the tunnel , M ajor
Wi l l i ams or der ed sur vi vor s of the East
Sector f i gh t i ng to m ove i nsi de the h i ll and
200 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD .4LG ANAL
den i ed by a few sen i or off i cer s and ai des,
wal ked out of the tunnel and up the l ong
sl ope towar d K ind l ey F i el d , he saw dead
and dyi ng men on ever y hand, a gr im
r ecor d of th e fer oci ty of the fi gh t i ng i n the
past 12hou rs.
N o com pl et e fi gu res exi st for t he casu al -
t i es su ffer ed by ei ther si de on 5–6 M ay;est i mates of the J apanese l osses r ange
fr om 900 to 4,000.* - T he str ai t betwe~n
B at aan an d Cor r egi dor w as h eavi l y d ot ted
w i th enem y bod i es, and Amer ican pr i s-
h ad 315 off i cer s an d m en k il led , 15 m i ssi ng
i n act i on pr esumed dead, and 357 m en
wounded; ~ the gr eat major i ty of these
casual ti es occur red dur ing the bat t l e for
Corregidor.
T he bl ood y bat t le for t he i sl an d for tr ess
d i d not end w i th Wai nwr igh t ’s deci si on to
su rr en der . T he J apan ese w en t r i gh t. ah eadw i th thei r assau l t pl an and pr epar ator y
bom bar dm ents, payi ng no heed to the
wh i te f l ags d i spl ayed on al l the i sl ands i n
t he bay. E igh ty-ei gh t. t on s of bom bs w er e
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oner s on Cor regi dor est i mated that ~hey
h el ped col lect a~d cr em at e t he r em ai ns of
hundr eds of J apanese sol di er s.” T he de-
tai led l osses of the 4th M ar ines w i ll pr ob-
abl y never be known because of the joi nt -ser vi ce natu r e of the r egi ment at the t i me
of bat tl e an d t he scar ci ty of con tem por ar y
r ecor ds. T he casual ti es of M ar ines al one
ar e kn ow n, h ow ever , an d th ey m ay be con -
si der ed i nd i cat i ve of the fate of sol d i er s
and sai l or s who ser ved w i th them . I n the
w hol e Ph il ippi ne cam pai gn th e r egi ment
MMost America n survivors of t he ba t t le men -
t ion t ha t t h ey h ea r d from t he J apa n ese la t er in
pr ison ca mp t ha t t he en em y h a d suffered a lmost
dr opped on 6 M ay, a good par t of them
after the sur r ender .” Wainw r i gh t , who
h ad r el eased h is sou th er n Ph il i ppi ne com -
m ander s to M ac.4r thur k con t r ol befor e he
at tem pt ed t o m eet t he en em y com m an der ,t r i ed t o su rr en der on ly t he for t i fi ed i sl an ds
to the J apanese. H e was r ebuffed col d l y
by H omm a’s em i ssar y and tol d that the
J apan ese k new t hat h e w as com man der of
al l the for ces i n the Ph i l ippi nes and that
t hey w ou ld n ot accept h is su rr en der u nl ess
i t m eant the capi tu l at i on of ever y m an i n
h i s com mand, ever ywher e i n the i sl ands.
T he A mer ican gen er al , con vi nced t hat t heJ apan ese w ou ld t reat th e m en on t he for ti -
f ied i sl an ds a s h ost ages, p er h ap s even m as-
TH E S I E G E AND C AP TU RE OF C ORR E G I D OR201
i sl ands i f he d i d not i nsur e a complete
su r r en der of al l h is f or ces.
The str uggl e for con tr ol of M an i l a Bay
fi nal ly end ed on 7 M ay w hen th e J apan ese
occupi ed the l ast of the i sl and for ts, bu t
for most of the captu r ed men “the fi gh t
for l i fe had just begun.” 50 Thousands
su ccu mbed i n t he n ext t hr ee year s t o br ut al
m i st r ea tm en t, m al n ut r it ion , an d d i sease i n
J ap an ese p ri son cam ps i n t he Ph i li ppi n es,
i n the enemy home i sl ands, and i n M an-
chur i a. Two hundr ed and th i r t y-n i ne
easter n beaches. U nt i l the n i gh t of 5 M a y
t her e w as n o com pel l i ng r eason t o bel ieve
that the East Sector woul d dr aw the fi r st
assau lt . A nd even after t he enem y l and ed
at N or th Poi n t the ver y pr esen t th r eat to
w ester n Cor r egi dor exi sted an d cou ld n ot
be i gnor ed . To meet i t, a n umber of .4r my
u ni ts w er e al er ted t o back u p t he posi ti on s
of 2/ 4 and 3/ 4.51
T he pr obl em whi ch Colonel H owar d
faced of w hen , w her e, an d i n w hat st ren gt h
to comm i t the r eser ves avai l abl e to h im
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ofl i cer s and men of the 4th M ar ine Regi -
ment d i ed i n enemy hands,
CONCLUSION
The bat t l e for Cor r egi dor was bi t ter
and con fu sed ; r el at ivel y few m en su rvi ve
who fought i n the E ast Sector th r ough the
n i ght and mor n i ng of 5–6 M ay 1942.
H undr eds of wel l-t r ai ned i nfan tr ym en i n
posi t i ons w i th i n a m i l e or so of M al i n ta
H i l l wer e onl y spectator s and audi tor s of
the fi ght i ng. T he poor est-t r ai ned el e-
m ents of the 4th M ar ines const i tu ted the
vi tal mobi l e r eser ve. On the sur face and
i n hasty consi der at i on i t woul d seem that
th e t act i cs of th e beach d efen se l eft m uch
was a cl assi c one for comm ander s at al l
t r oop l evel s. I f he comm i t ted al l h i s r e-
ser ve at one t i me and i n the ar ea of
gr eatest exi st i ng th r eat , he di st i nct l y i n-
cr eased t he vu ln er abi l i ty of oth er sect or s
to enemy at tack. I f he commi t ted on l y
par t of h i s r eser ve and r etai ned the capa-
bi l i ty of r ei nfor ci ng agai nst fu r ther at -
tacks, he stood the chance of not usi ng
enough men to have a deci si ve ef fect i n
any sector . T he deci si on to commi t the
r eser v e p i ecem ea l r ef l ect ed t h e r egi m en t’s
est i mate of the enem y’s capabi li ti es and
i nten t i ons i n l ight of thei r act i ons.52 T he
J apanese, al though opposed by a r el a-
t i vel y sm al l for ce, d i d not or coul d not
vi gor ousl y pur sue thei r advance af ter
202P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
r ather than as soon as the M ar i nes
expected.
I n l ar ge par t the 4th M ar i nes’ r eser ve
st r en gth w asal read y com rn it te d on5 M ay,
T h e ,J a pa n ese p r ep ar a tor y f i r es, esp eci a ll y
those wh i ch wer e l ai d on ar eas i n pl ai n
si gh t of Bataan , m ade m ovem en t by any
b od y of t r oop s ext r em el y d i ff i cu l t -w i t ness
the fate of Com pany O. T he bom bar d -
m en t had the effect of tyi ng the r egi m ent
to i ts d efen ses. T he t r ai ned i nfan tr ym en
i n i t s r anks wer e kept wher e they cou l d do
pr em iu m on h avi ng th e best i nfant r ym en
at the poi n t wher e thei r val ue woul d be
greatest—the beaches.
T he fal l of Cor regi dor w as i nevi tabl e;
the gar ri son si mpl y d i d not have enough
food to hol d ou t unt i l r el i ef cou l d ar ri ve.
A l though the enem y, pr i m ar i l y for pr es-
t ige a nd p rop aga nd a r ea son s, ch oose t o a s-
sau l t the i sl and , they cou l d easi l y have
star ved i ts defender s i n to subm i ssi on.
When the J apanese d i d m ake thei r at tack
they pai d a h i gh pr i ce for thei r haste,
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th e m ost to bol ster th e cr uci al beach posi -
tions.53 I f any si zabl e num ber of these
m en h ad been w ith dr aw n fr om th e beach es
t o f or m a r eser ve, i t i s q u est ion abl e w h et her
the r em ai ni ng m en cou ld h ave w ith stood
a n y en em y a ssa u l t. O nce t he J a pa nese be-
gan to bom bar d Cor r egi dor i n ear nest
ther e was no such th i ng as a st r ong beach
d efen se posi ti on ; t he ver y fu ry of t he bom -
bar dm ent , dest r oyi ng as i t d i d m ost of the
pr epar ed defenses and dem ol i sh i ng the
m ajor suppor ti ng w eapons, pl aced a h i gh
bu t ext r acted as gr eat a one fr om the de-
fen der s. I n th e i mm ed iate tact i cal sense,
h ow ever , th e enem y ar ti ll er y w as th e vi c-
tor i n the siege and fal l of Cor r egi dor ; no
defend i ng for ce cou l d have w i thstood i t sd ev ast at i n gl y a ccu r a te b om b ar d m en t .
A l though i t was a defeat , the bat t l e of
Cor regi dor i s m ar ked down i n the annal s
of the 4th M ar i nes as a f i gh t to be pr oud
of. T hose who fough t and d i ed i n i t s
r anks, whatever thei r ser vi ce of or i gi n ,
wer e, i f on l y for a br i ef m om ent , Cor -
r egi d or M a r i n es.
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PART V
Decisi on at M idway
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S E TTI h’G TH E S TAG E: E ARLY NAVAL 01’E RATI OA”S207
m oves wou l d be a r ai d a~~i nst the M ar -
sbal ls, f r om whi ch m uch of th i s ,J apanese
act ion w asm ou nt ed . H al sey’s E nt et p?i w
for ce ther efor e set ou t to st r i ke W’ot je
an d M al eol ap, seapl an e bases i n th e M ar -
shal ls. wh i le F letcher pr epar ed to at tack
M i l i and ,J al u i t (al so i n the M ar shal l s)
pl us M aki n w i th h i s l ’or l cto~cn gr oup.
(See M ap 9)
A subm ar ine r econnai ssance found the
M ar shal ]s l i gh t l y defended and spot -
t ed t he l ar gest con cen tr at i on of J apan ese
pl nnes and sh i ps at K waj al ei n Atol l i n
f i gh ter opposi t i on , and that the r epor ts
br ou gh t, back by pi l ot s w er e en th usi ast ic,
dam age to the J apanese i nstak t i ons and
sh i ppi ng was sl i gh t . F i ve Wi l dcats shot
d ow n t wo J apan ese pl an es over M a loel ap,
and n i ne S13D ’S that r etu r ned fr om Roi
l at er sor t i ecl agai n an d d am aged som e ai r -
f i el d i nst al lat ion s. T he su rface bom bw -d -
ment , too, was d i sappoi n t i ng, and the
bom bar dm ent f l agsh i p, Chester , took a
l igh t bom b t hr ou gh her m ai n cl eck an d l ost
ei gh t m en ki l l ed and el even wounded.
T o t he sou th , F let ch er h ad bad l uck over
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the cen ter of the i sl and gr oup. H al sey
deci ded to add th i s choi ce tar get to hi s
l ist , and for the m issi ons he d i vi ded T ask
For ce 8 i nto th r ee gr oups. T he Enterpm”.se
with th ree d estr oyer s w ou ld str ike Wot j e,
M al oel ap, and K wajal ei n; Rear Adm ir al
Raym ond .1. Spr uance w i th the cr ui ser s
i Vor th am pt on an d ,Sa~t L ak e Ci ty pl L M on e
destr oyer wou l d bom bar d Wot je; and
Captai n Thom as M . Sl~ock i n U SS
(’hester , an d w ith tw o dest r oyer s, w oul d
shel l Ma loelap . T he t hr ee sou th er n at ol l s
i n the M ar shal l s gr oup and M ak i n i n the
n or th er n Gi l ber ts w ou ld , be at ten cl ed t o by
F l etcher i n the Yon l town w i th h i s i nde-
pendent com mand ( TF 17) m ade up of the
,T al ui t w hen h i s f l ier s found thei r tar gets
conceal ed by thunder show er s. T wo ,J kp-
anese sh i ps off ,J abor Town wer e h i t, bu t
not sunk, and the dam age ashor e w -as
sl i gh t . A m ine l ayer was h i t at M aki n ,
an d d am age at M i li w as al so sl igh t.
Si mi lar act ion s w er e con ti nu ed i n oth er
ar eas of t he Paci fi c t o h ar ass t he .J apm ese
an d t o pr ovi d e a t l east on e ou tl et , f or ef for t s
to f i gh t back at the enem y when the news
fr om al l other fr on ts was gl oomy. M ost
n ot abl e w er e st ri kes i n ear l y M a rch agpi nst
VT ake and M ar cus I sl and , and the dar ing
r ai d by pl anes of Adm ir al Wi lson B rown ’s
t ask f or ce over Y T ew G ui n ea ’s 15,000-f oot
Owen Stan l ey M ountai ns to h i t the ,J ap-
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SE TTING TH E S TAG E: E ARLY NAVAL OP ER.4TI ONS 209
After secu ri ty-sh rou ded pl ann ing an d
t r ai n i ng, Dool i t t l e’s 16 B–25’s l eft San
Fr anci sco on 2 Apr i l 1942 on boar d the
H or net whi ch was escor ted by cru i ser s
V in cen nes a nd N a sh vi l le, f ou r d est r oyer s,
and an oi l er . After a 13 Apr il r endezvous
w ith th e E nter pr ise of H al sey’s T F 16, th e
r ai di ng par ty con ti nu ed al ong th e nor th -
er n r ou te towar d the J apanese hom ei sl and s.3 Enem y pi cket boats si ghted the
convoy when i t was m or e than 100 m i les
shor t of the i n tended l aunch i ng r ange,
a nd , w i th D ool i tt le~ s con cu r r en ce, H a l sey
both car r i er s r etu rned to Pear l H ar bor on
25 Apr i l . A l though the r ai d d i d m or e to
boost Am er i can m or al e than i t d i d to
d am age J apan ese m il itar y i nst al lat ion s,
m or e pr act i cal r esu l ts cam e l ater . I t al -
l owed a J apanese m i l i t ar y gr oup whi ch
favor ed a fu rth er expan si on of th ei r ter r i -
tor i al gai ns to begi n execu t i on of these
am bi ti ou s pl an s, an d t hi s expan si on effor tl ed d i r ect l y to the Bat t l e of M i dway
whi ch “. . . al one was wel l wor th the ef-
for t pu t i n to th i s oper at i on by . . . [ those]
. . . who had vol unteer ed to hel p even the
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l aunched the f l i er s at 0725 on 18 Apr i l
wh i l e the H oww t bucked i n a heavy sea
668 m i l es fr om the I m per i al Pal ace i n
cen t r a l T okyo.4
M uch of the r ai ~s ant i ci pated shockeffect on T ok yo w as l ost by t he coi nci den ce
of D ool it t l e’s ar r i val over th e ci ty at abou t
noon just as a J apanese ai r r ai d dr i l l was
com pl eted . T he J apanese, con fused by
the at tack whi ch fol l owed thei r own
m an eu ver s, offer ed on ly l igh t opposi ti on
to the B–25’s wh i ch sk i m m ed the ci t y at
t r eetop l evel to dr op thei r bom bs on m il i -
t ar y tar gets. One pl ane wh i ch st r uckK obe r ecei ved n o op posi ti on , al th ou gh t wo
ot her s over N agoya an d Osak a d rew h eavy
score. ’> 5
T he fi rst of J apan ’s pl an ned expan si on
m oves i n the spr i ng of 1942 ai m ed for
con t r ol of the Cor al Sea thr ough sei zur e
of the Souther n Solom on I sl ands andPor t M or esby on N ew Gu i nea as bases
fr om whi ch to knock ou t gr ow i ng A l l i ed
ai r power i n nor theaster n Aust r al i a.
Sei zu re of N ew Ca led on ia , pl an ned as pa rt
of t he th ir d step i n t he secon d m aj or ser ies
of offen si ves, w ou l d com pl ete en ci rcl e-
m en t of the Cor al Sea. T h i s wou l d l eave
the L T. S. comm uni cat i ons r ou te to the
A nza c a r ea d an gl i ng u sel ess a t t he Sa moa nIslands; and l ater ,J apanese advances
wou l d push the U . S. Paci f i c F l eet back to
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S E TTI NG TH E S TAG E : E ARLY NAVAL OP E RATI ONS 211
that she had to be dest r oyed four days
later.
N ot t o be ou td on e, t he A m er i can s r ea ct ed
sim i l ar l y a shor t t i me l ater to a scout
pl an e’s r epor t of t wo J apan ese car r ier s an d
four cr ui ser s nor th of the L ou i si ades. Ac-
t ua ll y t hese cr af t w er e a su bor d in at e en em y
task gr oup consi st i ng of two ol d l i ght
cr ui ser s and th r ee conver ted gunboats.
B ut m or e by good l uck than good m anage-
m en t, th e at tack i ng pl an es i nvest i gat in g
t he r epor t si gh ted t he J apan ese cover i ng
For ce, then pr otect i ng the l ef t f l ank of the
Ear l y the fol l ow i ng m or ni ng, U . S.
sea rch pl an es f in al l y l oca ted t he J a pan ese
car r ier s at abou t th e t im e t he J apan ese r e-
d i scover ed the U , S. f l at tops. At l ast the
stage w as set for t he bi g sh ow .
L oss of th e fl hoho had cu t the J apanese
d ow n t o si ze. T he oppon en ts w ho sl ugged
i t ou t on 8 M ay 1942 w er e even l y m atched,
ph ysi cal ly an d m or al ly, to a d egr ee r ar el y
found i n w ar far e, af l oat or ashor e?’ H ow -
ever , at the t i me th e bat t l e devel oped, the
J a pa nese en joyed t he gr ea t t act i ca l a dva n-
tage of havi ng thei r posi ti on shr ouded by
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I >or t M or es by i n .vasi on Gr oup, an d con-
cen t r ated on the N fi oho to the vi rtual ex-
cl usi on of h er con sor ts. Agai nst 93 ai r -
cr aft of al l t ypes, th e l on e l igh t, car r ier h ad
no m or e chance than T ask F or ce N eosho-
A ’i m.s h ad agai nst th e J apan ese, an d, h er
dem ise pr om pted the m or al e-boost i ng
ph rase, “Scr atch one fl at top ” g
As a r esu l t of these al ar m s and excur -
si ons, both comm and i ng adm i r al s had
m i ssed each other once agai n . By m id-
after noon, how ever , T akagi had a pr et ty
good i cl en of the L T. S. car ri er s’ l ocat i on
an d, sh or t l y befor e n igh tfal l , d ispat ch ed a
bom ber -t or ped o st ri ke agai nst F letch er .
T hanks to a heavy weather f r on t , these
the same heavy weather fr on t that had
cover ed the U . S. car r ier s the pr evi ous
after noon, whi l e F l etcher % for ce l ay i n
cl ear t r opi cal sunl i gh t wher e i t cou l d be
seen for m any m il es fr om al of t .
T he at tack i ng ai r cr af t of both par ti es
st ru ck t hei r en em y at n ear ly th e sam e t im e
(ap pr oxi m at el y 1100), p assi n g each ot her
en r ou te,’2 T he t wo J apan ese car r i er s an d
t hei r r espect ive escor ts l ay abou t t en m i les
apar t . As the Yorktown’s p l anes orb i t ed
over the tar get pr epar ator y to the at tack,
the Zu i kaku and her scr een i ng for ce d i s-
appear ed i nto a r ai n squal l and wer e seen
on e esca ped. I n this a ct ion t he J apa n ese lost 9
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S E TTI XG TH E S TAG E : E ARLY XAVAI , OP ERATI ONS 213
exl )l osi on . T hi s r es(d ted on l y i nd i rect l y
fr om enem y :~ct i on : r el ezsed gasol i ne
f l m les wer e i gn i ted by spar ks fr om a gen-
er a tor son l eon e h a cl ca r el essl y l ef t r u n n in g.
T hi s set off l vhat an l oun ted to a chai n r e-
act i on . T he best el for ts of h er cr ew avat led
noth i ng, and at 1707 her sk i pper gave the
or (l er to abandon sh i p. T h i s m ovem en t
w as car r i ed ou t i n th e best or der , I vi th ou tthe l oss of a m an. A t abou t 2000, near l y
n i ne hour s after the ,J apanese had w i th -
d r awn fr om the bat t l e, t or pedoes of her
own escor t pu t her under the waves
forever.
I .oss of th e L ei w%gton gave t act ical vi c-
tor y to the J apanese. 13u t by thwar t i ng
the i nvasi on of Por t M or esby, pr inci pal
object i ve of the en t i r e oper at i on , the
L “n i ted States won st r ategi c vi ctor y. At
the t i m e the enem y r egar ded th i s m er el y
a postponem ent of thei r i nvasi on phm s;but even ts w ou ld pr ove th at . n o ,J apanese
seabor ne i nvasi on ever wou l d near Por t
M o r esb y a ga i n.
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J .4P ANE S E P LANS : TOWARD MI I )WAY AND TH E NORTH P AC I FI C 215
m an d an d t o cover d iver si on ar y J apan ese.
l and i ngs i n the wester n Al eu t i ans by the
Occupat i on For ces for .& dak-At tu and
K i ska. N ext the (’om ier Str ik i ng Fom e,
comm anded by Vi ce Adm i r al Chu i ch i
N agumo, wou l d soften M idway w i th the
pl anes fr om the bi g fl eet car ri er s Akagi ,
K aga, H ir yu , and f l or yu ,5 an d w ou l d then
m ove on to st r ike the f i rst bl ow at , the U . S.
Paci f i c F l eet i f i t chal l enged i n a sor t i e
fr om Pear l H ar bor .
Adm i r al Yam amoto’s M ain Body, i n -
cl udi ng th r ee bat t l esh i ps and a l i gh t
m ism and over con fi dence to cast the U . S.
Paci f i c F l eet i n the r ol e of a t im i d char -
a ct er a ct or cu ed f or a vu l ner abl e “w al k -on ”
par t. T hey begged the quest i on of tact i cs
befor e t hei r pl an m oved t o t he oper at ion al
stage. T he U . S. F leet , accor di ng to J apa-
nese pl ans, woul d be steam ing for the
Second M obi le For ce i n the Al eu t i ans, or
w oul d be vaci ll at i ng i n H aw ai ian w ater s,
u nt il t he st ron g (7ar r ier St m”k in g F or ce h it
M i dway and r eveal ed the tar get of the
m ain effor t.G I n ei ther even t noth i ng but
the sm al l M ar i ne gar r i son for ce wou l d
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cr u i ser of h i s for ce pl us the .47eut i an .
Scr een i ng For ce of four bat t l esh i ps and
two l i gh t cr u i ser s, then wou l d go i n for
the k i l l agai nst the U . S. F l eet . T h i s en-
gagem ent w ou l d be fol low ed, af ter dar k-
n ess on 5 ,J un e, by V ice A dm ir al N obl l take
K ondo m ovi ng i n to shel l the U . S. base
for two days. T hen K ondo’s conr oyed
T ranspor t Or oup wou l d appr oach to l and
the M idway Occwpct i on For ce of 5,000
gr ou nd t roops. Wh il e cr ossi ng t he Paci fi c,
Yam am oto r em ained some hundr eds of
m i l es to the r ear w i th h i s M ain , Body,
awai ti ng wor d fr om the .4dvcm ce Expe-
d it i on ar y F or ce of l ar ge f l eet subm ar in es
al r eady m ann i ng stat i ons on the ap-
stand i n the w ay of the occupat i on of M id-
way, and the J apanese wou l d have an ai r
base of thei r own ther e befor e the U . S.
F l eet cou l d r ea ch t hem .
But , as at the Cor al Sea encounter , the
U .S. F leet al read y h ad sor ti ed t o aw ai t t he
,J apanese. For m or e than a m onth N im itz
had been awar e that som eth i ng l i ke th i s
was i n the w ind , and he bet near ly ever y-
th i ng he had that the str ike w ou l d h i t M id -
way. T he weakened Paci f i c F l eet stood
som e 300 m il es n or th east of M i d way, t her e
t o r efu el , befor e t he J apan ese pi ck et su b-
m ar ines took posi ti on . As a r esu l t, these
boats si gh ted no U . S. sh i ps and r ad i oed
CH APT ER 8
Midway Girds for Battle’
E ven befor e th ese J apan ese pl an s w er e
m ad e, an d l on g befor e A dm i ral Y am am ot o
sor ti ed eastwar d, al l U . S. m il itar y pl an-
n er s r ecogn ized t he vu ln er abl e posi ti on of
the M idway Atol l .’ Especi al l y was th i s
posi t i on cl ear i n the l i gh t of ear l y J ap-
an ese su ccesses el sew her e i n t he Paci fi c,
i ncl ud i ng about 100 off i cer s and men of
Bat ter ies A and C of the 4th Defense B at -tal ion , l ef t Pear l H ar bor on 19 D ecem ber
w i th the ol d N avy 7-i nch b a nd, the 3-i nch
gu ns w hi ch h ad been sh ipped to Pear l H ar -
bor for M idway pr i or to the ou tset of war .
(See M a p 10, M a p S ect ion )
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and none w -as mor e keen l y awar e of the
gr im si tuat i on than the atol l’s sm al l gar -
r ison for ce. T he 12 PBY>S of VP-21 wer e
soon w i thdr awn, and l it t l e hel p w-as ex-pected fr om the cr i ppl ed fl eet . B u t on 17
D ecem ber , w hi le the 6th M ar ine Defense
B at tal ion w or ked to i mpr ove exi st i ng de-
fense i nst al lat i on s, 17 SB 2U -3’S (V in di -
cator s) of M ar ine Scout -B om ber Squad-
r on 231 ( V M SB -231 ) f l ew i n u nexpect ed ly
fr om H awai i . L ed by M ajor Cl ar ence J .
Ch appel l , J r ., an d assi st ed i n over -w at er
n avi gat ion by a PB Y, t he obsol escen t cr af tm ad e t he 1,137-m il e h op i n n ine h ou rs an d
t w en ty m i nu tes.’ O ther rei n f or cemen t s,
T h i s for ce, on boar d the U SS Wr i gh t ,
ar r ived on Ch ri st mas E ve, an d L i eu ten an t
Col onel H ar ol d D . Shannon, who com -
m an ded M a ri ne d ef en se for ces on t he at ol l ,tu r ned over to Bat ter y A (Captai n Cust i s
Bur ton , J r. ) the m i ssi on of i nstal li ng and
m ann i ng the 7-i nch and 3-i nch bat ter ies
t o be em pl aced on E ast er n I sl an d. B at ter y
C (F i r st L ieu tenant L ew i s A. J ones) was
assi gned the job of set t i ng up i ts 3-i nch
bat ter y on San d I sl an d.’
N ext day M idway r ecei ved another
Ch r i st m as pr esen t: 14 B r ew st er F 2A –3’s,the ai r echel on of M ar ine F i gh ter Squad-
r on 221 ( VM F-221 ), f l ew i n fr om the U SS
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MI D WAY G IRD S FOR B .4TTLE 219
rehearsals. By the l ast week of M ay, al l
,J ap an ese f l eet el em en ts w er e u nd er w ay,
an d on decks I mper ial sai lor s su nbath ed
an d sang son gs—vocal er upt i on s of w hat
has been descr i bed as the “Victory
Disease.”’
M eanwh i l e on M idway, the focal poi n t
for these vast effor ts, M ar ines got thei r
f i r st i nk l i ng of al l th i s at ten t i on whenN im itz f l ew i n on 2 M ay to see thei r sen i or
of l icer , L i eu ten an t Col on el Sh an non , an d
the atol l com mander , Com mander Cyr il
T . Si m ar d. T he adm ir al i nspected the i n-
stal lat i on s, and th en d ir ected Sh an non to
the steps bei ng taken to r ei n for ce thei r
atol l agai nst the an t i ci pated at tack .
J apan ese D -D ay, th e ad mi ral pr ed icted,
wou l d be about 28 M ay. On the day they
r ecei ved th is l et t er , Si mar d an d Sh an non
con fer red on t hei r f i nal pl an s for d efen se,
and that even i ng Col onel Shannon as-
sem bl ed h is k ey su bor di nat es an d w ar ned
them of the i m pendi ng enem y at tack ..A dd i ti on al d ef en si ve m ea su r es a nd p r ior i -
t i es of f i nal effor ts wer e ou t l i ned , and al l
r ecr eat ion al a ct ivi ti es su spen ded . M a y 25
was set as the dead l i ne for com pl et i on of
t he m ea su r es or d er ed .
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subm i t a detai l ed l i st of al l suppl i es and
equ i pm en t he wou l d need to defend the
atol l agai nst a st r ong at tack . N i m i tz
p rom i sed t h at a ll a va il abl e i t em s r equ est ed
woul d be for war ded i m m ed i atel y, and
w i th i n l ess than a week m en and m ater ial
w er e bein g em bar ked i n H aw ai i to bol ster
t h e i sl a nd st r en gt h .
T hr ee m or e 3-i nch an ti ai r cr aft bat ter i es
total in g 12 guns, a 37m m an ti ai rcr af t bat -
t er y of ei gh t gu ns, a nd a 20m m a nt ia ir cr aft
bat ter y of 18 guns wer e tem por ar i l y de-
tached fr om the 3d Defense Bat tal i on at
Pear l H ar bor ; and tw o r if l e com pani es of
th e 2d M ar in e Rai der B at tal ion , t ogeth er
On the 25th , however , cam e two wel -
com ed changes for the pi ctu r e. F i rst ,
N im it z passed th e w or d t hat th e J apan ese
at tack w as n ot expected u nt i l ear ly J une,an dj secon d, the f i rst r ei nfor cem en ts ar -
r i ved. On th i s date the U SS St . L ou i s
cam e i n w i th the 37m m an t i ai r cr aft bat -
ter y of the 3d D efense Bat tal i on pl us the
tw o com pan i es of r ai der s. Four of the
37’s wer e em pl aced on each i sl and wh i l e
Rai der Com pany C (Captai n Donal d H .
H ast i e ) wen t to Sand I sl and , and Com -
pany D (F i r st L ieu tenant J ohn Aper gi s)to E aster n I sl an d.
N ext d ay th e ai rcr af t ten der K it tyh aw k
220P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
For the gr ound for ces and key ci vi l i an
w or ker s who had r em ai ned beh i nd to hel p
defend the i sl and , the week was equal l y
busy. Rei n for ci ng weapons wer e i n -
st al l ed , t an ks t est ed i n t he san d, al l d ef en -
si ve con cen tr at ion s r egi ster ed i n, an d t he
em placi ng of an extensi ve system of ob-
st acl es, m i nes a nd d em ol i ti on s com pl et ed .
Sand I sl and now w as sur rounded w ith tw o
d ou bl e-apr on bar bed w ir e bar r i er s, an d al l
i nst al lat i on s on bot h i sl an ds w er e r in ged
by pr otect i ve w i r e. An t i boat m ines of
seal ed sew er pi pe, and obstacl es of r ei n-
er ed l i kel y beach exi ts; and bot t l es of
m ol ot ov cock tai l st ood r ead y at ever y posi -
t i on . A decoy mockup ai rpl ane (a ,J FU —
J a pa nese f ou l er -u pp er ) w as sp ot ted pr om -
i nen t l y on the seapl ane apr on , and al l un-
der gr ound fuel stor age ar eas on Sand
I sl and wer e pr epar ed for em er gency de-
st r u ct i on by d em ol i t i on .’l
“ Th e demolit ion syst em w orked, t oo. On 22
Ma y a sa ilor t h rew t he w r on g sw it ch a nd blew
up a good port ion of t h e a via t ion ga soline. Th e
supply w a s so crit ica l a ft er t his t ha t t he pilot s
w h o a r r ived on t h e K it t vh a w k did n ot get a
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f or ci n g st eel l ay of fsh or e; t he beach es w er e
sown w i th homem ade m ines of am m uni -
t i on boxes fi l l ed w i th dynam i te and 20-
pen ny n ai ls; ci gar box an ti tan k m in es cov-
preba tt le ch a nce t o ch eck out in t heir S B D–2’S .
P ipe lines a lso w ere w recked in t h e bla st , a n d
MAG -22 t h erea ft er h a d t o refuel a ll pla n es by
h a nd from 55-ga llon drums.
CH APTER 4
Midway Versus
4 5 June 1942
the Japanese
A M idway PBY spot ted the appr oach-
i ng J apanese fi rst , at about 0900 on J une
3:- and tr acked them long enough to r e-
por t el even shi ps mak i ng 19 knots east -
ward . T hese vessel s wer e pr obabl y the
wer e goi ng up to pat r ol fr om M idway, he
h ad r eached a posi ti on appr oxi matel y 250
m i l es nor thwest of the atol l . Ther e at
0430 the J apanese adm i r al l aunched 36
“K ate” tor pedo pl anes and 36 “Val ” d i ve
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t r an spor t an d sea pl an e gr ou ps of t he Occu -
pat i on For ce, and they wer e at tacked at
1624 by n in e B –17’s w hi ch Capt ai n Si mar d
sent ou t fol l ow i ng the PBY’s con tact r e-por t. T he pi lots r epor ted havi ng hi t “tw o
bat t l eshi ps or heavy cr ui ser s’s and two
tr anspor ts i n the gr oup then 570 m i l es
away fr om M idway, bu t the fl i er s wer e
m i staken i n both sh i p i den t i f i cat i on and
i n cal l i ng thei r shots, for they actual l y
h i t noth i ng. A Catal i na scor ed on one of
these oi l er s l ater that n i ght i n a moon-
l igh t tor pedo r un .T hi s w as enough to convi nce F l etcher
that the bat t l e wou l d soon be on, and he
bom ber s, pl us 36 escor ti ng Zer os, for the
fi r st st ri ke agai nst t he at ol l .
At 0545 one of the M idway PBY’s
si gh ted these pl anes about 150 m il es ou tfr om the i sl and , and a shor t t im e l ater
an ot her PB Y r epor ted vi su al con tact w it h
two enem y car ri er s and the bal ance of the
Japanese Cu rvi e~ Str+king Fo~ce some 200
m i l es fr om M idway. Enter pr i se inter-
cept ed this repor t , but . F let ch er w a nt ed t o
recover his sea rch pla nes a n d sift fur t her
in t elligence before la un ch ing his st rike,
a nd so he ordered S prua nce t o t a ke t he va n
sout hw est er ly a nd lea d off t h e a t t a ck
a g-a inst t he en emy ca rr iers.
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MID WAY VE RS U S TH E J AP ANE S E , 4-5 J UNE 1942 223
ai r i n l ess than 10 m i nu tes, VM F–221
h ead in g to i nter cept t he en em y pl an es an d
VM S13-241 off to r endezvous stat i on 20
m i l es east wher e the d i ve bom ber pi l ots
w ou l d r ecei ve f ur t her i n st r uct ion s.
T he VM F fl i er s under M ajor F l oyd B .
Par ks si ghted th e Zer o-escor ted Val d ive
bom ber s at 0616 abou t 30 m il es ou t fr om
M i dway, and Captai n J ohn F . Car ey,
l ead i ng one of Par ks’ d i vi si ons i n an
F4F-3, l aunched the at tack fr om 17,000
feet . T he M ar ine f l i er s wer e hopel essl y
outnum ber ed , and they found that the
Zer o f i gh ter s cou l d “f l y r i ngs ar ound
them.” T hey had t i m e for on l y one. pass
th ei r st r ik e. Si nce each of th ese J apan ese
for m at i ons had l eft t he car r i er s w i th 36
pl an es, i t i s possi bl e t hat th e M ar in e f l ier s
scor ed som e k i l l s.z
T he K aga ai r cr aft gr oup i n the f i r st
w ave, assi gn ed to at tack th e pat r ol pl an e
faci l i t i es on Sand I sl and , d r opped n i ne
242-k il ogr am bom bs on an d a bou t t he. sea -
pl ane hangar s, set t i ng them afl am e and
star t i ng a l ar ge f i r e i n the fuel oi l tanks
500 yar ds to the nor th . T he Akagi pl anes
pl aster ed the nor th shor e of Easter n
I sl and to dest r oy the M ar i ne m ess hal l ,
gal l ey, and post exchange. T hese the r e-
t ur n i ng en em y f li er s d escr i bed a s h a nga rs>
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at the bom ber s, and then had to tu r n thei r
at ten t i on to the sw ar m of Zer os, fr om one
to f i ve of wh i ch got on the tai l of each
M ar in e f i gh ter . On ly th ree of th e or igi nal
12 M ar ine pi l ots sur vi ved th i s br aw l , and
al th ou gh th e d am age th ey i nf l icted on th e
enem y has never been assessed , i t i s be-
l i eved that they spl ashed a num ber of the
bom ber s and som e of the Zer os. Other
Zer os w er e l ed i n to the M idway ant i ai r -
cr af t f ir e.
M ean wh il e anoth er gr ou p of 13 M i dw ay
f i gh ter s under Captai n K ir k Ar mi stead
cam e i n for an at tack agai nst the enem y
ai r for mat ion . Agai n th e d am age i nf l icted
Other tar gets of the J apanese d i ve
bom ber s i ncl ud ed t he al r ea dy-f l am i ng fu el
stor age at the nor th end of Sand I sl and ,
th e San d I sl an d d ispen sar y, an d th e E ast -
er n I sl and power house wh i ch su ffer ed
d i rect h its fr om tw o 805-k i logr am bom bs.
T hese h its vi rtu al ly d est r oyed th e en ti re
pl an t . And at the ver y end of the st r i ke,
t he 6t h D ef en se B at ta li on ’s F ,a st er n I sl an d
com man d post r ecei ved a d ir ect h i t w hi ch
k i l l ed the M ar i ne sector com m ander ,
M ajor Wi ll iam J $’. Ben son , an d w ou nd ed
sever al other m en . A fter these bom ber s
com pl eted thei r r uns, the Zer os cam e i n
for st r af i ng at tacks. T h i s one and on l y
224 P EARL H AR B OR TO G UAD AL C ANAL
M a ri ne d efen se bat ter i es fi r ed t hr ou gh -
ou t t hese at tack s, an d on e sou rce cr ed it ed
th i s an t i ai r cr af t f i r e w i th 10 k i l l s,’ Re-
por ts fr om M ar ine fl yer s wou l d appear to
r equ ir e an i ncr ease of t hi s est i mate, h ow -
ever , si nce r etu r ni ng M idway pi l ots de-
scr i bed enem y pl anes fal l i ng ou t of
for mat i on and other s fl ounder ing i nto the
water.5 B ut ,J apan ese au th or i t ies cl ai mthat on l y si x of thei r pl anes—thr ee l evel
bom ber s, t w o d i ve bom ber s, a nd a f igh ter —
fai l ed to make i t back to the car r i er s.’
T h is con tr over sy pr obabl y w il l n ever be r e-
sol ved , for r egar dl ess of h ow m an y of t hese
ar m them for the new at tack of the atol l .
Wh i l e h i s men wer e i nvol ved i n th i s wor k
on the f l i gh t deck and i n hangar spaces,
N agu m.o got th e bel a~ed w or d fr om a T on e
sear ch pl ane that U . S. sh i ps, i ncl ud i ng at
i east one car ri er , wer e i n the ar ea. T h i s
caused another change of m i nd , and the
adm i r al or der ed the pl anes’ or dnance
changed agai n , fr om bom bs back to tor -pedoes w i th wh i ch to at tack the sur face
sh i ps. B u t th i s deci si on was just tar dy
enough to al l ow Spr uance to catch h i m
w it h h is pl an es d ow n, an d w it h tor ped oes
an d bom bs st rew n i n gr eat con fu si on abou t
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,J apan ese pl an es m ad e i t back t o t hei r car -
r ier d ecks, F letch er an d Spr uan ce—w ith a
certain un i nten t i on al assi stan ce fr om
N agum o-i ni ti ated act i on wh i ch r esu l tedi n the dest r uct i on of al l these pl anes,
anyway.
N “agu mo’s m i st ak e w as a n at ur al on e for
a com m ander who bel i eved h im sel f to be
unopposed on a “fi el d” of bat t l e of h i s ow n
choi ce. L ieu tenant J oi ch i T om onaga, the
fl igh t off i cer w ho h ad com man ded t he fi rst
at tack w ave agai nst M i dw ay, r ad ioed d ur -
i ng h is r etu rn fl igh t t hat “T her e i s n eed fora secon d a tt ack w ave.’; M ean wh il e, w it h
N agum o st i ll i gnor an t of the U . S. f l eet ’s
t he h an gar d eck .7
M ean wh il e, as N agu mo vaci l lat ed , ..A d-
m ir al N im itz’s or der s for Captai n Si mar d
to “go al l ou t for the car r i er s,” wh i l eM ar ine an t i ai r cr af t bat ter i es wor r ied
about M id way, w er e u nd er execu ti on .
V M SB -241, l ik e t he fi gh ter squ ad ron , h ad
d i vi ded i n to two st r i k i ng un i ts, the fi r st
com posed of 16 SBD–2’S l ed by M ajor
L ofton H ender son , and the second of 11
S B2U –3’S com m an d ed by M a jor B en ja mi n
MT.Korr is . H en der son ’s gr ou p cl i mbed t o
9,OOO f eet to l ocate the enem y car r i er s,wh i ch wer e then under goi ng the at tack
fr om the T BF’s and the B–26’s. F l i er s of
MI D WAY VE RS U S TH E J AP ANE S E , 4-5 J UNE 1942 225
N ext cam e an at tack by 15 B -17’s l ed by
L ieu tenant Col onel Wal ter C. Sweeney,
U SA, bu t agai n cl aim s of h i ts wer e opt i -
mist ic. And as these F l yi ng F or tr esses
pu l l ed away, M ajor N or r i s cam e in w i th
h i s 11 Vind i cator s wh i ch had taken of f
w it h H en der son . Beset by the Zer os,
N or r is t ur ned t o t he n ear est t ar get at h an d,
and the M ar i nes cr owded thei r anci en tpl anes i n to a standar d gl i de r nn al m ost
on top of the .J apanwe bat t l esh i p
H cu -w w—pr evi ou sl y cl ai med as an A rm y
B–17’s vi ct im off L uzon. Some of the
f li er s al so w en t af ter t he K i ri sh ir na, w hi ch
gone i n agai nst the at tack i ng J apanese
pl anes, on l y 10 r etu r ned , and of th i s num -
ber onl y two wer e i n shape to l eave the
gr ou nd a ga in . T h ir t een F 2.4–3’s a nd t wo
F4F ’s wer e m issi ng, al ong w ith the ei gh t
cr aft l ost f r om the H ender son gr oup and
the th r ee shot away fr om the N or ri s for ce.
Sl ick bl ack sm oke fr om oi l f i res bi ll ow ed
up fr om the i sl ands, and r uptu r ed fuell in es l eft m or e t han tw o-t hi rd s of t he avi a-
t i on fuel tem por ar i l y unavai labl e. Cr aso-
l i ne had to be sent to the f i el d fr om Sand
I sl and , and hand-pum ped fr om dr um s.
T he M ar in e gr ou nd d efense for ce h ad su s-
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w as near by, bu t nei ther at tack m anaged
any h i ts. T hr ee M ar ines wer e shot down,
an d t he gr ou p w as cr ed it ed w it h spl asi l in g
t wo en em y f igh ter s, p lu s t w o pr oba bl es?
By 1100 al l su r vi vi ng M ar i ne ai r cr af t
had m ade thei r way back to the atol l
w h er e a l l h an d s gr i m l y a ssessed t h e b at t l e’s
dam age and pr epar ed for subsequent ac-
t i on . Of the VM F-221 fi gh ter s wh i ch had
a i r f i el d : cap tu red two mon ths l a t er , was named
in }I a j Henderson ’shonor . Rea r gunnerso f t h i s
st r i k e gr ou p a r e cr ed i t ed w i t h f ou r en em y killsplus t w o a ddit ion al pr oba bles.
9 ONI Review, 19; U SS B S Intcrrogatiorw, Na v
NO 2, C a pt S usumu K a w a guchi, I J N,I ,6. S ee
t ai ned 24 casu al ti es, an d fou r or dn an ce-
m en of VM F-221 had been l ost to a d i r ect
bom b h i t.
.4t 1700 a bur ni ng en em y car r i er w as r e-
por ted 200 m i l es nor thwest of M idway,
and M ajor N or ri s pr epar ed VM SB -241>S
si x op er a ti on al S BD –2 ’S a nd f i ve S B21 J –3 ’S
for a n i gh t at tack . T he pl anes took of f
at 1900, bu t cou l d not f i nd the car r i er .
M ajor N or r i s fai l ed to r etu r n fr om th i s
m i ssi on , a lt hou gh t he ot her p il ot s m an aged
to hom e by the l i gh t of oi l f i r es and
the an ti ai rcr af t sear ch l igh ts wh i ch wer e
tu r ned up as beacons.’” M eanwhi l e, the
Bat t l e of M idway had been deci ded at sea
CHAPTER.5
Battle of the Carrier Planes
4 June 1942
While t h e la nd-ba sed fl iers h a d t heir
morning go a t t h e J a pa nese St r i k i ng
Force, a nd w hile Na gumo juggled his
pla nes a nd decision s, S prua n ce st ea med
sout hea st t o lea d off t he a t ta ck a ga inst t he
en emy. The America n a dmira l int ended
t o hold his pla n es unt il h e dr ew w it hin
t he ta sk force. The str ike w a s led by 29
D eva st a t or (TB D –1 ) t orpedo bombers,
a nd t hese w er e follow ed by 6’7 D a unt less
dive bombers a n d 20 Wildca t fight ers.
E igh t een ot h er Wildca ts, plus a like n um-
ber w it hh eld t o relieve t hem la t er, pa -
t rol led ov er hea d . Yorktown h eld ba ck its
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a bout 100 miles of t he J a pa nese. B ut w h en
h e h ea rd of t he st rike on Midw a y, S pru-
a nt e. la un ch ed t w o h ours before t his in-
t ended ra n ge w ould h a ve been rea ched.
B y t his ca lcula t ed risk h e h oped t o ca t ch
t he J apa nese pla nes ba ck on t heir ca rriers
rea rmin g for a second a t ta ck of t h e a t oll.
An d a bout t w en t y minut es la ter NTa gumo
ma de t h e decision w hich set up himself
a n d his pla nes a s exa ct ly t he ta rget S pru-
a n ce h oped his pilot s w ould fin d.1
Enteqnise a n d Hornet bega n la un ch in g
a t a bout 07007 sen din g off ever y opera tion a l
pla ne t h ey ca rr ied, except a few t o cover
pla nes for a bout t w o hours; Flet cher con-
sidered t ha t t he a ircra ft from his ca rr ier
might be n eeded a ga inst ot h er en emy ca r-
riers not yet loca t ed, but by 0838 t here h a d
been n o enemy sight ings, a nd h e decided
t o la un ch ha lf his dive bombers a n d a ll
his t orpedo pla nes, a long w it h escort ing
fight ers. 13y shor t ly a ft er 0900 t he Yor~ -
town ha d 17 S B D ’sj 12 TB D ’s, a nd six
F4F–3’s in t he a ir , a nd ot her pla nes rea dy
for t akeoff.
As S prua n ce ha d hoped, Na gumo con -
t in ued for more t ha n a n h our t o st ea m t o-
w a rd Midw a y, a n d t he first U . S . pla nes
B ATTLE OF TH E C ARRIE R P LANE S, 4 J UNE 1942 227
in.g Force, a n d pulled dow n upon t hem-
selves t he bulk of t he Zeroes pa t rolling
overhead. Aga inst this combin ed fire, few
of t h e pla nes got close en ough t o J apa nese
ships to la unch t orpedoes, a nd a ga in, a s in
t he C ora l S ea ba t t le, a ny hit s scored by t he
slow unrelia ble t orpedoes of tha t per iod
proved duds. This a nt ia ircra ft a nd
fight er opposit ion st a rt ed w hile t he pla nes
ha d yet eight miles t o go t o rea ch t he J a pa -
n ese ships, a nd on ly one D eva st a t or pilot
l ived to pull up from t his a t t a ck,’
The 14 TB D ’s from t he Enterprise fa red
only a lit t le bet t er. Four of t hese pla nes,
likew ise st riking w it hout figh t er escor t ,
& ’oryu>s ga soline st ow a ge exploded a n d
broke t h e ship in ha lf.
B y 1030, Na gumo ha d lost t h e services of
t h ree ca rriers, a nd in a ll t hree ca ses, a s
S prua nce ha d h oped, t h e America n a t t a ck
h a d ca ught t he ships in process of refuel-
in g a nd re.a rrn ing t he pla nes of t heir llid-
w a y st r ike. B ut even w it h t hese ships a n d
t heir pla nes gon e, ~ agumo st ill w a s det er-
mined t o fight ba ck w it h his surviving ca r-
r ier , t he E liryu, w hich ha d esca ped da ma ge
by get t ing fa r out of posit ion in some of
t he ea r lier eva sive a ct ions t o esca pe t he t or-
ped o pla nes. ‘t .llt hough defea t now st a red
t h e J a pa nese st a rkly in t l~ e fa ce, t hey felt
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survived t heir t orpedo runs a ga inst t h e
,J a pa nese shipsj a lt h ough t hey scored no
hit s. B ut t hese t w o D eva st a tor a t t a cks,
cost ly a s t hey w ere, served t o pull dow n t he
Zero ca nopy t o such a low a lt it ude t ha t t he
follow ing S B ~ ’s from Enterpr ise a nd
Yorktown ha d a n ea sier t ime of it .
These D a unt less dive bombers ca me in a t
a bout 1020 w hile ~ agumo>s ships st ill w ere
dodging t he D eva sta t ors. Th e ~ lt a g; t ook
t w o hit s w hich set her a fire, a n d Admira l
Na gumo t ra nsferred his fla g t o t he light
cruiser Nagara.3 The Xa ga susta ined
four hit s, a n d a t 1925 she blew up a nd sa nk.
t ha t t he ba t t le h a d t o be cont in ued a s long
a s w e ret a ined even a sma ]l pa rt of our
st riking pow er .>’ 5
~ ~ rh en t h e Alcagi was shot from under
N“a gumo, t he J a pa nese A “t r %i n g F or ce com-
ma nder t empora r ily pa ssed his comma nd
t o Rea r Admira l H iroa ki Abe on boa rd t he
hea vy cruiser Tone, a nd comma n d of a ir
opera t ions simult a neously pa ssed t o Rea r
ildmira l Ta mon Ya ma guchi in t he lliryt i.
.At a bout 1050 t w o floa t pla nes from t h e
cruiser Ph%uma si~ hteil t he Yorktoum
i,a sk group a n d guided t o it a st rike of 18
dive bombers a nd six fight ers up from t he
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B ATTLE OF TH E C ARRI E R P LANE S , -1 . J ~ NE 1942 229
r el i eved N agumo of com mand i n favor of
Rear .I dm ir a] K ondo; bu t l ater n~essnges
tol d t he com m:u ld er i l l ch ief t hat t her e w as
l i tt l e ch an ce of f in di n g t l ]e 1“. S . “F l eet u nt i l
af ter dawn next day. I t 0255 on 5 ,J une
t l ~e a dm i r al ch an ged h i s l n il ~d , a ba nd on ed
t he M i d way ven tu re, an d or d er ed a gen er al
w i thdrawa l .
A dm ir al Spr uan ce, n ow m or e on hi ., ow il
t han ever , fol low in g F let ch er ’s m ove fr om
the dtm laged l ’or lto~r n to the A.sto~i a/ ’
of cour se d i d not know of Yam amoto’s
deci si on ; bu t he d i d know th at vast l y m or e
pow er fu l en em y su rface for ces cou ld w el l
w i th the dest r oyer s to scr een them , the
M ogm wi w i th a dam aged bow and the
MzXWna t r ai li ng oi l. T l~e subm ar ine com
t i nued to stal k these four sh i ps, d i d not
m anage to gai n a fi r i ng posi t i on , bu t at
br eak of d ay r el )or ted t hei r posi ti on .
(“apt ai n Si m ar d sen t 12 B –17’s ou t fr om
M idway to at tack these sh i ps, bu t theF l yi ng For tr esses had t r oubl e l ocat i ng
thei r tar gets, and Si mar cl then or der ed a
M ar ine bom bi ng squadr on off on th i s m is-
si on . Captai n M . A. T yl er w i th si x
S 13 1)–2 7sa nd (’a pt ai n R i ch ar d E . F l em i n g
w i th si x SB2L ”-3’S took off at abou t 0700
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be n ear by, qu it e possi bl y w ith ad di ti on al
car r ier s that , had com e in w i th the M ain
Body or w i th another enem y for ce. H i spr obl em , m h e sa~v i t, w as t o avoi d com bat
i n w h ich h e cou l d be h opel essl y ou tcl assed ,
especi al l y at n i gh t , and yet at t i l e sam e
t i m e keep w i th i n ai r suppor t d i stance of
M i dw ay i n case t he ,J apan ese sh ou ld per -
si st i n thei r assau l t pl ans. T h i s he suc-
ceeded i n doi ng, bu t i n the pr ocess l ost
con tact w i th the enemy fl eet . H e d i d not
r egai n con tact u nt il 6 .J u ne.I n t i l e ear l y mor n i ng hour s of 5 J une,
however , a r et i r i ng ,J apan ese col um n of
to at tack the sh i ps wh i ch wer e then r e-
por ted to be 170 m i l es west of the atol l .
T hey l ocated the sh i ps at abou t 0800, and‘~yl er l ed h i s d i I isi oI l ou t of the s~~r ~o.
w ar d the ster n of th e M ogam i wh i le F lem -
i ng and the other V i nd i cator pi l ots went
down at the Mikw ta
B oth d i vi si ons m et heavy ant i ai rcr aft
f i r e, bu t T yl er aucl h i s f l i er s br acketed
thei r tar get w i th si x near m i sses wh i ch
caused some topsi de dam age to the M o-
gumi.” F l em ing’s pl ane was h i t , bu t thepi l ot , stayed on cour se at the head of h i s
at tack for m at i on and cr ashed h i s pl ane
930P EARL H ARB OR TO G LTAD ALC ANTA1,
cr ui ser s, an d A dm i ral Spr ur r nce’s car r ier
I )l anes found t i le cr ippl es the fol low i ng
day, the 6th . T lw at tack of these pl anes
sank t i le ill;l:?(/}/a and i r l f li ct ed en ou gh
ad di ti on al d am age on t i le i11~9~/ti i to keep
her ou t of the }var for the next two year s.
T he B at t l e of M idwzy-wh i ch many h i s-
tor ians and m il itar y exper ts consi der the
d eci si ve n aval en gagem en t of th e Paci fi c
War -was over , and al l act i ons fol low ing
those of 4 J une wer e ant i -cl im act i c. T he
U . S. h ad l ost 98 car r i er pl an es of al l t ypes,
and w oul cl l ose the Yor ktow., then under
tow . T he J apanese car r i er s sustai ned
I n an oth er ai r -ai r act ion , si mi lar t o t hat
at Cor al Sez, F l etcher and Spr uance had
sent the pr oud I mper ial F l eet scur ryi ng
hom e to J apan w i thou t f i r ing a shot fr om
i ts su per ior n aval r i f l es. Yam am ot o cou ld
gai n l i tt l e consol at i on fr om the fact that
the nor ther n oper at i on had secur ed two
Aleut i an bases: what good the bow l i f the
r i ce i s gone? For ”. . . u nl ike m ost of t he
N ipponese war l or ds, [Yam am oto] ap-
pr eci ated Am er i can st r ength and r e-
sour ces.” ‘7 H e knew that destr uct i on of
t l ~e U . S. F leet ear ly i n 1942 was a neces-
sar y pr er equ i si te to the year ’s pl ans for
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total l osses of about 3Y2 pl anes of al l
t ypes.” And w i th the four car r i er s had
gon e th e cr eam of t hei r exper ien ced n aval
pi lots. T hi s, al ong w ith l ater l osses i n ai r
bat tl es over Gu ad al can al , w as a bl ow fr om
wh i ch the ,Japanese never f u l l y recovered .15
A lt hou gh t he car r ier pl an es h ad cl eci ded
t he l ar ge i ssu e, t he con tr i bu ti on of M a r in es
to the defense of M idw ay had hen consi d-
er abl e, f r om t he i n cept i on of br r se d evel op -
m ent , to the end of the act i on . N ot on l y
h ad t he i ld an d 6t h D efen se B at tal ion s con -
t ri bu ted t hei r sh ar e of l abor , vi gi lan ce, an d
f l ak, bu t the avi at i on per sonnel of M AG-
con tr ol of t he Cor al Sea an d th e Am er ican
sea hm es to Aust r al i a and N ew Zeal and ,
and , i n the fi nal anal ysi s, the necessar y
pr er equi si te to t he su ccess of J apan ’s en -
t i re w ar ef for t .”
B ut n ow t hat t he ,J apan ese. cl ear l y w er e
defeated at M i dw ay, they no l onger cou l d
over look t he set back th ey h ad r ecei ved at
Cor al Sea i n ph ase on e of th ei r 1942 pl an s,
and phase th r ee-occupat i on of the F i ji s,
,Samoa and N ew Caledoni a—soon was
scrapped. “The catast r ophe of M idway
defi ni tel y mar ked the tu r ni ng of the t i de
i n the Paci f i c War . . .“ ‘g and fr om ar -
B .ATTLE OF TH E C ARRI E R P LANE S , 4 J [’XE 1942 231
d efeat , and th ey en d on an i nt r ospect i ve
n ote :
I n t he f i nal anal ysi s, t he root causeo f Japan ’s
d efeat , n ot al on e i n t he B at tl e of k li dw ay bu ti n t he en ti r e w ar , l i es d eep i n t he J a pa nese n a-
t ion al ch ar act er . T h er e i s a n i r r at ion al i ty a ndimpuls i venessabout our peop le which resu l t s i n
act i ons t ha t a r e haphaza rdand of t en con t r ad i c-tory. ~ t r ad it ion of pr ovi nci al ism m ak es u s
na r r ow -m i nded and do~ rna ti c, r el uct an t t o d i s-card prejudices and slow to adopt even necessary.i m pr ov em en ts i f t hey r equ i re a n ew con cep t.I ndeci si ve and vaci l l a t i ng , we succumb read i l y
t o d ecei t , w h i ch i n t u r n m a kes u s d i sd ah r fu l o fot her s. Oppor tu ni st ic bu t l ack in g a spi r it of
da rh r gand i ndependence,we a re won t t o p l acer el i an ce on ot her s a nd t o t r uck le t o su per i or s.
Ou r wan t of r a t i ona l i t yo ft en l eadsus t o con f usedesi re w i th rea l i t y ,andthus toclo th ingsw i thout
ca ref ul p la nn i ng. On l y w h en ou r h ast y a ct i on
hasended i n f ai l u r e dowebeg i nt ot h i nk r a t i on -
a ll y a bou t i t, u su al l y f or t he p ur pose of fi n di ngexcuses f or t he f ai l u r e. I n sh or t, as a n at ion ,
w e l ack m atu ri ty of m in d an d t he n ecessar y
cond i t i on ingto enab leus to know when and what
t o sa cr i f ice f or t h e sa ke of ou r m a i n goa l .
Such a re t he weaknesses of t he Japanesena -
t i ona l character . T hese weaknesses were re-f l ect ed i n t he def ea t we su f fer ed i n t he Ba t tl e of
M i dway ,wh i ch rendered f r u i t l ess a l l t he val i an t
d eed s a nd p reci ou s sacr i fi ces of t he m en w h o
fought there. In these weaknesse sl i estheeause
of Japan’sm isfor tunes.z”
~ I b id . , 2 47 –24 8.
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PART VI
T he T ur n i ng Poi n t : Guadal canal
CH APTER 1
Background and Preparations ]
Scar cel y h ad A dm i ral Y am am ot o pu ll ed
h i s Com bi ned F l eet aw ay fr om i ts defeat
at M i dw ’aybefor eth eU . S.,J oi nt Ch iefs of
Staff began r econsi der ing basi c Paci fi c
pol i cy. T hey wanted an ~fl ensi ve wh i ch
w ou ld ai d con tai nm en t of t he J apan ese ad -
van ces t ow ar d A ust ral i a an d safegu ar d t he
U . S. comm uni cat i on l i nes to the Anzac
Er nest J . K i ng, Com mander i n Ch i ef of
the L ’. S. F l eet and Ch i ef of N aval Oper a-
t i ons, tol d Ch i ef of Staf f Geor ge C.
M a rsh al l t hat h e con si der ed i t n ecessar y t o
gar r i son cer tai n South and Southwest
Paci fi c i sl an ds w it h Ar my t roops 2 in pr ep-
ar at i cm for l aunch i ng U . S. M ar ines on an
ear ly offensi ve ag%inst the enemy: And
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ar ea. As ear ly as 18 Febr uar y, Adm i r al
‘ U n less ot herw ise not ed t he ma t er ia l used in
P art VI is der ived from 1st Ma rD iv Fina lRept on
t h e G ua da lca na l Opera tion, P ha ses I t h rough V,
issued J un e-August 1943, h ereina ft er cit ed a s
1,’tnalRept ( w it h P ha se h ’o) ; a ct ion repor t s, w ar
dia ries, a nd journ a ls of t h e va rious unit s w hich
served w it h or a s pa rt of t h e 1st Ma rD iv; Ma rine
Air Hi.storg; Strateyic Planni??q; W. F . C ra ven
a nd J . L . Ca te (ed s. ), T1/e Pacific: Guadalcanatto Saipan—The Army Air Forces in Warld War
11 (Chicago : L-nivers i tyof ChicagoPress, 1%0) ;
J .~ l i l l e r , J r . , Guudakx/nal: The First Offensioe—
.Vt~itcd States Arm?t ia World War II (Washin~-t on : H i st Di v, 11~ 1949), h er ei n af ter ci t ed as
shor t l y af ter the Bat t l e of the Cor al Sea,
Gen er al M acA rt hu r ad van ced pl an s for an
at tack agai nst the J apanese at Rabau l .
For th i s m ove he r equested ai r cr aft car -
r i er s, ad di ti on al t roops, an d m or e pl an es.4
But N im i tz r ejected th i s pl an . H i s car -
r ier s w er e too pr eci ous for com mi tm ent i n
w at er s so r est ri ct ed as t he Sol om on Sea, h e
tol d th e gen er al . B esi des, t he ad mi ral h ad
a pl an of h i s own. H e wanted to captu r e
T ul agi w ith on e M ar in e r ai der bat tal ion .5Adm i r al K i ng’s r eact i on to th i s pl an was
i ni ti al ly favor abl e, bu t on 1 J une he si ded
236 1’E ARL H AR BOR T() G U AL )AL C:AATAL
B ut now t i me and the vi ctor y at M idway
had im pr oved the U . S. posi t i on i n the
Paci f i c, and on 25 J une Adm i r al K ing ad-
vi sed N im itz and Vi ce Adm i r al Rober t L .
Ghor mley, Com mander of South Paci f i c
F or ces: t o pr epar e f or an off en si ve agai nst
the L ow er Sol om ons. Santa Cr uz I sl and,
T u la gi , an d a dj acen t ar ea s w ou l d be sei zed
an d occu pi ed by M ar i nes u nd er Ci nCPac,and Ar my tr oops fr om Aust r al i a then
woul d for m the per manent occupat i on
garrison.7 D -Day woul d be about 1
A ugu st ,
The task seemed al most i mpossi bl e.
Ghor ml ey had just taken over hi s Paci fi c
Paci fi c’s n ear est l an d-based bom ber fi el d
w as 975 m il es fr om T ul agi . T he com man d
setup must be made w i th a vi ew towar d
success, K ing sai d, but tbe pr im ar y con-
si der at ion w as t hat t he oper at ion be begu n
a t once. H e stated unequ i vocal ly th at i t
m ust be un der h ’i mi tz, an d t hat i t coul d n ot
be con du ct ed i n a ny ot her w ay.’
T he J oi nt Ch i efs r esol ved th i s con fl icton 2 J ul y w i th i ssuance of the ‘(tJ oi nt D i -
r ect i ve. for Offensi ve Oper at i ons i n the
Southwest Paci f i c Ar ea Agr eed on by the
U ni ted St at es Chi efs of Staff.” T he d ir ec-
t i ve set t he sei zu r e of t he h ’ew B r i tai n -N ew
I r el an d-N ew Gu in ea ar ea as t he obj ect ive
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j ob after a hur r i ed t r i p fr om L ondon
w h er e h e h ad been S peci al h T av al O bser v er
and Com mander of L T.S. N aval For ces i nEur ope: the I st , M ar ine D i vi si on , sl ated
for the Sol om on l and i ng, was maki ng an
adm i n i st r at i ve move fr om the U n i ted
States to N ew Z eal and ; and M ar shal l and
K ing cont i nued to debate m atter s of com -
m and. T he gener al contested the N avy’s
r ight to com mand the oper at i on. T he ar ea
l ay i n the Southwest Paci f i c, M ar sl m l l
poi nted out , and so M acAr thur ought to bei n ch ar ges
N ever m i nd ar bi tr ar y geogr aph y, K in g’s
of these oper at i ons, bu t i t br oke th i s god
d ow n i n to t hr ee p hases d esi gn ed t o r esol ve
the d i spu te between M acAr thur andN im itz. Phase One wou l d be the sei zur e
of the i sl ands of Santa Cr uz and Tu l agi ,
al on g w it h posi ti ons on ad j scen t. i sl and s.
N im itz woul d com mand thi s oper at i on ,
w i th M acAr thur concentr at i ng on i n ter -
d i ct i on of enemy ai r and naval act i vi ty to
the west . And to r emove M acAr thur ’s
geogr aph ic cl ai m on t he Ph ase On e t ar get
a rea , t he J oi n t Ch i ef s sh i ft ed t he bou nd ar ybetween the gener al and Adm ir al N im itz
to pl ace the L ower Sol om ons i n the ad-
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238 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC AN.4L
pl at oon s, an d som e l abor er s-occu pi ed
T ul agi w hi le a si mi lar task or gan i zat i on
fr om the 3d l i7wr e F or ce went a sh or e on
Gavutu , a sm al l er i sl and near by. T hey
met no opposi t i on , except that fr om Ad-
m i ral F l etcher ’s pl anes i n the act i on an-
ci l l ar y to the Bat t l e of the Cor al Sea, and
d ef en si ve i n st al l at i on s w er e set u p i m m ed i -
at el y t o pr otect t he base con str uct i on an d
i mpr ovem en t w or k w hi ch soon goh u nd er -
w ay. T he J apan ese set u p coast watch er
st t i ti ons on Savo I sl and at the nor thw est
end of the channel between Flor i da and
Guadal canal , and on both t i ps as wel l as
t he sou th coa st of Gu ad al ca nal .
T ul agi has an excel lent har bor ,= and i n-
J apan st i ll had her eye on Por t M or esby.
T he t r oops sl ated for that occupat i on
al ready wai ted at R abau l , and now a new
fl eet , the Ei gh th , under l ’i ce Adm i r al
Gun ich i M i kaw a, w as cr eated t o hel p l ook
after th i s souther n end of the J apanese
conquest st r ing. T hi s f l eet , w i th the hel p
of ai r cr aft fr om Rabau l and the L ower
Sol omons, woul d pr otect the fer ryi ng of
t r oops to B un s, an d th e su bsequ en t over -
l and mar ch of these t r oops acr oss N ew
Gui nea’s Ow en Stanl ey M ou nt ai ns t o cap-
tu r e Por t M or esby. T hus Austr al ia w ou l d
be w el l bl ock ed i f n ot com pl et el y i sol at ed ;
and maybe i f the J apanese d i d not th i nk
about the defeat at M idway the st i ng
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i ti al ef for ts of th e J apan ese l an di ng for ce
i mpr oved th i s and devel oped a seapl ane
base th er e. T he enem y took n o i mm ed iate
st eps t o d evel op ai r fi el ds, an d a fu ll m on th
passed befor e sur veyi ng par t i es and
pat r ol s cr ossed the 20-m i l e channel to
Guadal canal wher e they staked out an
ai r st r i p si te on the pl ai ns of the L unga
Ri ver . T hey fi n i shed th i s sur vey l ate i n
<J un ean d began to gr ad e a r unw ay ear ly i n
Ju ly .
Wi th a scr appi ng of the pl ans to occupy
Sam oa, F ij i, an d N ew Cal ed on ia, an d w it h
wou l d just go aw ay and ever yth i ng wou l d
be al l r igh t agai n .”
A fter r ei nfor ci ng t he A nzac l ifel ine (see
Par t I I , Chapter 3), the U . S. began edg-
i ng towar d i ts Sol omon I sl ands tar get
ar ea. N ear the end of M ar ch some 500
Ar my tr oops fr om M ajor Gener al Al ex-
ander M . Patch>s Amer i ca D i vi si on i n
N ew Cal edon i a w ent up to gar ri son E fatei n the l ower N ew H ebr i des. On 29 M ar ch
th e 4t h M ar in e D efen se B at tal ion an d M a-
B AC KG ROI J ND AND 1’R EP AR ATI ONS 239
est tow n, w as i mpr oved , an d an oth er su ch
base was bu i l t i n H avannah H ar bor on
t he i sl an d ’s n or t hw est coa st .
T h i s was a. h azar dous and r ather un -
ner vi ng extensi on of defensi ve l i nes for
th e m eager Am er ican for ce of th at per iod .
T he J apanese wer e just 700 m i l es to the
nor th i n the L ower Sol om ons, and th i s
fact gave th ese N ew H ebr id es i sl and s an dw at er s t hat sam e h ost il e, “cr eep y” feel in g
t hat m em ber s of t he u nsu ccessfu l Wak e r e-
l i ef exped i t i on had sensed wh i l e on that
ventur e deep i n to the enem y zone. T he
J apanese m ade a few ai r r ai ds i n to th i s
a rea , bu t t he gr ea test op posi ti on ca me f rom
cupi ed as an add i t i onal ou tpost of the
com mu ni cat i on l in es t o Au st r al ia. T h i s
m ove w as postponed , how ever , and i t w as
not unt i l October that M ar i nes l anded at
Funafu t i i n the E ]l i ce gr oup. Espi r i tu
San to was i m m ed i atel y i m por tan t to the
Sol om ons oper at i on , however , and on 28
M ay a for ce of abou t 500 Ar m y tr oops
m oved fr om Efate to the l ar ger N ew H e-br i des i sl and far ther nor th . T he f i r st at -
t em pt of these t r oops to bu i l d an ai r fi el d
ther e bogged down i n a st r et ch of swam p
an d new outbr eaks of m al ar ia.
By th i s t i m e, pl ans for the WAT CH -
T OWER l and i ngs wer e f i rm i ng up, a nd
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t he a nop hel es m osqu i to.
I n the N ew H ebr i des Am er i can t r oops
of Wor l d War I I had thei r f i r st whol esal een cou nter w ith th is car r i er of m al ar ia, an d
the f i el d m edi cal u ni ts w er e n ot pr epar ed
to cope w i th the d i sease i n such pr opor -
t i on s. A tabr in e tabl et s w er e n ot yet avai l-
abl e, a nd even qu in in e w as i n sh or t su ppl y.
By the end of Apr i l ther e wer e 133 cases
of m al ar ia am on g th e 947 off i cer s an d m en
of the 4th Defense Bat tal i on , and by the
t i m e of the Guadal canal l and i ng ear l y i nAugust the ent i r e N ew H ebr ides for ce r e-
por ted t he d isea se i n even gr eat er pr opor -
t he effor t a t . E spirit u Sa nto w a s reinforced
so tha t t he a ir field w ould be complet ed in1
time. On 15 J u l y a detachm ent fr om the ~4th M ar ine Defense Bat tal i on went up to
San to w i th a heavy ant i ai r cr aft bat ter y
and an au tom at i c weapons bat ter y. T he
ai r f i el d was com pl eted in t i m e, bu t the
Ar my tr oops and M ar i nes wer e m ost l y
wal k i ng cases of m al ar i a by then . H ow-
ever , i m por tan t i sl ands had been rei n -
for ced, n ew gar ri sons for med to pr otect
the com muni cat i on l i nes, and these d i s-pl acem en ts tow ar d en em y bases h ad been
accom pl i shed . T he t i m e had com e to
-..P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL24U
tra ining h i s d i vi si on i n N ew Zeal and .”
T he d ivi si on , t he M ar in e Cor ps’ m aj or u ni t
avai l abl e for em ploym ent on such shor t
not i ce, wm under str ength by about one
th i rd because of detachm en t of the r ei n -
for ced 7th M ar ines to Sam oan du ty.
.L rm y t r oops i nthear ea, or igi nal l y un-
der Ghor ml ey’s com mand, cou l d pr ovi de
l i t t l e m or e than m or al suppor t to the
l and i ngs. T hi s shoestr ing ven tu r e wou l d
not r em ove the need for gar r ison for ces
el sew her e i n the South Paci fi c. B esi des,
Ghor mley l ost h i s d i rect con t r ol of these
t r oops on 1 J u l y when M ajor Gener al
were opposed by ci rcu mstan ces of w hi ch
N im it z w as n ot aw ar e}’
T o com pl ete t he pi ct ur e of com man d for
WAT CH TOWER, Rear Adm i r al Ri chm -
ond K . T ur ner ar ri ved fr om Wash i ngton
on 18 J u l y and r epor ted to Ghor m ley as
comm ander of the am ph i bi ous for ce.
Ghor rn l ey, under N im itz, w as i n over -al l
st r ategi c com mand, bu t he wou l d r em ai n
at h is h ead qu ar ter s i n 3T ou mea. A dm ir al
F l etcher wou l d com mand the joi nt expe-
d i t ion ar y f or ce. B ut i n pr act ice F let ch er
con fi ned h im sel f al m ost com pl et el y t o pr o-
vi al in g ai r cover fr om h is car r ier s, an d t hi s
l eft . T ur ner , i n add i t i on to comm and i ng
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M il l ar d F. H ar m on, U SA, becam e Com -
m an di ng C~en er al , Sou th Paci fi c A rea, t o
head al l Ar my for ces i n the theater . E venthough H ar mon wou l d be under Ghor m-
l ey’s com m and , the adm i r al at f i r st d i s-
l i ked th i s comm and setup. B ut he l ater
cam e t o r egar d H ar mon as on e of t he fi nest
adm in i st r ator s and coor di nator s he had
ever met .lG
Adm i r al Ghor r nl ey’s job i n the Sol~th
Paci fi c seem ed al most t o r esem bl e t hat of
a t r af l i c d i r ector mor e than i t d i d the r ol e
of a com mander . Accor d i ng to pl ans,
l ’andegr if t and h i s d i vi si on , i n char ge of
al m ost ever yt hi ng el se as w el l .
T hi s com man d set up w hi ch pl aced Van -
d egr i ft u nd er t he h T av y’s am ph i bi ou s f or ce
com mander r ank l ed unt i l near ly the t im e
of the w i thdr awal of the 1st M ar ine D i vi -
si on fr om Guadal canal f i gh t i ng. I t was
n ot a case of sm al l j eal ou sy abou t con tr ol
or an y sor t of pet t y peevi sh ness on t he par t
of ei ther Vandegr i f t or T ur ner . Rather
i t w as a cl ash of ser iou s opposi ng con vi c-
t i on s abou t h ow su ch an oper at i on sh ou ld
be conducted . Tur ner and m any other
B AC KG ROL ’XD AXD P RI IE ’AR ATI OXS 241
necessary i n the Paci f i c. Vandegr i f t ,
faced w i th the task of pu t t i ng these
stud i ed opi n i ons and exper i m en ts i n to
pr act i ce, w an ted z cl ear -cu t com m and
r i gh t , fr ee fr om any vest i ge of d i vi ded
r esp on si bi l i ty sh ar ed w i th t he com m an der
af loat. (hce f i r ml y establ i shed ashor e,
M ar i ne opi n i on hel d , the l and i ng for ce
com m an der sh ou ld com m an d h is ow n l an doper at i on . H is t r ai n i ng and posi t i on on
t he bat tl egr ou nd m ad e h im m or e qu al if i ed
for th is job th an w as th e am ph ibi ou s for ce
commander. I t took som e ar gu i ng, and
th i s m at ter f i nal l y had to be taken to the
top of m i l i t ar y h i er ar chy, bu t the N avy
H e w as i nst r um en tal i n br ingi ng abou t th e
con st ru ct i on of th e I kpi r i tu San to ai rf i el d
and seei ng that i t was avai l abl e for ai r -
cr aft on 28 ,J ul y, i n spi te of al l th e t r ou bl es
w hi ch befel l t he for ce i n t he N ew H ebr i des.
VM O-251 cam e i n to N oum ea on 12 J ul y
on boar d the U SS H eyzuood. T he ou t f i t
bar el y h ad t i me to set up cam p at T on tou ta
and uncr ate i t s ai r cr af t befor e i t got thewor d to go up to that new fi el d at San to
and back up the l and i ng. On 2 August
the un i t began to ar r i ve at th i s nor ther n
N ew H ebr ides f i el d , and w i th i n n i ne days
I&UtWLEHlt Col onel J ohn h ’. H ar t had h i s
squ ad ron i nst ai led th er e w ith i ts si xteen
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even tual l y saw the poi n t and agr eed
w i th i t .
T ur ner ’s second i n com mand was RearAdm i r al V . A. C. Cr u tch l ey, RN , whose
cover in g for ce w ou ld i ncl ud e ei gh t cr ui se-
r s (th r ee Aust r al i an and fi ve l ’. S.) and
f i fteen d est r oyer s (al l U . S.). T hese sh ips
w er e to pr ovi de n aval gun fi re su ppor t an d
a n ti a i r cr a ft p r ot ect i on . I n al l , t he naval
con ti n gen t i n cl u ded t hr ee a ir cr a ft , ca rr i er s
w i th a st r ength of 250 pl anes; a num ber
of l i gh t and heavy cr u i ser s; tw o new
batt leships; an d th e avai labl e scr een i ng
F 4F –3P l on g-r an ge ph ot ogr ap hi c pl an es.
H ar t st i l l was shor t h i s w i ng tanks for
l ong-r ange fl yi ng, however . T hese wer ef i nal l y f l own ou t fr om Pear l H ar bor and
ar r i ved on 20 Au gu st .
M a cA rt hu r ’s con tr i bu ti on t o t he Gu ad al -
can al oper at ion con si st ed of abou t si xt een
11–17’s w hi ch f l ew r econ nai ssan ce over
the ar ea west of the 1t i ?th m er i d i an east
(the boundar y between the Sou th and
Sou th west , Paci fi c Ar eas for ai r sear ch )
and at tem pted to pu t a stopper on the
en em y ai r f r om Rabaul .
242 P EARL H AR B OR T(} G UAD AL C ANAL
fense duty}’ T he 1st Base Depot had set
up an advance echel on i n Wel l i ngton on
21 J un e, an d oth er su ppl y bases w er e t o be
establ ish ed l at er at N ou mea an d E spi r i tu
Sante.
T he gener al st r uctu r e or gan i zed to em -
p loy t hese r esou r ces a ga in st t he J a pa nese
was l ai d down i n N im itz’ or der to Ghor m-
l ey of 9 J ul y, and Ghor rn l ey’s Oper at i on
Pl an 142 of 17 J u l y 1942.20
Ghor mley, exer ci si ng str ategi c com-
mand, set up h i s or gan i zat i on i n th r ee
ma in groups:
Car r ier F or ces (T ask F or ce 61.1 ) , com -
m anded by Rear Adm i r al L ei gh N oyes,
destroyers; and a sm al l m ine-sweepi ng
group.
Sh or e-13ased A ir cr af t (T ask F or ce 6:3),
under Rear Adm i r al J . S. M cCain
(Com Ai rSoPac), i ncl uded al l ai r cr aft i n
t he a rea except t hose on car r i er s.
Com pl i ca ti n g t hi s sym m et r ical st r uct ur e
was the tact i cal com mand r ol e pl ayed by
Vi ce Adm i r al F l etcher . H e was i n over -
al l com mand of T F 61 whi ch i ncl uded the
for ces of N oyes an d T ur ner .
Ghor mley cal l ed for a r ehear sal i n the
F i j i ar ea and d i r ected that al l task for ce
com m an der s ar r an ge t o h ol d a con fer en ce
n ear t he r eh ear sal ar ea. H e h im sel f w ou ld
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was com posed of el ements of th r ee task
for ces fr om N im itz’s ar ea—n, 16, an d 18.
I t w ou ld i ncl ud e th ree car r ier s, Sar atoga,
E nt er pr i se, an d WcM p, t he f ast n ew bat tl e-
sh i p N or th Car ol ina, f i ve heavy cr ui ser s,
on e so-cal led an ti ai rcr aft cr ui ser , an d 16
destroyers.
Am ph i bi ous For ce (T ask For ce 61.2),
comm anded by Rear Adm i ral Ri chm ond
K . Tur ner , i ncl uded the M ar ine l and i ng
for ce car r i ed i n 13 at tack t ran spor ts, fou r
d est royer t ran spor t s, an d si x car go sh ips;
a f i r e suppor t gr oup of one ant i ai r cr af t
m ove fr om Auck l and to h~oum ea about 1
August . i n or der to com pl y w ith h i s or der s
to exer ci se st r ategi c com mand w ith i n the
op er a ti n g a r ea .zl
By th i s t i m e the pl ans and or der s wer e
for med , t he t ar get sel ect ed , t he for ces or -
gan i zed , and the N avy gi ven l eew ay to op-
er ate w ithou t poach i ng i n the ter ri tor y of
the Southw est Paci fi c. On l y the d etai l of a
l an di ng d ate r em ai ned u nset tl ed . V and e-
gr i f t poi n ted out to Ghor m ley that the
l ate ar ri val of h i s second echel on , and a
st r et ch of ba d w eat her , h ad so com pl i cat ed
be described as more than a stab in thedark. When General Vandegrift receivedhis initial warning order on 26 June 1942,neither his staff nor the local New Zealandauthorities had more than the most gen-
eral and sketchy knowledge of the objec-tive area or the enemy’ s strength and dis-position, and there was but a month avail-able before the scheduled date of mount-
ing out, 22 ,July.
*ls in the case with most tropical back-
gia group the Russells, Guadalcanal, andSan ‘ ristobal. Buka and Bougainville atoutbreak of the war were part of the Aus
traliail Mandated Territory of NewGuinea ; the remainder of the double chain
formed the British Solomon Islands Pro-tectorate. In all, the islands number sev-eral hundred, with some 18,600 squaremiles of land area. (See Map 11)
Florida, the largest island of the NggelaGroan, lies between Malaita and Guadal-
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pwaters, the charting and hydrographic in-
formation was scanty and out of date.Lieutenant Colonel Frank B. Goettge, In-telligence Officer of the 1st RJarine Divi-sion, therefore set out to locate traders,planters, shipmasters, and a few minerswho had visited or lived at Guadalcanal
or Tulagi. A number of likely sources re-sided in ,\ustralia, and while his subordi-
nates tabulated the formal data available
cm l and between the northern tips of
Guadalcanal and Florida is the small,nearly-conical island of Save. Indispens-able Strait separates Florida from neigh-boring Malaita to the east, and the twenty-mile-wide strait between Florida and
Guadalcanal to the south is known gen-
erally as Sealark Channel. (See Map 1.3,Map Section)Nestled into the northwest rim of a
P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD AL C ANAL
azCj
—-J
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o
U i
33
&. .0
w
‘o
B AC KG ROU ND AND P RE PARATI ONS 245
i ng ter rai n that becam e a n ightmare formi l i t a r y opera t i ons.
Guadalcanal , some 90 m i l es i n l ength
and abou t 25 miles w i de, p r esen ts a va r ied
topogr aph y r angi ng fr om pl ai ns an d foot -
h i l ls al on g the nor th coast to a mountain
back bon e d roppi ng r api dl y t o t h e south
coast. Rain fa l l is ext r em el y heavy, an d
chan ges i n sea son a re m ar ked on l y by
changes i n i n tensi ty of pr eci pi t at i on .T hi s, together w ith a n average t empera -
t u r e in t he h i gh 80’s, r esu lts in a n un-
heal thy cl i m ate. M al ar i a, dengue, and
ot her f ever s, as well as f ungus i n f ect i ons,
aff l ict the populat ion.
Rivers a re n um er ou s an d fr om the mili-
t ar y poi n t of m ay be d i vi ded ar bi -
by the B r it i sh , n ot a single a ccura t e orcomplet e ma p of @a da lca na l or Tula gi
exist ed in t h e summer of 1942. The hy -
drogra phic cha r ts, cont a in ing just sufi-
cient da t a t o ena ble t ra ding schooners t o
keep from groun ding, w er e lit t le bet ter ,
a lt h ough t hese did loca t e a few out st a nd-
ing t erra in fea t ures of some use for ma k-
ing a la n dfa ll or conduct ing t r ia ngula t ion.
S uch loca t ions w er e not a lw a ys a ccura t e.~ I oun t ilusten, for exa mple, w a s a ssigned
a s a n ea r ly la nding object ive, but t he la nd-
ing force discovered t ha t inst ea d of being
but a few hundred ya rds a w a y from t he
bea ches, t h e mount a in a ctua lly la y severa l
miles a cross a lmost impa ssa ble jungle.n
.Ier ia l ph ot ogra phs w ould h a ve been a
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view’
t r a r i l y int o t w o cla sses. Th e first of t hese
is t he lon gj sw ift j rela t ively sh a llow river
t ha t ma y be forded a t numerous point s.
G en era lly deep on ly for a shor t dist a nce
from its mout h , it present s few I )roblems
in t he ma t t er of crossing. F ,xa mples of
this t ype on (lua da lca na l a re t he Ten a rul
t he Lunga , a n d t h e 13a lesuna . The secon d
t ype is t ha t of t he slow a n d deep la goon.
S uch st rea ms a re somet imes shor t , a s in
t he ca se of t he I lu Ri~ er , a nd some la goons
a re merely t h e delt a st rea ms of rivers of
considera ble size, a s in t he ca se of t he
profit a ble source of up-t o-da t e informa -
t ion, but t h e short a ge of lQng-ra nge a ir-
cra ft a nd suit a bly loca t ed ba ses, a nd t h e
short per iod a va ila ble for pla nn ing, corn q
bined t o rest r ict a va ila bilit y of a eria l
phot os in t he qua nt it y a n d qua lit y nor-
ma lly considered necessa ry.
P erha ps t he most useful phot ogra phic
sor t ie ca rr ied out pr ior t o t he G ua da l-
ca na l-Tula gi la ndings w a s t ha t un der-
t a ken on 17 J uly by a n Army B –17 a ir-
cra ft in w hich Lieut ena nt C olon el Tferrill
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RACKGROLXL~ ASD PREPARATIONS 47
the 1st Rfarine Division, and Major Wil-
linrn H. McKean, member of the staff of
Transport Squadron 26, conducted a per-
sonal reconnaissance of the landing areas.
They assured General Vandegrift that
tile ~mg x beaches appeared suitable for landing.23
The coastal real) of G~~acialcnnal finally
adopted by the 1st Marine Thvision (and
employed, with such corrections as could
later be developed, through the entire
issued at the Koro Island rehearsals in the
Fijis on 30 July, estimated that 1, 850
enemy would be found on Tulagi and
C*arntu-Tanambo,rro, and 5,275 on Gundal-
canal. 130th figures were high. A count
of enemy dead in the Tulngi and Gavutuarea placed the number of defenders at
about 1,500 ( inc luding 600 laborer s) ,
\vhile study of positions, interrogation of
prisoners, and translation of enemy docu-
ments on G~~aclalcnnnl proper indicated
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p , g
campaign was traced f lvll-l a .erial strip-
map obtained by Colonel Goettge on his
mission to Australia. It was reasonably
accurate in general outline, but contained
no usable indications of ground forms or
elevations. The Goettge map was supple-
mented by aerial photos of Tulagi, Gavutu,
and Tnnambogo Islands, and these con-stituted the sum of the Marines knowledge
f d i h
that about 2,230 troops and laborers had
been in the Lunga area at the time of tlie
Marines landing.
Close and determined combat was antici-
pated with these forces; and on 17 J uly
Admiral Kimitz notified Adnlir:tl King
that it would be unsafe to assume that the
evenly would not attempt to retake thearea to be attacked, and tlmt, if insuficient
248
manded by Lieutenant Colonel Merritt A.
Edson; the 1st Parachute Battalion of
Major Robert H. Williams; and the 2d
Battalion, 5th Marines under Lieutenant
Colonel Harold E. Rosecrans, all with
their reinforcing units att’ ached. Edson
would be the commander of the Tulagi
landing force ; Williams the commander
at Cravutu-‘ I’ nnambogo. The Guadalcanal
group included Colonel Clifton 13. Gates‘
1st Marines and Colonel Leroy P. Hunt’ s
5 h M i (l b h i f d
primary goal was to establish a beachhead
in an area not strongly defended.“”
To make up for the division’ s manpowe
shortage caused by the detached duty of
the 7th Marines in Samoa, ,1dmiral King
on 27 ,June had proposed that Vandegrift
be allotted the 2~1 Marines of the 2d Ma-
rine Division. ,\ccordingly this unit re-
inforced) sailed combat loadecl from San
Diego on 1 J ~dy.~” The regiment ~~ou be
the landing force reserve.3”
Whil t ff l t l t d t
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5th Marines (less 2/5 , both reinforced.
l)lus the balance of the division special andservice ti~00ps.27
The Tulagi plan called for the 1st
Raider Battalion and 2d Ratt alion, 5th
Marines to land in column on the island’ s
south coast, turn east, and attack down
the long axis of the island. This would
be followed by 1st Parachute I3attalion
landings on and and a
While staff planners contemplated a tar-
get area nearly as unfamiliar to them asthe back side of the moon, other members
of the la ncling force wrestled the monu-
mental chore of preparing for the move-
ment to combat. “Seldom,” General Van-
degrift said later, “ has an operation been
begun iunder more disadvantageous cir-
cumstances.”
When the decision to land on enemy
B AC K G ROI J ND ANI ) I ’RE I’ARATI ( }NS 249
the way fr om San Diego to the South Pa-
ci f i c; the 1st Rai der Bat tal ion was i n Sa-
m oa, and the 3d Defense I ]at tal ion was i n
Hawai i . Pr el im i nar y pl ans and moves
had to assem bl e these w i del y scat ter ed
uni ts i n to u fi gh t i ng for ce wh i ch cou l d
make an amphi bi ous l and i ng, one of the
most i n t r i cate of m i l i tar y maneuver s.
Fr om the under stand i ng that i t wou l d bethe nucl eus for the bu i l dup of a for ce
wh i ch woul d be t r ai ned for oper at i ons
wh i ch m igh t come late i n 1942, the 1st
M ar i ne I )i vi si on had to sh i ft at once i n to
hur r i ed pr epar at i ons to mount ou t for
act ion.
M ost , of the sh i ps tr anspor ti ng uni ts of
Aotea Quay at Wel li ngton w as t he scen e
of th is squar in g aw ay. I t w as i n ad equ at e
i n al l w ays save t hat i t cou ld accom mod at e
fi ve shi ps at a t i me. L abor di ff i cu lt i es w it h
t he h igh ly u ni on ized st eved or es r esu lt ed
i n the ent i r e task being under taken and
car ri ed th r ough by M ar ines. Because of
secu ri ty r egu lat ion s, n o appeal t o pat ri ot -
i sm coul d be made to the r egu l ar dockw or ker s si nce car e w as t ak en t o h ave ci vi l -
i an s bel ieve t hat al l th e fl ur ry w as m er el y
pr epar at ion for a t rai ni ng exer ci se. D ock -
si de equ ipm en t w as m eager , an d t her e w as
n o sh el ter cl ose at h an d.
As the gear began to be juggl ed fr om
shi p to dock and back agai n , a col d , wet
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t h e d i vi si on h ad been l oa ded or ga ni za ti on -
al l y for the voyage to N ew Zeal and, bu tfor t he pr oposed am ph ibi ou s assaul t, th e
suppl i es had to be r eshu ff l ed and sh i ps
com bat l oad ed so t hat , i t em s fi r st n eed ed i n
t i l e f i gh t i ng woul d be. r ead i l y at hand i n
t he h ol ds. T he r el oad in g an d r e-em bar k-
i ng of Com bat Gr oup A (5th M ar i nes,
r ei n for ced ) w en t sm oot h ly, u n com p li ca ted
by t he n ecessi ty for si mu lt an eou s u nl oad -
i ng and r el oad i ng wh i ch pl agued the r earech el on . T he gr ou p began em bar kat ion on
2 ,J ul y an d r em ai ned on boar d i ts t ran spor t
“sou th er l y> ’ set tl ed d ow n t o l ash h T ew Z ea-
l and. But i n spi te of the weather , wor kh ad to con ti nu e ar ou nd t he cl ock. Car ton -
p ack ed f ood a nd ot her su pp li es “d et er i or -
ated r api dl y,” t he d ivi si on l ater r epor ted
by way of an under statement , and the
m or al e of t roops fol low ed th e d ir ect i on of
t he d ow n-sl an ti ng r ai n.
on th e dock, cer eal , sugar , an d oth er r a-
t ion s m ush ed t oget her w it h gl obs of br ow n
pu lp th at on ce h ad been car dboar d boxes..L gr eat ~l um ~r of ~vet car tons that ~ver e
y~(-) P E AR 1> H .I RF IOR TO G ~ l .kI ).\ J , (: AXAI ,
an dr el oad in g. T r an spor t qu ar ter m ast er s
of the var ious sh i ps super vi sed wor k on
hoar d wh i l e a r el ay of ot tker s fr om t l ~e
d i vi si on took char ge of the ei gh t -hour
sh i ft s docksi de. T he I Sew Zeal an d Ar my
fur ni shed 30 fl atbecl l or r i es an d 18 t en -
w }l eel er s t o t ran sfer fu el , sm al l-ar ms am -
n lu ni ti on an d expl osi ves t o d um ps sever al
m i l es a w ay.
T her e was not enough hol d space for al l
t i l e d i vi si on m otor t r anspor t. M ost of the
quar ter - and one-ton tr ucks wer e pu t on
boa rd , bu t 75 p er cen t of t he h et avi er r ol ]i n g
stock was set asi de to stay w i th the r ear
ech el on t hat w ou ld be l ef t beh in d w hen th e
d i vi si on sai l ed f or t he S ol om on s.
R ega rd l ess of t he d i ff icu l ti es, h ow ever ,
the for ce sai l ed as schedu]ed at 0900 on
22 .J ul y, under escor t of cr ui ser s of Ad-
m i ral T ur ner ’s T i ~sk F or ce 62.3:+ Gen er al
Y an degr i ft , d esp it e h i s r equ est f or a vessel
bet ter su i ted i l l com muni cat i ons and ac-
com modat i ons, had been d i rected to em -
bar k h i s com mand post i n t i l e U SS
M c(7o lo ley.
8Z7H EARSAL S .4fYD 1710T ’ E M E NT
T O TH E OB.7E(7T ZVE
I n a ccor d an ce w i th or d er s r ecei ved f r om
N i m i tz on 1,J u ly,34 G hor m l ey h ad d i rect ed
t l mt al l for ces i nvol ved i n t he assau lt m ak e
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E ngi neer s l oad ed \ vh at 1i tt le d ir t -m m-
i ng equ i pm ent they owned, bu t i t lYilS so
m eager that they hoped the ,J apanese
wou l d have m ost of the ai r f i el d bu i l t by
the t im e i t was captu r ed . The engi neer
bat tal ion al so l oaded br idgi ng m ater ial ,
d em o] i ti on s, an d al l avai labl e w at er S U P -
pl y equ ipn len t. h To n laj or con st ru ct ion
was contem plated i n ear ly phases o f the
oper at i on , l low ever l and equ i pm ent and
suppl ies for sucl ~ w or k w er e not taken .
Wi th t he l J –4 or an assi st an t i n con st an t
tou ch w it h th e d ock master , or der began to
r en d ezv ou s a t i~ posi ti on sou th of F i ji , ou t
of si gh t of l and so that ther e wou l d be no
Cl l ii l l ce of obser va ti on by en em y a gen ts a nd
n o ch an ce t hat an i nad ver ten t t ip-of w ou ld
be m ad e by f r ien dl y obser ver s.” At that
poi n t t her e w ou l d be a con fer en ce bet ween
the comm and i ng ot l i cer s who had not as
yet been abl e to d iscu ss i n per son t he var i -
ou s I sp ect s of t h e op er a ti on .
T he com pon en ts of th e assau lt for ce n ot
pr evi ousl y i n N ew Zeal and w i th the d i vi -si on w er e con ver gi n g u pon t he r en dezvou s
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252 P EARL H ARB OR TO G ITA1)ALC ANAL
scr een .:{’ T he 1st Rai der B at tal ion , i n t he
four destr oyer t r anspor ts of T ranspor t
D i vi si on 12, had been pi cked up at
Noumea.
T he 3d Defense Bat tal i on (Col onel
Rober t H . Pepper ) on boar d the L -SS
Z~ete geu~e and Ze~7in was en r ou te fr om
Pear l H ar bor wher e i t had been stat i oned
si nce the outbr eak of the war . I t woul dmeet the r em ainder of the for ce on 2
August . T he Car ri er For ce, bu i lt ar ound
the . ar atoga and the En ter pm ”se, w i th
F letch er f l yi ng h is f l ag i n th e for mer , l ike-
w i se was on i ts way fr om Pear l H ar bor .
Ren dezvou s w as m ad e as pl an ned , at 1400
on 26 J ul y, some. 400 m i l es sou th of F i j i .
th r ee or four days.” 3’ Ghor ml ey, too, be-
l i eved that the sh i ps cou l d not be pu l l ed
ou t t hat soon .
L an di ng r eh ear sal s at t he i sl an d of K or o
i n the F i j i s wer e conducted fr om 28
thr ough 30 J ul y, bu t Vandegr if t l abel ed
them a waste of t im e and effor t. “A com-
pl et e bu st ,” h e obser ved l at er .” N ecessi ty
for conser vi ng l and i ng cr af t m ade i t im -
possi bl e t o con du ct t he pr act i ce l an di ngs
i n a r eal i st i c way, al though the m en in -
vol ved wer e gi ven add i ti onal t r ai n i ng i n
d ebar k at ion ,3g an d a tt ack f or ce S hi pS w er e
abl e t o p ra ct i ce t hei r gu nf ir e su pp or t .
On 31 J u l y, as n i gh t was fal l i ng, the
sh i ps wei ghed anchor and depar ted fr om
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T he con fer en ce con ven ed at on ce on boar d
t he N a ra .t oga. Gh or m l ey, u na bl e t o a tt en d,w as r epr esen ted by h is Ch ief of St aff , Rear
Adm i r al Dan i el J . Cal l aghan and h i s
Com m un i ca ti on s Of fi cer , L i eu ten an t Com -
m ander L . M . L eH ar dy.
T he con fer en ce poi nt ed u p sever al ser i -
ou s pr obl em s. Gen er al V an degr i ft l ear ned
h e w ou ld n ot h ave ad equ at e ai r an d su rf ace
suppor t for the com pl et i on of the un l oad-
i ng phase of the oper at i on . F l etcherwanted to r et i re w i th i n two days af ter the
K or o. T he car ri er task for ce pr oceeded
nor th and west wh i l e the tr anspor ts andthei r scr een pl odded stead i ly towar d the
Sol om ons. A l most 19,000 M ar ines. w er e
em bar ked i n the 19 t r anspor ts and four
destroyer-transports.m
A ll ci rcu mstan ces favor ed t he ad van c-
i n g con voy. Weath er con di ti on s du ri ng
the f i nal two days wer e ext r em el y favor -
abl e: sky topped by a l ow cei l i ng and
w in ds gu st y w it h i nter mi tt en t r ai n SCIUdk.
Ther e was no si gn of enem y ai r cr af t or
B AC KG ROU ND AN’D P RE P AR ATI ONS 253
pat r ol pl an es w er e gr ound ed I t I latm ul on5 and 6 Au gu st becau se of bad w eather .41
T lw con voy headed genen dl y w est fr om
F i ji and w el l to t l ~e sou th of th e Sol om on s
chai n . T he cou r se gr adual l y sh i f ted to
the nor thw i l r d , and the n i ght of 6–7
.I ugust found the en t i r e gr oup of sh i ps
due west of the wester n ext r em i ty of
t%adalcana].
T ask F or ce 62, com man ded by .k dm ir alT u r ner , was d i vi ded i n to two T r anspor t
Gr oups. T r anspor t Gr oup X-Ray (62.1 )
com man ded by Captai n L aw rence F . Rei f -
sn icl er , w ith th e C~u ad al can al for ces em -
bar ked, consi sted of four subgr oups, as
fol low s :
Tr an sdiv .4: Fuller, America Legion, Bellutrix.
and seven sn i ps each w i th a d i stance of750 yar ds between sh i ps and an i n ter val
of 1,000 yar ds between col L unns. T he
r ugged ou t l i ne of the (+uadal canal h i l l s
was just vi si bl e to star boar d when the
cou r se was sh i f t ed to 0400 , and a few
n l i nu tes l t i ter the two gr oups separ ated
for the com pl et i on of thei r m i ssi ons.
X -R~y, sh if t i ng st i l l fu rth er to st ar boar d,
set t ied on cou rse 0750, w hi ch t ook i t al on g
the Guadal canal coast , wh i l e Yoke, on
cou r se 058° cr ossed ou tsi de Sa vo I sl an d,
towar d F l or i da. T he f i nal appr oach to
the t r an spor t ar ea w as m ade w ith ou t i nci -
d en t, an d th er e w as n o sou nd u nt i l , at 0614,
the suppor t i ng sh i ps opened fi r e on the
island.43
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Tra nsdiv B : MPCOWICV, Barnett, Elliot, Libra.
Tra nsdiv C : Hunter Ligflett, .4tchil]a, Fomal -
haut, Betelgeu$e.
Tra nsdiv I ) : Crescent City, President Hffyefi,
President .4da?ns, Al?tena.
T r an spor t Gr ou p Yok e (62.2 ) com m an ded
by Captai n Geor ge B. Ashe, an d car ryi ng
th e assau lt t r oops for the T ul agi l and ing,
con si st ed of t he fol low in g su bgr ou ps:
Tra nsdiv E : A’6>1.ll(,,rilit),cywood, Pre8iti(’nt
.Iaclwon.
Tr an sdiv 12: Calhoan, Gregory, Littlf’, MrKea??.
(the dest royer t ra nspor t group ) .42
T her e ar e som e i nd i cat i ons that the
(h ad al can al oper at ion on D -D ay m or ni ng
w as som eth i ng of a m i nor Pear l H ar bor
i n r ever se for the ,J apanese. A r ecen t
st ud y of ,J apa nese w ar t i m e m essages i nd i-
m t es the enem y was awar e that a U . S.
for ce had sor t i ed fr om H awai i . War n-
i ngs wer e i ssued to (’eu t r al Paci f i c ou t -
posts; Rabau l and poi n ts sou th wer e to be
not i f i ed for i n for mat i on on l y. Conv
m an der of th e ,J apan ese T wen ty-F ou rt l
.4i r F l ot i [ l a (M ar shal l -Gi l ber t -Wake
ar ea ) r el ayed h i s w ar ni ng m essage sou th
CHAPTER 2
Guadalcanal 7 9 August 1942
T I IZ> ’ L .4 YD1,V (+
When ‘l ’ask Gr oups X-Ray and Yoke
separ at ed n or th west of (Xpe E sper an ce at
0240, the for mer gr ol ~p m ade for the Ret{
l leach tr anspor t ar ea off Guadal canal i n a
(I ouh l e col ~unn at 12 knots. N o enem y ac-
t i vi ty w as oh ser vecl , an d t he pr el im in ar y
l ~aval bom bar dm ent of the coastal ar ea,
w hi ch bega n a t 0613, a rou sed n o r espon se.
these ai r cr i~f t nmr ked the beach fl anks
\ vi tl ~sm oke to assi st nnval gun fi re and to
gu i de the l andi ng boats. Vm ndegr if t , andh i s d i vi si on ai r of i i cer hel d th i s use to be
u n wa r r an t ed a nd u n necessa r y.
13[ lt .I d m ir al T u r ner con si d er ed i t n eces-
sar y t o “accu ratel y m ar k t he extr em it ies
of t he l au di ]l g beach es’> as d ir ect ed by t he
oper at ion or (l er , an d he m ar ked them for
t w en ty m i nu tes. T he pl an es n lad e. ei gh t
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T h e <X -R ay sh i ppi u g r each ed i t s t r an spor t
ar ea at 0645 and begym to l ow er the l and-
i ng cr aft . Acr oss the channel , Gr oup
l “ok e 1i k e~ vi se ar r i ved a t i t s assi gn ed a rea
ot f T u l agi w i thou t i nci den t at 0630 and
st r ai gh taway got the wor d fr om Captai n
Asl l e that H -hour wou l d be 0800. T he
un i ts sl ated for F l or icl a I sl and wou l d h i t
thei r beaches fi rst , as w i ll be descr ibed i n
t he n ext ch apt er .
T he di vi si on ’s com man cl post i n th e M c-(;aw?ey br oke r ad i o si lence at 0519, and
r (u ls at ext rem el y l ow al ti tl ld es, fou r r uns
on each beach ext r em ity. V an degr i f tI )oi u ted out t lm t th i s woLIlcl r esul t i n a
ser i ol l s i f not com plete l oss of pl anes i f
t i le. beacl ]es w er e d efen ded -t hi s l oss at a
t i nl e when ai rcr aft ar e cr i t i cal ly needed
as “eyes” to gai n i ll for nl :l ti on abol ~t the
I )r ogr ess of a l a nd i l ~g.
.k ct ua ll y t he l i ai son p lan es ov er G ua da l-
ca nal ’s r an dom cl ou ds zn cl spl ot ch y j un gl e
fu rn ish ed V an (l egr i ft pr eci ou s l i t tl e i nfor -mat i on . I t was not the fau l t of the pi l ots,
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256 I ’N AL L1, H AR B OR T() (l [l AI )AI .t ’AN AI ,
ai r fi el cl sever al thousand yar ds west of
t he l an di ng beach .
M ean wh il e th e 5th M ar in es (l ess 2d B at-
tal i on) had cr ossed i ts l i ne of depar tu r e
an cl m oved i nto t he 5,000-yar d appr oach
to the heacl l . N aval gun fi r e l if ted i nl and
as th e cr aft n ear ed t he sh or e, an d m in ll tes
l ater , at 0910, the assau l t wave h i t the
beach on a 1,600 yar d fr on t and pushedi~~to t i l e sl mr se jungl e gr ow th beyond.
V ’i tl l I .i eu ten an t Col on el Wi l l iam E . M ax-
wel l ”s 1st Bat tal i on on the r igh t (west .)
an d L i eu ten an t Col on el F red er ick C. B ie-
bu sh ’s 3d B at tal ion on t he l eft , t he beach -
l )ead expan ded r api dl y agai nst n o opposi -
t i on . .i per im eter som e 600 yar ds i nl and
soon est abl i sh ed a h ast y d efen se. T he l in e
t i el {l p i eces. Needed were t~vo- :~ l ~cl - :~ -l l a l f -
tol l si x by si xes and r am p boats to pu t ,
t l ~ese ~el l i c] es on the beach simu l t aneol l s] y
w i t] l t i le h ow i tzer s. .Su ch pr i me m over s
w er e au th or ized , bu t so w er e a l ot of oth er
t l~i l ~gst he M a ri nes d id n ot h ave.
I n spi te of these tr oubl es, the ar ti ll er y
un i ts r eached thei r assi gned fi r i ng posi -
t i ons by m aki ng over land pr i me m over sou t of am ph i bi an t r actor s that began to
wal low ashor e heavy w ith car go.z Once
i n posi t i on , however , the gunner s found
the amph i bi an was a cr eatu r e of m i xed
virtues: t r ack ed v eh i cl es t ore LI p t h e
cor ~l l l l~l ~l i c:l t iol ~sw i r e, cr eat i ng ea rl y t he
pat ter n of com bat even ts that becam e too
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an ch or ed on th e w est , at t he T en ar u Ri ver ,
on t l ~e east at the T enavatu Ri ver , and
l ’each m l ol l t he sou th a n ea st -~ vest br zn ch
of t he T en al w.1
Re.ginlental l l ead ql lar tem cam e ash or e
at 0938 to be fol l owed two m i l i u tes l ater
by heavy weapons tr oops. L and i ng of the
reserve reg imen t , Col onel Cates’ r ei n f or ced
1st M ar ines, al ready was under way. Be-
gi nn in g at 0930, t li i s r egi men t cam e ash or ei n a col um n of bat tal ions w i th 2/1 in t h e
t l~ e va n fol l owed by the 3d and 1st Bat-
fan li l iar t o pl agu ed w ir er nen .
M eanwhi le the l i gh t 75m m pack how i t -zer s h ad m ad e i t ash or e w ith l i t tl e t r ou bl e,
and the advance towar d the ai r f i el d got
unclerway. A t 1115 t he 1st M a ri nes m oved
thr ough the hasty per im eter of the 5th
M ar in es an d str uck ou t sou th west t ow ar d
M ou nt A usten, t he “Gr assy K nol l.” Cate.s
pu t h i s r egim ent acr oss the T enar u at an
en gi neer br id ge su ppor ted by an am ph ib-
i an tr actor , and the 1st M ar i nes pr o-gr essed sl ow ly i nt o t he t hi ck en in g j un g]e.
(; IT.kD.kJ ,cANAL, 7–9 AU GI :S T 1942 257
Colonel Cates r eal ized alm ost at once
t hat i t w ol ll d be i mpossi bl e to r each M ou nt
Austen as h i s day’s object i ve. T he so-
cal l ed Gr assy K nol l , vi si bl e fr om t he sh ips,
cou l d not , b e seen fr om the beach . I t com -
manded the L unga ar ea, bu t i t l ay m uch
far ther i n l and than r epor ts of for mer
p la nt er s a nd sch oon er p il ot s h ad i n di ca ted .
U n d er h ea vy p ack s, som et i m es excessi ve
l oad s of am m un it ion , an d w it h i nsu ff i ci en t
w ater and sal t tabl ets,3 the 1st M ar in s by
l ate after noon had str uggl ed but a m i l e
when Gener al Vanci egr i f t or der ed the
r egi men t t o h al t, r eor i en t, an d est abl ish i n-
ter nal con tact . T he m en dug i n a per i m -
et er i n t he j un gl e, som e ;~ ,~()()ya rd s sou th
of the I l u ’s m outh wher e 1J 5 had ended
wor k , fai l u r e to extend the beach l im i ts
pr om pt l y enough and, to some exten t , a
l ack of con tr ol and d i rect i on over t r oops
i n the beach ar ea. Rut the t r oubl e and i ts
causes wer e nei ther as cl ear -cu t nor as
damning as that . M ar ine pl anner s had
for eseen a danger ous shor tage of m an
power at th i s cr it i cal poi n t , bu t under the
uncer tai n ci rcum stances on th i s host i le
beach they fel t they cou l d al l ot no mor e
m en to the job than the 500 fr om Colonel
Geor ge R. Row an ’s 1st Pi on eer B at tal i on .
Vandegr if t d i d not want wor ki ng par ti es
to cu t the st r ength of h i s f i gh t i ng un i ts to
a l evel wh i ch m igh t r isk get t i ng them de-
feated.
H indsi gh t now m akes i t cl ear that the
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i ts ad van ce, t o set u p for t he, n igh t.
I n spi te of the br eakneck pace w i th
wh i ch the shoestr i ng operation had
m ounted out and th r own i tsel f i n the path
of the J apanese advance al ong the Sol o-
m on chai n, the l and i ng w as a success. Al -
though the l ack of opposi t i on (on t l ~e
Gu ad al can al si de on ly) gave i t. som ev-l l at
t i le ch ar act er i st i cs of a t r ai n in g m an eu ver ,
the need for add i ti onal t r ai ni ng th at Van-
degr i f t had hoped to gi ve h i s men i n N ew
Zeal and becam e appar en t . T he gener al
su ppl ies m ou nt i ng u p as a j ui cy beach tar -
get jeopar di zed the oper at i on m or e than
a cal l for ad di ti on al w or ki ng par ti es w ou ld
have done. T her e wer e har d l y enough
.J a pan ese f igh ti n g m en ash or e on t he i sl an d
to bother the Vandegr if t for ce, bu t i f en-
em y pl an es f r om R aba ul h ad con cen tr at ed
on h it t i ng t he congested beach th ey w ou ld
h ave pl ayed h avoc w it h t hi s w hol e ven tu re.
M ar ines wer e awar e of th i s r isk , bu t they
al so expected to r un i n to a si zabl e J ap-
an ese for ce som ew her e i n th e t hi ckeni ng
.~ugust th :l t the I :l nd i ng for ce had to ask
t lw sl ~i ps to stop un l oad i ng. T her e had
been ai r at tacks that af ter noon, and m or e
wer e expected on the 8th . T he exhausted
w or ker s ueeded t i me to cl ear the beaches
ccl ~dspr ead ou t t he, gear so i t w ou ld be l ess
of a t ar get .
For tunatel y the ai r at tacks dur i ng the
cl ay h ad con cen tr at ed on t he sh ippi ng. At
about 1100 on the ~th a coast watcher i n
the U pper Sol om ons passed the wor d on
t l ~e watcher s’ l ~etwor k t l ~at about 18
bom ber s w er e on t il e w ay t o Gu ach ~l can al .
T hi s w ar ni ng w as r el ayed t o Ck ad al can al
t l uougl l B r isbane w i th i n 25 m i nu tes, and
t i l e p l an es a r r i ved at 132 ().he destroyer
M ugfcwd sut fer ed 20 casual ti es under a
W;II’(l :t lol l g t i le l)eil(>ll toward tl)e I .uuga.
.l t t l ]e sam e t i me t i l e 1st M ar ines m ovecl
fr om i ts u igl l t l )er i met er . (’ou tact bet ween
l l l ~i ts w i th in t hi s r egi nw nt w as fal l l ty, bu t
by n ig]l tf al l I.iel~te]]allt (’ol on el I .en ar cl
13. ( ‘r essw el l ’s 1st I h l tt a l i ol ~ l )a(l o~’er r u u
t i le f iel d a ncl r e:w l led t he I ~ un ga . T l ~e ot her
t wo ba tt a] i on s, sl ow ed by d it li cu lt t er r ai n,
advanced about , 500 yar ds an hour and
bi vouacked for the n i gh t sou th of the
ai r f ie ld.
Al ong the beach , 1/ 5 and the tanks m et
t h e f i r st sca tt er ed r esi st an ce a s t h ey p assed
th r ot@ the ar ea i n wh i ch the m ai n ,J ap-
anese for ce h ad been l ocated . A few pr is-
oner s wer e taken , and i n tel l igence i nd i -
cate(l that the e~~em y w as i n no posi ti on
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250-pouncl bomb h i t , bu t i t was the on l y
sh i p st r uck by the at tack . ~i n t i ai r cr af t
t i re dow ned tw o of the tw in -engi ned T yl w
97’s. L at er i n th e aft er noon , at abou t 1500,
1() A i ch i d i ve bom ber s had no l uck :at al l ,
bu t t i re fr om the sh i ps scr atched an oth er
t wo ,J apan ese pl an es. Ot her pl an es fr om
both these at tacks wer e downed by
F l et ch er ’s ca r r i er a i r cr a ft .
A t 2200 011 7 August , Vandegr i f t i s-su ed h is at tar k or der for t he fol low in g d ay.
to at tack the super i or M ar i ne l and i ng
for ce. Cent i nued l ack of r esi stance el se-
wher e seem ed to con fi rm th i s, and at 1430
t he h l ar i n es con tr act ed t hei r f r on t, cr ossed
the I mnga by a br idge im mediatel y nor th
of t he a ir f iel d , a ud a dv an cec{ n ~or e r a pi d ly
towar d t i l e K ukum River , a st r eam iu t l ~e
w ester n fan of the I ,unga del ta.
N ’i th Com pauy D l ead i ng, th i s ad vance
can l e upon the ma in ,Japanese encan~pmen tar ea a t 1500.” T he en em y f or ce, obvi ou sl y
(:11.\ D .\ I.C.\hT.\I,,7–9 .II ’(; ITST1W2
son , Pi lot ot l icel ’, R.l .i F , w nr necl fr on l h is
Boug:iillville hi(le-olt t t ll:lt :1 l :lyge llt lln -
h er of l )l :l l l es T v er e wi n gi n g t ow ar d ~ r l l :t d :l l -
( ’ t i l )al . I n another l ~ol l r sonl e 4{) tw i l l -
el lgi ne t or ped o pl :l nes :l ppe:ar ed over t il e
n r ea to t i nd the task for ce, :~l er ted by t i le
w :lr llin g, ma n euver ing a t t ol) speed wh i l e
el l )l )l oyi n g ev asi v e t xct i r s.
-k tor pedo sent the dest r oyel ’.larl~i.s
l i n lp ing son t i~ e:~ st for t h e brew 1 lebr ides.
,S lw w a s s~ lnk n ext da y by nn en en ~ ~ a ir
: t t t :~ck. ‘I ’h e t r :t nspor t i’:’lziot t , set a fire
w hen Nn en en ly I )la ne cra shed flboa rcl, ht lcl
t o be be:t c]ied a n d dest royed by h er sist er
shil}s. survivors w en t 011 bo:t rd t he
fl t lnter l~qqett.
Sn ip m l ti :l i rcr aft j t ir e an d t igl ~t er pl nn es
259
b :~ck 11] ) t i l e islill](l co:lst U l)t i] t l)e l ) l :~ne
( l el )+t r t e(l . ‘1 ’l l ei ~ t urn i ng agxi l l , t hey s:l i l ed
b et \ v eel l B ol l gn i l l vi l l e a nd (yl ~ oi se(l l n or t h -
e:~st of the Shor thands :l nd set cour se
(1OJVI1The S lot ” t ow :~ rd (}l l :l c] :t l ~ :l l l :l l .
Wor d of t hi s :l ppr on ch in g f ol ce r e:l ch ed
.I(ll]]i]itl Tl~r ]~~l :~ t 1800,”:~1](1,~y l ]p l ] ~$(1-
l ~~ ir :l l Fl et ch er l l ot it i ecl h i m Sl l ol tl y t her e-
:\ f ter t lm t the mr ri er for ce was to be w i t l l -
(l r:~w l ~, T ur ner c:i ll ed Vm ldegr i f t to the
f l : tgsl l i p .l I cCc/ lo7e,7 /a ]~cl in formed the gen-
er al t lm t, d e])r i vecl of c:l r r i er pr ot ect ion ,
t he t r :~ ll sp or t s m t lst l e:l ve :t t 0600 t he n ext
(l:ty.
~ ~sea r l y n s 2 .f ugu st .k d m ir :a l ~ xl l or m l ey
l ]:td kuow l l of F letcher ’s i nten t i ons to r e-
t i re the car r i er s befow 1)-D :I y pl LH three.’
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f r or n .4d rn i m l N oyes’ car r iel s sl ~ot d ow n12 ,J: tp i l l )ese p l ane s :~ nd sl l or e-ba se(l a m
t i :l i r cr ai l :~ccou ntec{ for t \ vo n lor e. St i l l
other s wer e spl ashed by c:~r ri er -bmed
fi ghter s west of the t r anspor t nr en . A
t ot al of seven -i n ler i ca n p la nes w er e l ost .’
Tf~K ,7.4 Pi l iVE ,YK A?K TAL [A~ T K
T hese ear ly :t t tacks ham per ed M ar ineoper at ion s n nd u nl o:l cl i ng, bu t t he be:w h-
At 18~ ~ on 8 .iu~ ust F letch er ci ted fu elsl l or t :l ge n n d l )l al l e l osses t h :~ t ] M d r ed u ced
h i s f i gh ter cr :t f t f r om 99 to 78 nnd :tg~t i n
r eq[l ested per nl issi ol ] to w ithdr aw nnt i l
sl l f fl ci el }t I :t n cl -l m sed :t i r cm f t :l n d f uel w er e
+ ~w l i:l bl e t o su pp or t sh i pp in g.~ I t seem s
that Ghor mley h l d not r eal l y expectecl
th i s I )r obl en l to come l l p, i n spi te of
F let ch er ’s an nou ncem en t :n bou t t ]l i s n mt -
ter :t t j the F i j i r el ~e:usal s. ]~ Llt 11OI Yt h a t Fl etcher W:l S n l :l ki ng the r equest ,
260 I ’E AR L H AR BOR TO G I TAI )AL CAATAI ,
l T andegr if t hel d that r et i rem ent of the
sh i ps wou l d l eave h im in a “m ost al ar m -
i ng” posi ti on .’” D i vi si on pl ans assum ed
the sh i ps wou l d r emai n i n the tar get ar ea
fou r d ays, an d even t hen al l avai labl e su p-
pl i es w ou ld pr ove scan ty en ou gh , su ch w as
t l~e h ast e w it h w hi ch t he assau lt m ou nt ed
out w i th l ess than the nor m al m i n im um in
basi c al low an ces. B ut a w ithd raw al ear ly
on ) .i ugust wou l d take m uch of the sup-
pl i es and equ i pm ent away i n the hol ds of
sh i ps and l eave beach dum ps i n a state of
ch aos. T he ‘(sh oest ri ng” of t hi s f i r st A ll ied
ot ien si ve seem ed t o be pu ll in g apar t. T hi s
w as the fi rst of the oper at i on ’s m any dar k
hours. ( See M ap 14, M ap Sect ion )
T l r h i l e Vandegr i f t . con fer r ed w i th
came in . .fdm ir al T ur ner h ad est i mated
th at , the ,J apanese sh i ps w ou l d hol e up i n
Rekata B ay on Santa I sabel I sl and and
str ike at the am ph i bi ous for ce w i th tor -
pedo-ca r r yi ng f l oa tp] anes.
.i t 0316 M i kawa or der ed i ndependen t
f i r i ng, and tor pedoes l eaped fr om thei r
tubes two m inu tes l ater . J apan ese f l oat -
pl an es i ll um in at ed br ief l y. T he Can ber r a
cau gh t t wo t or ped oes i n h er st ar boar d si de,
the Pfi i mgo l ost par t of her bow , and then
the ,J apanese tu r ned towar d the Al l i ed
sh ips bet ween Savo an d F lor i da.
T he r esu lt in g m el ee w as on e of t he w or st
defeats ever su ffer ed by the I T. S. hT avy.
T he Vkcenfle.s and the Qui ncy wer e l ost ;
the Aust r al ian Can ber ra bu rned al l n i gh t
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T ur ner , th e ,J apan ese sh i ps, el em ents of
the enemy’s B i gh th F7eet , appr oached
,Savo I sl ancl undetected by destr oyer s
Ral ph T al bot and B l ue on pi cket du ty
nor thwest of that sm al l i sl and . T hey
sl i pped past these sh i ps towar d the two
A ll i ed cr ui ser s, H J WA S Panberra and th e
1’SS Ch im go, an d d est royer s 11SS B agl ey
and Pat tem on w hi ch patr o] ]ed th e w ater s
betw een Savo an d Cape E sper ance. Far -ther nor th cr u i ser s I J SS T~incennes,
and had to be abandoned and sunk; de-
st r oyer Ral ph T al bot was dam aged, and
.4storia went down at noon the next day.
For tunatel y M i kawa r et i r ed w i thou t
pr essi ng h i s advantage i n an at tack on the
am ph ibi ous sh i ppi ng far ther down the
channel , and Adm i r al T ur ner , del ayi ng
h i s depar tu re, or der ed un l oad i ng to con-
t i nue. L ate i n the af ter noon the t r ans-
por ts got under way for N oum ea, l eavi ngthe M ar i nes on thei r own w i th four un i ts
G UAD ALCANAL, 7.9 AU G US T 1942 261
away, l eavi ng a m ost i na dequ at e f ract ionbeh i nd. And w i th ai r suppor t so sketchy,
ther e was no way to know when the t r ans-
por ts cou l d com e back agai n . T he stacks
of captu r ed ,J apanese r at i ons began to
gai n i n i m por tance i f not i n pal atabi li ty.
.kccor di ng to the war d i ar y of the Com -
m ander , T ask For ce 62, the fol l ow i ng
t r oops were l eft i n the Guadal canal -
T u l agi ar ea when the t r anspor t s and—su pp ly sh i ps w i th d rew :
.4t Gwdalcanal:
D ivision H ea dqua r ters C ompa n y (less de-
t ach men ts )
D ivision S igna l C ompa ny (less deta ch ment s)
5t h Ma rin es (less 2d B at ta lion )
I st M ar in es
llt h Ma rines (less B a t t ery It , 1st a nd 4t h
B at ta lions )
(’(mLI Ia ny A. Xi .I mphihia u Tra {t or B at t alion
(2d P la t oon, C ompa n y A, Ist An)phibia n
‘lYa ct or B a tt alion a tt ach ed)
(’o]mmn y D . 2d Mediea l B at ta lion
L’ompa ny A, 2d P ioneer B at ta lion (2d I ’la toon.
C om pa ny A, 1st l’ion eer B at ta lion a tt ach ed)
B at t ery E , llth 31a rines
(’om pa uy C , 2d S ervice B at ta lion
L ova l h -a va l I )ef en se F or ce
Total o?~Tulagi, 6,075
Total personnel left in. area, about 16,073
T he $M M ar in es un der Col on el ,J ohn M .
Ar thur had for med the d i vi si on r eser ve
and w as or igi nal ly sl ated for the occupa-
t i on of N den i , bu t al l i ts bat tal i ons now
wer e i n act i on i n the T u l agi ar ea. T he
r egi m en tal h ead qu ar ter s r em ai ned afl oat ,
however , as d i d wor k ing par t i es fr om al l
com pan ies, m ost of t he H ead qu ar ter s an d
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1st Ta nk B a tt alion ( less det ach men ts)
1st E ngin eer B a tt alion ( less det ach men ts)
1st P ioneer B at ta lion (less det achment s)
1st Amphibia n Tra ct or B a t ta lion (less de-
tachments)
1st S er vice B at ta lion (less det ach men ts)
1st Medica l B at ta lion (less det a chu]ent s )
1st Milit ary P olice C ompa ny
2d P la toon, 1st S cout C omla my
I -n it s, 3d D efen se B a tt alion
Loca l Na va l D efen se Force
Total on (ltiadalcanal, a ~ wut 10,NX)
.4t Tatagi:
Ser vi ce Com pan y, R egi m en tal ‘J J 7ea pon s
Com pany, adm in i st r at i ve un i t s fr om the
var iou s bat t al ion s, an d (1 an d H ead qu :l r-
ter s an d Ser vi ce B at ter ies of 3/ 10.
T he sudden w i thdr awal of the t r ans-
por ts car ri ed these un i ts, wh i ch total ed
abou t 1,400 ofl icer s an d m en, back to Es-
pi r itu San to wher e they wer e used to “r e-
i n for ce the gar r i son th er e, ” accor di ng to
the r epor ts of Adm i r al T u r ner . On 14
.~u gu st , T ur ner or der ed Col on el Ar th ur to
r epor t for dn ty w i th the Comm andi ng
P E .t RL H .\ RB OR TO G [’A]}AL CAN.%J .
m or e gl ar i ng exam pl e of h i s theor y of
p er son al com m a nd p ossessi on . H e or d er ed
those “i d l e’> 2d M ar i nes to for m a “2d
Pr ovi si onal Rai der B at tal i on .” T hen he
w rote to Adm ir al (l hor ml ey r ecom mend-
i ng an over hau l of al l M ar i ne r egiments
i n the Am ph ibi ous For ce, South Paci f i c.
A l ] r egi ments then wou l d con tai n r ai der
bat tal i ons wh i ch coul d be sent ou t on
speci al m issi ons. T ur ner sai d he di d not
th i nk M ar ine r egim ents woul d be su i ted
to oper at i ons i n the Paci f i c. ‘(T he em -
pl oym en t of a d ivi si on seem s l ess l ikel y,”
the adm i r al added. H e wou l d use r ai der
bat tal ions l ike bu i ld i ng bl ocks, an d f i t the
l and i ng for ce to the speci al pr obl em . Ob-
vi ousl y, he expected the Paci fi c w ar to he
imtion of M ar ine For ces shou l d be m ade
on l y i n case of d i r e necessi t y.?> N im i tz
t hen for war ded t hi s cor respon den ce on t o
I ,i eu ten an t C~en er :d T hom as I -l ol com b,
M a ri ne ( ‘om m an dan t.
(+m er al H ol com b r espol ~d ed t o N im it z
that t l ~e l at ter ’s object i ons had sur el y
st opped T ur ner ’s pl an vi i th ou t t he n eed for
t he (’com m an da nt t o ad d ot her obj ect i on s,
bu t H ol com b noted “w i th r egr et” that
Tur ner had not , seen t i t to ask Gener al
V an cl egr i f t abol l t t hi s pl an t o r eor gan ize
h is t roops.
Th i s r eact i on fr om N “i mi tz, and the ar -
r i val at about that t im e i n the N ew H eb-
r i des of the “au then t i c’> 2d Raider Bat -
t al i on of L i eu tenant Col onel Evans F .
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sm al l an d t i dy.
.I dm i r a] (l hor m ley answer ed that
T ur ner ought to hol d u p such r eor gan i za-
t i on un t i l he found out . what the Com-
m andant of the M ar ine Cor ps thought , of
:111this. .i dn l i r al (l hor m ley then sent
t l ~i s l et ter and h i s endor sem ent to the
(’com m an dan t v ia .I d r ni r al N T i m it za t P ea rl
Harbor. N im itz agr eed w i th Ci hor ml ey,
iilld h e st r essed t ha t ‘ext em por i zed or ga n-
Car ]son , caused T ur ner to hal t h i s pl an to
tu r n al l .hph i bi ous For ce M ar i nes i n to
r ai der s. Bu t i t took the adm i r al m uch
l on ger th an th is t o aban don h is t heor y t hat
t h ese M a r i n es w er e d i r ect , “p ossessi on s” of
his.”
“ ( ‘om P h i bF or S oP a c lt r t o C omS oP a@’or ,
2 ).An g42; (’on ] S oP a cF or lt r t o (’in CP OA, 6S ep42;
(’inC P ~ .l lt r t o C M(’. 24 S e 2: C MC ltr t o
(“inCI’().A, 30ct42.
CHAPTER 3
Tulagi and Gavutu Tanambogo
T i7_L .4 (7Z : T H E F I RST DA 1’
.~fter T ask Gr ou p Yoke separ at ed fr omth e l ar ger bod y of sh ips at 0240 on D -D ay,
i ts apl lr oach t o T ul agi w as accom pl ish ed
w i thou t , i nci den t . A l l el ements of the
gr ou p :I r r ived i l l posi ti c~n at :l bol ~t 06;30 1
an d m ad e r ead y for t he l an di ng.
.i s the sh i ps appr oached the t r anspor t
ar ea, 15 f igh ter s an d 15 d ive bom ber s f rom
Wasp st rafed an d bom bed t he. t ar get ar ea;
a sm al l i sl and south of the sam e poi n t of
land. ’
.I t 0740, 20 m inu tes befor e H -hour ,Company B (r ei n for ced) of the 1st Bat -
tal i on , 2d M ar i nes, under com mand of
Captain Edwar d tJ . Cr ane, l anded on
Flor i da near H al eta to pr otect the l eft
f l al ~k of the T u l agi For ce. T he l and i ng
was unopposed, al though enem y tr oops
had been r epor ted i n posi ti on ther e on 25
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set t i ng fi re t o seapl an es t hat w er e cau gh ti l l t h e h ar bor .3 (See M a p 15, M a p S ect i on )
F i ve-i nch navzl gun fi r e fr om the de-
str oyer i l fonwen, opened up at a pr om on-
tor y of F l or i da I sl and , west of Tu l agi ,
an d 60 r ol ln ds w er e expen ded on t he t ar get
bet ween 0727 an d 0’732. I n t he m ean ti m e,
both the Buchanan and San Juan (an
ant i ai rcr aft cr ui ser ) pum ped 100 r ounds
ea ch i n to n ear by t ar get s. Buchanan con-cen tr at ed on a poi nt of l an d east of H al eta,
,J ul y.’ Cr ane, h i s com pany r ei nfor ced by
the Ah pl atoon of Company D and 21 menfr om H ead qu ar ter s Com pan y, r eached h is
object i ve w ith i n 40 m inu tes. T he 252 ot l i-
cer s an d m en w en t ash or e i n ei gh t l an di ng
boats and w er e gu i ded to thei r object i ve
by one of the sever al Aust r al i ans on duty
w i th t he d i vi si on .e
Whi l e th i s cover ing for ce depl oyed i n -
l an d fr om i ts F lor i da beach , t he r em ai nd er
of the 1st Bat tal i on , 2d M ar i nes (L ieu-
tenan t Col onel Rober t E . H i l l ) m ade a
264 1’13AR 1, H .\ R ROR TO G U AI ). AL C AN AL
cor a l f or m a t ion sa t d i st :t l l ces v :t r yi l ~gf r or n30 to wel l oyer 100 yar (l s fr om the beach
l i ne, and the assau l t per sonnel of r ai der
Com pan ies PI an d 1) w ad ed ash or e aga in st
no opposi t i on , t l m ough Wi t ter i n i t i al l y
fr om wai st to ar mpi t deep.’
M eanwhi l e the enem y defense for ces,
con cen tr nt ecl i u t he sou th ei ~st er n t hi r d of
t l~e i sl an d, r eal i zed t ha t a n al l -ou t assau lt
\~its u nd er ~~ay. B et ween 072 5 an d 074 ),
th e Tu7Qgi C’o~)~)))~(nic(~tior ~i’~[sz noti fied
t l ~e (’on ] m and ing Off i cer of th e T uw nty-
F i ~t f i A i r F70t i 77a at Rabaul th at T ul agi
w as u nd er bom bar d men t, t ha t t he l an di ngs
had begun, and that the sender s wer e de-
st r oyi ng al l equ i pm ent i mm ed i atel y. At ,
0800 t he ,Jzpanese messages sa i d shel l s were
fal l i ng near the r ad i o i nstn l ]at i on . T en
si t i on , the nat i ve vi l l age of Sasapi . T hi scom pauy then swung to the r igh t . and , t y-
i ng i n w ith M ajor ,J ust ice (M am ber s’ Com -
pan y D w hi ch had gai ned the h igh gr ou nd,
began m ovi ng south east . T he ad van ce of
t hese t wo com pan ies w as stead y an d w ith -
ou t opposi ti on un t i l Com pany B r eached
Car pen ter ’s Wh ar f, h al fw ay d ow n th e east
sh or e of t he i sl an d, w her e i t en cou nt er ed
a ser i es of en em y ou tp ost s.M eanwhi l e a d d i t i o n a 1 r ai der s had
l anded . Captai n L ew i s W. Wal t ’s (’om -
pany A, l and i ng to fol l ow the l ead i ng
com pani es, swung r i gh t atop the r i dge
spi ne, and t i ed i n on the l eft w i th (’on l -
pany D . M ajor K enneth Bai l ey’s (Xon l -
pan y C al so sw ung r igh t, t i ed i ts l eft f l ank
to Com pan y .%, a nd ech el on ed i tsel f to th e
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m in ut es l ater , th e f i nal m essage w en t ou t:“E nem y tr oop st r en gth i s over wh el mi ng.
We w i l l defend to the l ast m an .” *
Com pan i es B and D had r eached the
beach, and the l and i ng cr aft car r yi ng
r ai der Com pan i es A and C now began to
l lt in g u pon t l ~e cor al . T he Weapon s (’on -
pany (Captai n Geor ge W. H er r i ng) of
th e r ai der bat t al ion , w hose 60n m m or tar s
had been at tached to the assau l t com -l )an ies,’ h ead ed ash or e t o a ssu m e r esp on -
r igh t r ear to th e, beach . Spr ead ou t acr osst l l e i sl and, the r ai der s swept sout l ~east
agai nst l it tl e o~,posi ti on u nt i l Ph ase L i ne
.%, fr om th e ] l igb gr ou nd n or th west of H i l l
281 to (Xar peu ter ’s Whar f, was r eached
at 1120. H er e M ajor (’l l am ber s was
wounded by I I l or t ar t i r e, i t ] ]d (‘apt ai n
Wi ll ian l F ,. Sper l i ng assu med com man d of
(“om pa uy D .
B y th is t i me Col onel E dson, com mand -
i ng the 1st Rai der Bat tal ion , w as ashor e
T(TLAGI AS I ) GA VU TI : -T. k NAM B O GO 265
the r ai der s m oved out towar d the h i gh
gr ound beyond the sadd l e. Com pany C,
on the r i gh t f l ank of the at tack , d r ew fi r e
al most i mm ed i atel y fr om H i l l 208, a knob
for war d of the r i dge that had just been
cl ear ed . T he bu l k of th e J apanese r esi st -
ance con cent r ated i n the seaw ar d face of
the h i gh gr ound, and Com pany C was
caught by fi r e fr om enem y in fan tr y
weapons as i t t r i ed to pass between the
h i l l and the beach . The r ai der company
then tu r ned i ts at tack towar d the h i l l and
fought for near ly an hour befor e the J ap-
anese posi t i ons were si l enced .
Rad io com mu ni cat i on s betw een E dson
and Gener al Ruper tus deter ior ated r ap-
i dl y af ter t hi s at tack w as l au nched , bu t th e
opposi t i on si nce m idmor n i ng, when the
fi r st en em y en cou nt er ed w er e fl ush ed n ear
Car pen ter ’s 1$’h ar f by Com pan y B . Af ter
th i s con tact Com pany D pushed south
zl ong the easter n beach and at dusk
r eached the cr est of H i l l 281. M eanwhi le
Com pany B moved up agai n , now on the
r i gh t of Company D, and gai ned hi gh
gr ound over l ook i ng the cu t of a cr oss-
i sl and r oadway th r ough the sadd l e be-
tween H il l s 281 and 230. Company D, on
the far si de of the r oad and to the l eft of
B , took up n i gh t defensi ve posi ti ons w ith
i ts r i gh t f l ank r est i ng on the souther n
br ink of the cu t . Company B , augmented
by el em ents of H ead quar ter s Com pany,
r est ed i ts l ef t f l an k on t he cu t an d ext en ded
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r ai der com mander r em ained i n con tact
w i th h i s f i r e suppor t sh i ps, Operation
or der s cal led for the var ious fi re suppor t
sect ion s to pr ovi de th e l an di ng for ce w it h
naval gun fi r e l i ai son par ti es, and two of
these wer e i n Edson ’s CP w i th thei r
radios.11 W hen t he ot her r ai d er com pan i es
cam e under f i re fr om H il l 281 wh i l e Com -
pany C fought agai nst H i l l 208, E dson put
these naval gun fi r e team s to wor k . T he
,$ ”a n .J u a n f i r ed a sev en -m i n u te, 28 0-r ou n d
concent r at i on of 6-i nch shel l s on to H il l
i ts l i nes gener al l y westwar d al ong the
br ink.” Both com pan i es pu t l i sten i ng
posts for war d of the l i nes.
Com pan i es .4 and C (l ess one pl atoon)
m ean w hi l e en cou nt er ed t he t er r ai n f ea tu r e
w hi ch har bor ed the i sl andk m ost ser ious
r esi stance. I n the for war d sl ope of H il l
281, a deep r avi ne l ay alm ost par al l el to
t he r ai der ad van ce an d d ebou ch ed sever al
hundr ed yar ds southeast of H il l 208. I ts
si des wer e pr eci pi tous, and w i th i n i t the
vi ne’s l ong axi s, and l isten i ng posts w er e
established.13
D ur ing E dson’s sw eep dow n th e i sl and ,
the i ?d B at tal i on , 5th M ar i nes (Rose-
cn wn s), h ad l an ded 1,085 off i cer s an d m en
and com mi t ted i t s un i ts to var ious tasks.
(’om pan y F scou ted t he n or th west sect ion
of the i sl and but m et no opposi t i on . At ,
1000 Com pany E was or der ed to oper ate
gener al ly i n suppor t of Com pany B (r ai d-
er s), and one hour l ater the 3d Pl atoon of
~’or npany H (weapons) went for war d to
assi st , (Y om pan y C (r ai der s) i n t he l at ter ’s
at tack agai nst H il l 208. 13y 1300, when
the r ai der bat tal ion began i ts at tack fr om
Phase L ine A, Con l pany G moved down
t he t rai l al on g t he r i dge l in e an d su ppor ted
the r ai der bat tal i on .
back Wal t ’s m en fr om the r efused fl ank.
Rut the f l ank hel d , k i l l i ng 26 .T apanese
w i th i n 20 yar ds of the M I~R.
T lm t ended the concer ted at tacks of the
n i gh t. T h er ea ft er , en em y ef for t s con si st ed
en ti rel y of at t em pt s at qu iet i nf i lt rat ion of
t he M ar in e posi ti on s. I nd i vi dual s and
sm al l gr oups wor kecl f r om the r avi ne
thr ough the r ai der l ines and l aunched f i ve
separ at ,e sm al l-scal e at tack s agai nst t il e
com mand post , between 0030 and 0530.
T hese wer e r epu l sed , and effor ts on the
par t of two other enemy gr oups to sk i r t
the beach fl anks of Com pan i es D and C
l i kew ise w er e t ur n ed back .
On the mor n i ng of 8 August , tw o com -
pan i es of the 2d Bat tal ion , 5th M ar ines,
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R osecr n ns’ com -
m an d post l at er d ispl aced sou th east fr om
near Beach B lue towar d the scene of th i s
action.
T L I’L .4GI —T I IE F [12L ST i VI GI JT
AN D SU CCEE DI N G D AY
T he f i rst n igh t on T ul agi set th e pat ter n
for m any fu tu r e n i gh ts i n the Paci f i c war .
D ur i ng d ar kn ess, ~ou r separ at e at tack sstr uck the r ai der l ines, and , al though m i-
m oved up to assi st i n the sweep of the
southeaster n par t of the i sl and . Com pa-
n ies I ? an d F , 5t h M a ri nes, passed t hr ou gh
Company D r ai der s, at tacked down the
for war d sl ope of H i l l 281, and swung r igh t
tow ar d t he en em y pocket i n th e r avi ne.
h’ow f l an ki ng t hi s t rou bl esom e t er r ai n
feat ur e on t hr ee si des, M ar in es l ai d d ow n a
heavy m or tar concentr at i on fr om the
60mm weapons of the r ai der s and 2/ 5’s
81s. By m i daf ter noon the pr epar at i on
w as com pl ete, and at 1500 the r ai der s and
267
by a 50(J -yar d causeway. Gavutuqs h i ll ,1M feet i n h ei gh t, st an ds som e 25 t o 30 feet
l )i gh er t lu u~ T an am bogo’s h ighest poi nt ,
a] l d (+ar ntu th~~s becam e the m ain ob-
ject i ve of the l and i ng wh i ch aim ed at the
l ~ i gher ground .
T he pl an s” cal l ed for t i l e l and i ng to
str i ke the nor theast coast af ter an ap-
pr oach fr om the east , and si nce T anan-
bogo l i es appr oxi matel y nor thwest ofGavu tu t l~e assau lt for ce faced t he possi -
bi l i ty of f l ank i ng f i r e f r om that i sl and as
wel l as fr on tal r esi stance fr om the m ain
object i ve. opposi ti on fr om both i sl ands
w as expect ed fr om t il e t er r ai n d om i nat in g
t h e f l at bea ch .
N aval gun fi r e and cl ose ai r suppor t by
SBD ’s fr om the Wmp wer e expected to
Oug]l ll ess l yi tl l ~yh i ch the ant i ai rcr aft ,cr ui ser N an ,l ua~, l md car r i ed ou t l ~er t i re
su ppor t m issi on -280 r ou nd s of (i -i nck fi re
agai nst Gavutu i n four m inu tes ‘s—and
t h e i n t en si t y of t h e W a.sp ’,S d i ve-bom ber s’
pr epar at i o] l caused heavy dam age to the
en em y i nstal lat i on s, bu t t hi s d est ru ct i on
actual l y wor ked to the d i sadvantage. of
the par achute bat tal ion i n one i nstance.
T he un i t i n tended to l and on a seapl aner am p fr om w hi ch th e beach cou ld be easi ly
r eached, bu t the r am p had been r educed
to an unusabl e m ass of r ubbl e. obser w
i ng t hi s, th e l an di ng w ave com man der s al -
ter ed cour se sl i gh t l y to the nor th wher e
cr aft becam e even m or e vu l ner abl e to
fl ank i ng fi r e. Par t of the tr oops, scr am-
bl ing over a concr ete pi er th at j ut ted four
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I l eu t r al ize m ost en em y em pl acem en ts on
t l~ese h i ll s, bu t t he fi r e pl an d id n ot r eck on
w i th the cor al cave. Caves of th i s type
began to appear as ser ious obstacl es for
t he par ach ut e bat tal i on on Gavu tu at abou t
t i l e sam e t im e the r ai der s began to en-
cou nt er t hem on T ul agi .
Sur pr i se was impossi bl e. T her e wer e
n ot su ff i ci en t cr af t for si mu ltan eou s h ul d-
i ngs, and the hour of assau l t was estab-
1i sh ed i n G en er al V an cl egr i ft ’s O per at i on
feet ou t of the water , wer e exposed to fi r e
fr om both i sl ands. Gener al Vandegr if t
est i mated that t r oops l andi ng i n th i s ar ea
su ff er ed t en p er cen t ca su al t ies.
Com pany A, the fi r st wave, got ashor e
w ith ou t casu al ti es t o w or k i nl an d agai nst
n o ser i ou s opp osi t ion . The four boats
car r yi ng Company B and the fi nal wave,
w i th Com pany C and m iscel l aneous at -
t ach men ts, cam e u nd er f i r e as t hey n ear ed
th e i sl and . T he l and i ng succeeded, hovr -
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TI T. AG I AN 1} G AVI ’TI ; -T. W’J A YI B O G O 26 )
Eal ions, M h lar i l l es ( r ei n for ced) em-bar ked , wer e or der ed to cr oss fr om the
t ran spor t ar ea oi l’ (+u ad al can al ’s B each
I {ed to t i le T ul agi t r anspor t zr ea. Si nl ul -
i an ew l sl y ba tt al i on com m an der s r ecei ved
or der s to l and thei r t r oops at l l each
]J l ue on T u l agi and r epor t to Gener al
Rupertus.’7
U pon ar r i val at the tr anspor t ar ea off
Beach l l l ue at 0730, the 3d Bat t :d i on wasd i rected to pass to (k tvu tu j r ei n for ce the
t r oops engaged ther e, and sei ze T anan l -
bogo. (l r der s for the 1st Bat tal i on wer e
cancel led and th i s un i t d i d not l and .
l ’he 3d I Iat tal i on , under L ieu tenant
Col on el Rober t G. H u nt , l an ded on Gavu tu
i n a successi on of boat waves, w i th com-
pani es i n the fol l ow i ng or der : Company
E igh t of t i l e casual t i es wer e men of thes(l ppor t i l l ,g l )l at oon of Com pan y M .
.ft 1W5, Captai n W. B . T i nsl ey, com -
l ~l an di i l g (’om pan y 1, w as or der ed to pr e-
par e for a l ancl i ng on T anambogo. H e
woul d have the suppor t of tw o tanks fr om
(’om pany (.” of the 2d T ank Bat tal i on
(one of the r ei nfor ci ng un i ts of t i l e AI
M ar i nes ), and hi s at tack wou l d be pr e-
ceded by a l o-m inu te navalg l l n f i re
pr epar at i on by the Buchanan. T he com -
l N L nyw ou ld n ot be accom pan ied by i ts su p-
por ti ng m ach i ne-gun pl atoon , wh i ch was
to stay i n posi t i on on Gavu tu and l ay
dow n suppor ti ng t i res fr om ther e.
At 1315 the tanks l anded on Gavut .u .
I .i eu ten an t E . ,J . Sw een ey, com man di ng
them , w as or der ed to l and at 1615 on T an-
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L , w ith M b Pl at oon , (’om pan y M att ach ed ,at 1000; Com pany K , w i th 4th Pl :l toon ,
(’om pan y M at tach ed , at 1025; (Yom pan y
I , w i th M Platoon , (’om pany M attached,
at 1050; Com pany M , l ess 3d , M , and 5th
Pl at oon s, w i th H ead qu ar t er s (’om pal ~y, a t
1120.
T roops depl oyed i ni ti al ly to el im inate
(kw l tu opl )osi t i on and to take Tanan l -
bogo u nd er f i r e. (’om pan y 1,, for exm npl e,assum ed posi ti ons gener al ly ar ound the
am bogoj l lsi ng on e tan k t o cover t he sou thsi de of the h i l l on that . i sl and and the
ot her t o cover t he east er n sl ope.
T he n aval gun fi re pr epar at i on began at
1600. T wenty m i nutes l ater the assau l t
COlll])illl~j fol l ow i ng the tanks, m ade i ts
l an di ng. L ieu tenan t Sw een ey w as ki ll ed ,
bu t h i s tank r ender ed val uabl e suppor t to
t he r i f l emen . T he other tank , get t i ng too
far ahead of the assau l t t r oops, was d i s-abl ed by an i r on bar and set afi r e by oi l -
270 P EARL H ARB OR TO G CAD AL C ANAI ,
gun fire. from ~ TS S @ri~ ley w a s direct ecl
upon G a omi a t 1’700 a n d posit ions on t he
sma ll isla n d w ere silenced. .lt t his t ime
t h e 1st pla t oon of C ompa ny ~ a t t a cked
a cross t h e ca usew a y from G ccvut u, secured
t h e .Ta na mbogo en d of t h e ca usew a -yj a nd
t ook up posit ions for t he nigh t .
B y 21oo, t he sout h ea st ern t w o-t hirds of
t h e isla nd h a d been secured, a nd a t 2300
a light n mch in e-~ un pla t oon from (20m -
pa n y &l repor t ed t o compa ny I for sup-
por t a ga inst en em y count era t t a cks. C on -
sidera ble close-in fight ing t ook pla ce dur-
in g t h e nigh t bet w een t h e ~ la rines a nd
,J a pa n ese w h o sa llied from foxholes a nd
dugout s. No ch a n ge in posit ion occurred,
h ow ever , a nd by la te t h e n ext da y con -
t inued a t t a cks ha d secur ed t h e isla nd.
one .30 and one .50 ca liber j t h e t ra ctor%
crew n eut ra lized t he en emy fire a nd t h en
eva cua t ed t he w oun ded ~ I a r ines.ls The
five t ra ct ors of t h e pla t oon w er e t a ken
ha ck on boa rd t he Adcz)n,s before sun dow n
011 ~ .< U ~ LI St .
lVit h t he fa ll of Ta na mbo~ o, t h e la st
effect ive resist a nce in t he Nggela isla ncl
gr oup cea sed. S ubsequen t opera tion s
consist ed of moppin g up, con solida t ing
defen sesj a n d occupyin ~ severa l sma ll
peripheral i sl and s i ncl ud in g M :zk :m ~bo,
M bangai , K okom tum bu, and Songonan-
gona.”
T he m issi on of cl ear ing ou t these sm al l
i s] ands fel l to var i ous un i ts of the 2d
B a t t a lion, 2d h la r in es. h la ka mbo w a s
t a ken by ~ ompa n y )3, ~ ~ ba n~ a i by C om-
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l~ h ile G a vut u a n d Ta n a mbogo w er e
mopped up, t he 1st a n d 2d B a t t a lions, 2d
13fa r ines un loa ded a t Tula gi. Th e 1st
B a t t a l ion, un en ~ a gecl sin ce it s 7 I lugust
la ncling on Florida , w en t a sh ore a t 13ea ch
B lue a t 0900 on 9 .lu~ ust . The 2d 13a t-
t a lien ( Nfa jor or in K . P ressley ) follow ed
a n h olu- la ter .
H ere, a s a t G ua da lca na l , t h e a mphibia n
t ra ct or emer ged a s a versa t ile piece of
eq uipmen t w h ose import a n ce a n cl ut ilit y
pa ny F, a n d K okomt a mbu a n d S on~ on a n-
gon i L,by C ompa n y G . occupa t ion of a ll
t h ese sma ller isla nds w a s complet ed
clur in g t h e mor ning of 9 .Lugust . I n :L1l
cases> opposit ion w a s sl@t .
Occupa t ion of t h e en t ire isla nd gr oup
a n cl dest ruct ion of t h e ,Ta pa n ese ga rr ison
h a d been a ccomplish ed in t hree da ys. Th e
few prisoners t a ken w ere q uest ioned a nd
sent t o rea r a rea s. l fost of t h em fina lly
w ere pla ced in a pr ison er of w a r ca mp
271
bat tal i on had su f fer ed 50-60 per cen tcasual ti es can on l y be expl ai ned i n ter ms
of i nad equ at e com mu ni cat ion s bet ween
h im an d h is t roops ash or e.
T h e exa ct n u m ber of ,T a pa nese ca su al t i es
w i l l never be known. An est im ated 750-
800 enemy wer e pr esen t i n the Tu l agi -
Gavu tu -T anam bogo ar ea at the t im e of
the l and i ngs. T wenty-th r ee pr isoner s
w er e tak en , an d an i ntel l i gen ce su mm ar ygi ves 70 as the appr oxim ate num ber of
su r vi vor s w ho escaped t o F lor i da.
I m m ed iat el y af ter or gan ized r esi st an ce
ceased an d t he i sol at ed d efen di ng gr ou ps
wer e r ounded up or w i ped out , T ul agi and
i ts satel l i te i sl an ds w er e or gan ized for d e-
fense agai nst counter at tack. T he 1st
Par achute Bat tal i on , depl eted by i ts ex-
roads. on l y i lf ter noon of the seconcl dayw as i t possi bl e to m ove suppl ies ashor e at
the pi er s on the easter n coast . Both
Gavu tu an d T an am bogo w er e so sm al l t hat
on ] y amm uni ti on and water wer e 1anded
u nt il t he i sl an ds w er e secu r ed .
N aval gun fi r e on th i s si de of the Sol o-
m on I sl an ds oper at i on h ad m or e of a w or k-
ou t, t ha n i t h ad r ecei ved acr oss t he ch an nel
i i t (l uadal canal wher e opposi t i on was atf i rst l i gh t ,, bu t i t was not an unqual i f i ed
success. As a m atter of fact i t was “ver y
poor ,” accor di ng to n aval h ead qu ar ter s i n
Washington.2’ B ut t hi s fai l i ng w as cau sed
m ost l y by l ack of i ntel li gence and t i me for
pl ann i ng and coor d i nated tr ai n i ng. I m-
pr oper or d nan ce m ad e for an ot her fai l in g.
On l y ar m or -pi er ci ng shel l s cou l d have
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per i ence on Gavu tu , m oved fr om thati sl an d at 1700 on 9 Au gu st t o T ul agi , w her e
i t went i nto posi t i on i n the Gover nm ent
bu i ld i ng ar ea, The 2d Bat tal i on , 5th
M a r in es occu pi ed t he sou th ea st er n sect or
of the i sl and , wh i l e two bat tal i ons of the
2d M ar ines took over the defensi ve m i s-
si on i n the nor thwest . T he 1st Bat tal i on
occupi ed the ext r em e end of the i sl and
wh i l e the 2d Bat tal ion establ i shed posi -t i ons at Sasapi . Th i r d Bat tal i on , 2d
bl ast ed t he J apan ese f rom t hei r caves, bu tt he sh ips r epeat ed ly f i red h igh -capaci ty
bom bar dm en t pr oj ect i les. A lt hou gh m an y
N aval of f i cer s w er e st i l l of t he opi ni on t hat
a sh i p was a “fool to f i gh t a for t ,” som e
began to agr ee w i th the M ar ine Cor ps that
naval gun fi re pr oper ly em pl oyed cou l d be
a bi g hel p i n an am ph ibi ous assau l t . I t
W;W a case of the gunfi re sh i ps need i ng to
m ov e i n cl oser f or t hei r f ir e m i ssi on s. T hecom m an der of on e sh ip r epor ted :
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TU L AG I AN D G AVU TU -T. 4N AM B OG 0 273
l a ter op er a ti on s, the M ar i ne Cor ps wasgener al l y sat i sf i ed w i th the sh i ps’ f i r e.
“T he oper at i on d i d not i nvol ~7e a r eal
test . . . [bu t ] noth i ng devel oped dur -
i ng the oper at i on to i nd i cate the need for
an y fu nd am en tal ch an ge i n d oct r in e.” 23
After these th r ee days of f i gh t i ng i n the
T u l agi ar ea, th i s si de of the oper at i on r e-
m ai ned qu i et . Enem y pl anes bypassed i t
t o st r i ke at the m or e tem pt i ng Guadal -
2’ Final Rept, P ha se V, 6.
canal ai r f i el d and per i m eter . Surfacecr a ft sh el l ed T u la gi occa si on al l y, bu t n ever
was i t subjected to the k i nd of bom bar d -
m en t th at st r uck Gu ad al can al i n October .
T her e i s no r ecor d th at en em y r ei nfor ce-
m ents l anded ei ther on T u l agi or on F l or -
i da I sl an d. Wi th th i s shar p f i gh t i ng out
of the way, the d i vi si on cou l d gi ve al l i t s
at ten t i on to th i ngs on the l ar ger i sl and of
Guadalcanal . T her e the pi ctu r e w as not
a br i gh t on e.
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CH APT ER 4
The Battle of the Tenaru
Wi th n aval su ppor t gone, abou t t he on ly
hope was the ai r f i el d . Sh i ppi ng wou l d
need ai r cover befor e r egu l ar r uns cou l d
bol st er t he M a ri nes’ sl i m su ppl y l evel s, an d
t im e w as of t he essen ce. I f t he J apan ese
str uck har d wh i l e the l and i ng for ce was
abandoned and w i thou t ai r suppor t, the
pr ecar i ou s fi r st st ep t ow ar d Rabau l m igh t
wel l have to be taken al l over agai n . Van-
degr if t cen ter ed ]l i s defense :l t t ] l e f i el d
and gave com pl et i on of the str ip top pr i -
A l r eady the U . S. for ces wer e i ndebted to
the enemy for par t of thei r dai l y two
m eal s, and now they wou l d f i n i sh the ai r -
f i el d l ar gel y th r ough the use of enem y
tool s. T hi s equ i pm ent i ncl uded ni ne r oad
r ol l er s (on l y si x of wh i ch wou l d wor k),
tw o gas l ocom ot i ves w ith hopper car s on a
n ar r ow -gau ge r ai lr oad , si x sm al l gen er at -
or s (two wer e damaged beyond r epai r),
on e w in ch w ith a gasol in e en gi ne, abou t 50
h i tnd ca r ts for dir t , some 75 h a nd shcw els,
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or it y equal to the task of bu i ld i ng the per -
i m et er ’s M L R .
On 8 August , al most as soon as the fi el d
was captu r ed , L ieu tenant Col onel Fr ank
Ger aci , t he D ivi si on E ngi neer Of fi cer , an d
M ajor K enneth H . Wei r , D i vi si on Ai r
Off i cer , h ad m ad e an i nspect ion of t he ,J ap-
an ese pr oj ect an d est i mat ed t he w or k st i l l
needed. They tol d Adm i r al T ur ner that
2,600 feet of the st r i p wou l d be r eady i n
a nd 2?80 pieces of explosives.
I n spit e of this unin t ent iona l a ssist a n ce
from t he J apa nese, t h e Nla rin e en gin eers
did not w a st e a n y a ffect ion on t he previous
ow ner s of t h e eq uipmen t . The ma ch in ery
evident ly h a d been used con t in uously for
some t ime w it h n o t h ough t of ma int e-
n a nce. K eepin g it run nin g proved a lmost
a s big a job a s finish in g t h e a ir field , a n d
on e of t he ta sks h a d t o be d on e pra ct ica lly
TH E B ATTLE OF TH E TE N’ARU 275
Pr obl em s faci ng the i n fan t r y t r oopswer e just as gr eat . T her e had been no im -
pr essi ve gr ound act i on on Guadal canal
si nce the l and i ng, bu t i n tel l i gence i n the
i mm ed i ate vi ci ni ty as wel l as i n the South
Paci fi c i n gener al w as not yet abl e to i nd i -
cate when, how , and wher e ,J apanese r e-
act i on wou l d st r i ke. Est im at i ng a
counter mand i ng to be th e m ost pr obabl e
cou r se of J a pa nese act i on , G en er al V an de-gr i f t pl aced h i s M LR at the beach . T her e
the M il r i nes bu i l t a 9,600-yar d defense
fr om the m outh of the I I L ~ Ri ver west
ar ound L ungs Poi n t to the vi l l age of
K ukum. T he I l u f l ank was r efused 600
yar ds i nl and on the r iver ’s w est bank, and
at K l l ku r n the l eft f l ank tu r ned i n l and
acr oss t he f l at l an d bet ween th e beach an d
attacks. .~t n i gh t the enem y patr ol s be-cam e i ncr easi ngl y bol d, and t r oops on th e
M L R m ounted a cont i nuous al er t dur ing
the hour s of dar kness. South of the ai r -
f i el d the ol ~tpost l i ne had to be suppl e-
n l en ted by r ovi n g p at r ol s.
I n spi te of th i s har assm ent , the per im -
eter shaped up. T he 1st Speci al Weap-
ons Bat tal i on dug i n i ts 75mm tank de-
st royer s (h al f-t rack s) i n posi ti on s i nl an dfr om the beach , bu t kept them r eady to
m ove i n to pr epar ed posi t i ons near the
water. H ow i tzer s of the l l th M ar i nes
w er e si tu at ed to d el iver f i re i n al l sector s.
T il e 2d and 3d Battal i ons of the ar ti ll er y
r egim ent had 75m m pack how i tzer s and
the 5th B ~t tal ion had 105m nl how i tzer s.n
T her e wer e no 155mm howi tzer s or guns ~
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the f i r st h i gh gr ound of the coastal h i ll s.T he 5th M ar ines (l ess one bat tal ion) hel d
the l eft sector of the l i ne fr om K ukum to
the west bank of the L unga, and the r e-
m ai nder of the l i ne (i ncl usi ve of the
L ung-a ) w as hel d by the 1st M ar ines. (See
M ap 16)
T he l i ne was th i n . T he bu l k of the com -
bat for ces r emained i n assem bl y ar eas
i nl an d as a r ead y r eser ve to ch eck at t acksor pen etr at i on s fr om an y sector . I n l and
for counter bat ter y, ther e was no sound-f l ash equ ipm en t for t he l ocat i on of en em y
bat ter ies, and the 3d Defense Bat tal i on
had n ot h acl a ch an ce t o u nl oad i ts 5-i nch
seacoast ~ L I n s or r adar un i ts pr i or to
t he d epar tu r e of t he am ph ibi ou s sh ippi ng.
.1 i r d efen se w ith in th e per im eter al so w as
inadequate. T her e wer e $l Om m ant i ai r-
cr af t guns i nshor e, bu t the r est r icted si ze
of the per im eter kept them too cl ose to thef i el d f or b est em p loym en t .
2?6 P EARL H AR B OR TO G UAD AL C ANTAL
Admi r al Ghor m ley, al so concer nedabou t th e pr ecar iou s M ar in e posi ti on ,3 on
12 August or der ed Adm ir al M cCai n’s T F
63 to em pl oy al l avai labl e t r an spor t sh i p-
pi ng t o t ak e avi at ion gasol in e, l ubr i can ts,
am muni ti on , bom bs, an d gr ound cr ew s to
Guadalcanal . T o avoi d J apanese ai r at -
tacks, the sh i ps wer e to l eave E spi r itu
San to i n t im e to r each Sea]w -k Channel
l ate i n the cl ay , un l oad under cover ofd ar kn ess, an d d epar t ear ly th e fol low in g
day.
F or t he “bl ock ad e r un ” t o Gu ad al can al ,
Adm ir al M cCai n r ead i ed four dest r oyer
t r anspor ts of T ransD i v 12. T hey wer e
l oaded w i th 400 dr ums of avi at i on gaso-
l i ne, 32 dr um s of l ubr i can t , 282 bom bs
fr om 100- t o 500-pou nd er s, bel ted am mu -
m ud af ter each of the fr equent t r opi calra ins.
Gener al H ar mon bl amed a fau l ty pl an-
n i ng concept for the ser ious shor tages of
t ool s, equ ipm en t, an d su ppl ies. T he cam -
pai gn , he sai d , “. . . had been vi ewed by
i ts pl an ner s as [ an ] am ph ibi ou s oper at ion
suppor ted by ai r, not as a m eans of estab-
l ish i ng str ong l and based ai r act i on .” 4
But i n spi te of these shor tages at theai r fi el d and el sewher e, the L unga Poi nt
per im eter w as tak i ng on an or der ly r ou ti ne
of im pr ovem ent and defense. M otor
t ran spor t per son nel h ad pu t t hei r m eager
pool of t ru cks i nt o oper at ion sh or tl y aft er
the l and i ng, and they had added some 35
.T apanese tr ucks to the avai l abl e l i st .
Pi oneer s had bu i lt a r oad fr om the ai rf i el d
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n i t i on , tool s, and spar e par ts. A l so onboar d w er e f i ve off i cer s and 118 N avy en-
l isted m en fr om a N avy const r uct i on base
(Seabee) un i t , Cub-1. U nder the com-
mand of M ajor C. H . H ayes, execu t i ve
off i cer of VM O–251, th i s un i t was to ai d
the M ar i ne engi neer s i n wor k at the f i el d
and to ser ve as gr ound cr ews for f i gh ter s
and d i ve bomber s schedu l ed to ar r i ve
w i t h i n a f ew d ays.M cCai n’s sh ips ar r i ved off Gu ad al can al
to the L unga Ri ver wher e they er ected abr i dge to the far si de of the per i m eter .
Suppl y dum ps al so had been put i n or der .
T he pi oneer s cl ear ed the l and i ng beach ,
m ovi ng gear west to the L ungs-K ukum
ar ea, an d sor ted an d m oved J apan ese sL l p-
pl ies. T he ol d ,J apanese beach at K ukum
w as cl eaned L L pan d r econd i ti oned to r e-
cei v e U . S . m a ter i a l .
M ost of the wor k of m ovi ng the beachd um ps t o per man en t si tes w as com pl et ed
TH E B ATTLE OF TH E TE NARU 277
agai n . T he am ount of suppl i es at eachof the new cl assi fi ed dum ps was kept l ow
t o a voi d excessi ve l oss f r om b om ba r dm en t .
Captu r ed mater i al i ncl uded alm ost ,
ever y t ype i tem u sed by a m il i tar y for ce—
ar m s, a mm u ni t ion , equ i pm en t, f ood , cl ot h-
i ng, fu el , t ool s, an d bu il di ng m at er i al s:
A s t he d ivi si on w as acu tel y sh or t of ever y-
t h i ngneeded for i t s opera t i on , t he captu red ma-t er i a l r ep r esen t ed a n i m por t an t i f u n for eseen
fact or i n t he d evel opm en t of t he ai r fi el d an d
beach defenses and the subsi st ence of t he ga r -risons
T he l an di ng for ce w as par t i cu lar l y sh or t
of fuel , bu t i n th i s case the suppl y l eft
beh i nd by the J apanese gar ri son was not
as hel pfu l as i t m igh t h ave been. Marines
found som e 800 to 900 dr um s of J apanese
avi at ion gasol in e on (%ad al can al , bu t t hi s
th ei r passes al on gsi de w ith th e u nw iel dy1i gh ter s i n t he w ay, an d sh ips off i cer s qu it e
fr equent l y took a d im vi ew of dr aggi ng
al ong su ch bul ky par asi tes w hen t hey h ad
to take evasi ve act i on dur ing the sudden
ai r r ai ds. Bu t the system often wor ked
wel l when ear ly pr epar at i ons wer e made
w ith par ti cu lar ly fr iend ly shi ps.
T hi s over -water wor k i n Seal ar k Chan-
nel , m ai ntai ni ng con tact betw een T ul agiand Guadal canal as wel l as meet i ng the
sL ~ppl y sh ips w hi ch began t o sn eak i n m or e
fr equ en tl y, poi nt ed t o an ot her ser i ou s d e-
f i ci en cy: t her e w as n o or gan ized boat pool
avai labl e to the d i vi si on . M or e often than
not the per sonnel and cr aft that the di vi -
si on used i n those ear ly days had m er el y
been aban don ed w hen th e at tack for ce de-
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9@octan e fuel w as n ot qu ite good en ou gh
for our ai r cr af t , and i t was too “hot” and
pr oduced too much car bon i n tr ucks and
H iggi ns boats un l ess m i xed even l y w i th
U . S. ‘72-oct an e m ot or fu el . L i kew ise som e
150,000 gal lon s of ,J apan ese m ot or fu el of
60 or 65 octane pr oved unr el i abl e i n our
veh i cl es al though some of i t was m i xed
w i th our fuel and used i n emer gency i n
noncombat vehic les.
par ted , and ther e was no sembl ance oforganization among them . Even the
cr eat i on of or der di d not sol ve al l the
pr obl em s. A hi gh per centage of the boats
w er e dam aged an d cr ew men h ad n o r epai r
facilities. T he si tuat i on was gr adual l y
i m pr ov ed bu t w as n ev er sa ti sf act or y.
At l ast , on 18 A ugu st , t he en gi neer s an d
Seabees had a chance to stand back and
adm ir e thei r wor k. T he ai r fi el d was com-pl et ed . On 12 A ugu st i t h ad been d ecl ar ed
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TH E B ATTLE OF TH E TE NARI J 2T9
however, “r ead i ness>’ w as a com par at i ve
th i ng. Ther e wer e no bomb hand l i ng
tr ucks, car ts or hoi sts, no gas t r ucks, and
n o pow er pu mps.
The state of r eadi ness had a way of
f l uct uat in g r api dl y, t oo, an d t he br eat hi ng
spel l for the wor ker s d i d not l ast long.
W’i th m ost sad i st i c t i mi ng, a l ar ge f l ight
of J t i pan ese pl an es cam e o~er an cl scor ed
17 h i ts on the r unway. (he engi~l eer was
ki l l ed , n i ne wer e wounded, and t i l e f i el d
“w as a m ess.’: G
‘I ke r un ww y d am age w as d isqu iet in g bu t
n ot al toget her a su rpr i se. .i i r r ai ds had
been f requ en t, sh el l i ng fr om offsh or e su b-
m ar i nes l ik ew ise w as com m on , an d pl an es
dr oned over head fr equent l y dur i ng the
hour s of dar kness to dr op sm al l bombs
Bomber Squadr on 232 wer e l ed by L ieu-
tenant Col onel Ri char d D. M angr um .
Ar r i val of pl anes ended an er a for the
(i uad al can al d efen der s—t he h azar dol ls
per iod fr om 9 to 20 August when the l and-
ing for ce oper ated ent i rel y w i thou t ai r or
sur face suppor t. Dur ing th i s per iod l ines
of com mu ni cat i on s w er e m ost u ncer tai n.
~“oth i ng w as known of the gener al naval
si tu at i on or th e extent of l osses at sea, an d
l i tt le i nfor m at ion w as r ecei ved fr om aer i al
r econ na issa nce f rom r ea r a rea s. Ashore,
patr ol l ing was constan t , bu t the ter rai n
w as su ch t hat m uch cou ld be m issed . Sh or t
r at i ons, cont i nuous har d wor k, and l ack
of sl eep r ef lect ed i n t he p hysi ct d con di t ion
of t he t roops. M or al e, h ow ever , r em ai ned
high.
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her e and ther e at wel l-spaced i nter val s.
After the bi g r ai d on the 18th, the wel l -
l ] r act i ced r epai r team s mer el y went to
wor k agai n . I n f i l l i ng the cr ater s, the
engi neer s and Seabees fi rst squar ed the
hol es w it h h an d sh ovel s an d th en ai r h am -
m er ed th e new d ir t sol id by tam pi ng ever y
foot and a hal f of f i l l . They had found
that th i s system kept set t l i ng to a m ini -
n Ju m an d pr even ted d an ger ou s pot h ol es.
For med i n M ar ch of 1942 at E wa, Oahu,M .4G-23 r em ai ned i n t r ai ni ng th er e, w ith
m uch sh ift in g of per son nel an d u ni ts, u nt il
t hi s t wo-squ ad ron for war d ech el on sai led
to the South Paci f i c on 2 August on boar d
the escor t car ri er L ong Islancl. Smith ’s
men had just been i ssued new F4F’s w i th
t wo-st age su per ch ar ger s, an d M a ngr u m’s
un i t had tu r ned i n i ts ol d S13D-2’S for the
n ew er 3’s w it h sel f-seal i ng gasol in e t an ks
280 Pl l ~R L H .4R BOR T O GU ~ DA I J CA N AL
T wo days l ater , on 22 August , the fi r stAr m y Ai r For ce pl anes, f i ve P-400’s 7 of
the 67th F igh ter Squadr on , l anded on the
i sl and . On 24 August , 11 N avy d i ve bom b-
er s fr om the bat t l e-dam aged E nter pr ise
m oved to H ender son F i el d to oper ate for
th r ee m onths, an d on 27 August n i ne m or e
Ar m y P-400’s cam e i n . Per for m ance of
these Ar my pl anes was d i sappoi n t i ng.
T hei r cei l in g w as 12,000 feet becau se t hey
had no equ i pm ent for the Br i t i sh h i gh-
-pr essu re oxygen syst em w it h w hi ch t hey
wer e f i t ted , and they cou l d not r each the
h i gh-f l yi ng enem y pl an es. A l ong w ith the
,M ar in e SB D’S, th e P400’s spen t t hei r t i me
dur ing J apanese ai r r ai ds of f st r af i ng and
bom bi n g gr ou nd t ar get s, a nd t hey r et ur n ed
to H ender son after the host i le pl an es de-
Ear ly i n Septem ber he suggested thath eavy bom ber s st age t hr ou gh t he Gu ad al -
canal f i el d fr om the N ew H ebr i des and
thus str ike Rabau l and other J apanese
bases; bu t a cl oser i nvest igat ion poi nt ed
up the i m pr act i cal i t y of th i s pl an . I t
wou l d have m eant hand-pum ping mor e
than 3,500 gal l ons of gasol i ne i n to each
bomber l and i ng at Guadal canal on the
1,800-m i l e r ound t r i p fr om the N ew
H ebr ides to the N or ther n Sol om ons; and
al though th i s m anual l abor was not too
gr eat a pr i ce to pay for an oppor tun i t y
t o st ri ke at t he J apan ese, i t w as i m possi bl e
to m ain tai n ‘a fuel stock of that pr opor -
t ion at H en der son F iel d.
GROUND ACTION
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parted.
A shor t wh i l e l ater -ear l y i n Septem -
ber —suppl y and evacuat i on f l igh ts w er e
i ni ti ated by tw o-engi ned R4D ’s ( C47’S)
of M ar i ne Ai r cr aft Gr oup 25, F l yi ng
dai l y fr om Espi r i tu Santo and E fate, the
car go pl anes each br ought i n som e 3,000
pounds of suppl i es and wer e capabl e of
ev acu at i n g 16 st r et ch er p at i en t s.
A l though th i s i ncr eased ai r act i vi t y at
Com bat t r oops m eanwhi l e pr obed the
j un gl es w it h pat rol s, an d ear l y r econ nai s-
san ce i nd icat ed t hat t he bu lk of J apan ese
t r oop s w as som ew h er e bet ween t he M a ta n-
i kau Ri ver , about 7,000 yar ds west of the
L unga, and K okum bona, a nat i ve vi l lage
som e 7,500 yar ds w est of the M atan i kau .
Gener al Vandegr if t w anted to pur sue the
enem y and dest r oy h i m befor e the J apan-ese cou l d r ei n for ce t h i s sm a l l, d i sor ga ni zed
TH E B .4TTI,E OF TH E TE NARU 281
pat ter n had star ted as ear ly as 9 August
w hen on e off i cer an d sever al en li st ed m en
wer e wounded whi l e t r yi ng to cr oss the
r iver . Th i s patr ol had r epor ted the west
bank of the r i ver wel l or gani zed for de-
fense. T he enem y kept shi ft i ng h i s posi -
t ion, thOLlgh, to m aneuver for an
ad van tage agai nst t he pat rol s w hi ch cam e
to seek h im out . F i nal con fi r m at i on of
the enem y l ocat i on cam e on 12 August
w hen a J apan ese w ar r an t off i cer capt ur ed
beh in d th e 1st B at t al ion , 5t h M ar in es sai d
that h i s un i t w as between the M atan i kau
and Kokumbona .
U nd er qu est ioni ng, th e pr ison er ad mi t-
ted that possi bl y som e of h i s fel low gar r i -
son mates wer e wander i ng aim lessl y
th r ough the jungl e w i thou t food and that
d ivi si on su rgeon , L i eu ten an t Ral ph Cor y,
a J apan ese l in gu ist , an d sever al m em ber s
of the 5th M ar ines i ntel l i gence sect i on .
The boat got away fr om the per im eter at
about 1800 and l anded af ter dar k at 2200
at an undeter m ined poi n t west of the
M at an ik au . T he J apan ese, i nst ead of su r-
r ender ing, at tacked the patr ol and cu t off
fr om the beach al l bu t thr ee m en who
escaped back i n to the sur f to sw im and
wade to sa fet y.
One of these m en, Ser geant Char les C.
Ar nd t , ar ri ved i n the per im eter at about
0530 on 13 .4u gu st t o r epor t th at t he pat rol
h ad en cou nt er ed en em y r esi st an ce. Com -
pany A, 5th M ar ines set off im medi atel y
as a r el ief pat r ol to be r ei n for ced l ater by
two pl atoons of Company L and a l i gh t
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some of them m igh t sur r ender . Fi rs tSer gean t St eph en A . Cu st er of t he d ivi si on
i ntel li gen ce sect i on m ad e pl an s to l ead an
am ph ibi ous pat r ol to the ar ea. Mean-
wh i l e, a M ar ine pat r ol r epor ted seei ng
what i t took to be a wh i te f l ag west of the
r iver . H ear in g th ese r epor ts, L i eu ten an t
Col onel F rank Goet tge, d i vi si on i ntel li -
gence off i cer , deci ded to l ead the pat r ol
himself.T he or igi nal pl an h ad cal led for an ear ly
m ach i ne-gun sect i on . M eanwhi l e, theot her t wo esca ped p at r ol m em ber s, Cor po-
r al ,J oseph Spau l d i ng and Platoon Ser -
geant F r ank L . Few, cam e back at 0725
a nd 0800 r espect i vel y a nd r eveal ed t hat t he
r em ai nder of the Goet tge pat r ol had been
w i ped ou t.
The r el i ef pat r ol l anded west of Poi n t
Cr uz, a coast al pr oj ect ion a sh or t d ist an ce
w est of th e M at an ikau % m out h. Com pan y
A m oved east al ong the coastal r oad back
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T H E B ATTLE OF TH E TE NARU 283
th i s at tack wh i l e Com pany I of the sam e
r egi m en t m ad e an am ph ibi ou s r ai d fa rt her
w est , at K ok um bol li l , w her e i t. w as h oped
t hat a ny J ap an ese r et rea ti ng fr om M a tan i-
kau cou l d be cu t off . (h 18 August ,
Com pany I . m oved i n l and , cr ossed the
M atan i kau som e 1,000 yar ds fr om the
coast , and pr epar ed to zt tack nor th i n to
the vi l l age the next day. Com pany )3, to
at tack w est , m oved a]on g t he coastal r oad
t o t he east ban k of t he r iver .
h ’ext d ay, :L f tt ?r pr ep ar a ti on f ir e w as l ai d
CIOWn by the 2d, 3d, and 5th Bat tal i ons of
the 1l th M ar in es, Com pan y 1, l au nched i ts
at tack . Shor tl y after j u ml ~i ng oH , scou ts
d iscover ed a l in e of em pl acem en ts al on g a
r idge som e 1,000 yar ds to the l ef t f l ank of
t he com pan y fr on t. T he pl atoon on th i s
f l ank engaged the sm al l enem y for ce i n
t hese em p la cem en ts w h il e t h e r em ai n der of
succeeded i n r epu l si ng the at tack on l y
a,f ter cl ose-r an ge fi gh ti ng. D efen di ng i n
depth , the J apanese d r ew up on a l i ne
whi ch extended fr om the r i ver som e 200
yar ds west thr ough the vi l l age. Whi l e
t he M ar in es m an eu ver ed for an at tack , t he
,J apan ese t ir e becam e m or e spor ad ic, an d
an assault at about, 1600 revea led t ha t t h e
en emy pocket h a d dispersed.
Mea nw hile t h e a mphibious ra id of C om-
pa n y I a lso a roused opposit ion. Tw o
enemy dest royers a nd a cruiser lobbed
shells a t t h e la nding cra ft w h ile t h ey
sw un g from t h e Ma rine per imet er t o K o-
kurn bona , a nd t he ra iding pa r t y esca ped
t l~ is t hrea t on ly t o be met a t t he bea ch
by J a pa n ese ma chin e-gun fire. The la nd-
ing succeeded, how everj a nd t he en emy re-
sista nce bega n t o melt . B y t he t ime a
Ma rine a t ta ck sw ept t hrough t h e villa ge,
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th e com pan y m oved on t ow ar d t he vi l l age.
I n th i s act i on of l the l ef t f l ank , Ser gean t
~J oh n H . B r an ic, t he a ct in g pl at oon l ead er ,
was k i l l ed . T he com pany execu t i ve off i -
cer , I ,i eu ten an t Geor ge H . M ead, J r . n ext
took com m and . When he w as k i l l ed a
shor t, t i m e l ater M ar ine Gunner Edwar d
S. Rt l st , a l i a i son off i cer fr om the 5th M a-
r ines headquar ter s took com mand . T h i s
p]tLtOOll continued to cover th e ad van ce of
t lm defenders ha d ret ired in to t he jungle
t o a void a conclusive en ga gement . The
t hree compa n ies killed 65 ,J apa nese w hile
suffer ing t h e loss of four lla rines killed
a nd 11 w oun ded.
Alt hou@ t hese a ct ions served only t o
loca t e t he gen era l a rea int o w h ich t he
ori@na l ,J a pa n ese a a rr ison of G ua da l-
ca na l ha d w it hdra w m in t he fa ce of t h e
Ma rine la nding, a n ot h er pa t rol on 19 Au-
284 1’I M R L H A RB OR T O G U ~D ~L C ~h T .4L
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TH E B ATTLE OF TH E TE XARU 285
ol i c p r i est f r om M et h uen , M a ssa ch u set t s,l ]
who r el ated nat i ve r umor s of a n enemy
for ce al on g t he coast to the east.
T wo days l ater a par t i al ver i fi cat ion of
t he p r i est ’s i n f orma t i on was m ade by Cap-
tai n (of the Br it i sh Sol om on I sl ands De-
fense For ce ) W. F . M , (M ar ti n ) Cl em ens,
t h e district officer w ho h ad w it hd raw n into
t h e h i l l s to becom e a coast -wa t cher when the
,J apanese enter ed h i s i sl and . On 14
.%u gu st Cl em en s l ef t h is w at ch in g st at ion
near Aola Bay w i th hi s 60 nat i ve scouts 12
an d enter ed the M ar i ne per im eter .
Cl emens and h i s scouts r ep or t ed seei n g
si gns of a n ew J apanese for ce. And on
the h eel s of Cl em en s’ r epor ts came word
fr om .i dm i r al Tur ner that naval i n tel l i -
g-ence indicated a .Japanese at tack in force.
T o i n vest i ga te, Captai n Char l es H .
t he j un gl e. Thr ee M ar ines wer e k i l l ed
a nd t hr ee w ou nd ed .
I t w as clea r t ha t t hese t r oops w ere n ot
wander ing l abor er s or even mem ber s of
the or i gi nal gar r i son . H el mets of the
d ea d sol d ier s bor e t he J a pan ese A r my s tar
ra t h er t ha n t h e a n chor a n d ch rysa n t he-
mum device of t h e specia l la n ding force.
A code for sh ip-t o-sh ore commun ica t ion s
t o be used for a la ndin g opera t ion a lso w a s
foun d a mong t he effect s, a nd t h e a ppea r-
a n ce of t h e uniforms in dica t ed tha t t h e
t roops w ere recen t a rr iva ls t o G ua da lca na l.
There a ppea r ed lit t le doubt t ha t , t he J apa -
nese w ere prepa r in g a n a t tempt t o r e-
ca pt ure t h eir lost :I ir field . And B rush
founcl t hey h a d a lrea dy complet ed some
excellent a dva n ce w ork:
Wit h a com plet e la ck of kn ow ledge of J a pa nese
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B r ush , ,J r . t ook a par t of h i s Com pany A
of the 1st M ar i nes and at 0700 on 19
.~ugt l st began a p at r ol ea st w ar d along the
coastal t r ack towar d K ol i Poi n t and
Tetere. At about noon n ea r K oli P oin t
t h e pa t rol spot t ed a gr oup of four ,J a p-
anese oficers and 30 men m oving, w i th no
security t o front or f lanks, bet w een t he
r oad an d t he beach . Capt ai n B ru sh str uckfr ontal ]y w i th a par t of h i s unit wh i l e
on my pa r t , t h e ma ps t he J apa n ese ha d of our
posit ions w ere so clea r a s t o st a r t le me. Th ey
sh ow ed our w 7ea k spot s a ll t oo clea rly .*?
1~ ’bile t hese pa t rols sea rched for t he
en emy on G ua da lca na l} a n ot her force of
a pproxima t ely 200 Ma rines moved in t o
en emy w a ters fa r t h er n or t h a n d ra ided a
J a pa nese a t oll in t he G ilbert I sla nds.
C ompa n ies A a nd B of Lieut ena n t C olonelE va ns F. (’a r lson’s 2d Ra ider B a t t a lion
286 P EARL H .4RB OR TO G UAD AL C ANAL
stat i ons, fuel , and other suppl ies and i n-
stal lat i ons, and w ent back on boar d thei r
submar i nes on 18 August for the r etu r n
to Pear l H ar bor . T h i s r ai d at t r acted
m uch at ten t i on i n the statesi de pr ess but
i ts m il itar y si gn i fi cance was negl igi bl e.
Guadal canal st i l l hel d the center of the
stage i n the Paci fi c and at ten t i on qu i ck l y
t ur ned back t o t hat t heater .14 (See M ap
12)
BAT T L E OF T H E T ,L ?N ARU ‘5
The pi ctu r e that began to take shape as
th ese bi ts of i nt el li gen ce fi tt ed t ogeth er
pr ovi ded an ear l y war n i ng of J apanese
pl ans that al r eady wer e wel l under way.
On 13 Au gu st , T okyo or der ed L i eu ten an t
Gen er al H ar uyosh i H yaku tak e’s f7even -
teenth Army at Rabau l to take over the
kg suppl i es at T r uk, the adm i r al got
or der s to hur r y down to Rabau l and take
900 off i cer s and m en to Guadal canal at
once. H yaku take had deci ded that the
at tack wou l d begi n w i th a par t of the 7th
D ivi si on ’s f 38t h I nf an tr y Regi m en t an d t he
l ’ok ost ~k a N peci al N av al Landing Force.
T hese un i ts wou l d be fol lowed by the 35tJ ~
Brigade.
Adm ir al T anaka thought he was bei ng
pr essed a l it tl e too h ar d, consi der in g th at
t h e E i gh t h Fleet u nd er w hi ch h e op er at ed
h ad j ust been for med at Rabau l on 14 J ul y,
and that the adm i r al h im sel f had har dl y
been gi ven t i me to catch h i s br eath after
hur ryi ng aw ay fr om Yokosuka for h i s new
job on 11 .I ngust . T he adm i r al r epor ted
later:
lVit h no rega rd for my opin ion . . . this
order ca lled for t he most difficult opera t ion in
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gr ou nd act ion on Gu ad al can al an d sal vage
the si tuat i on . T he naval si de of th i s r ei n-
for cement effor t wou l d be conducted by
Rear Adm ir al Rai zo T anaka, a wi l y I m -
perial sea dog who was a vet era n of ea r ly
la n din gs in t he. P hilippines a n d I n don esia
a n d of t h e ba t t les of C ora l S ea a n d llid-
w a y. I vit h n o clea r pict ure of h is oppo-
nent ’s st rengt h, H ya kut a ke clecided t o re-
w a r-la n ding in t he fa ce of t h e en emy—t o h e
ca rr ied out by mixed unit s w hich ha d n o oppor-
t unit y for rehea rsa l or even prelimin a ry st udy.
. . . I n m ilit ary st ra tegy expedien ce som et im es
t a kes pr ecedence over pruden ce, but this order
w a s u t ter ly u nr ea s on a bl e.
I could see t ha t t here must be grea t confusion
in t he h ea dqua r t ers of E ight h Fleet . Yet t h e
opera t ion w a s orda in ed a n d un der w a y , a n d so
t h ere w as n o t ime t o a rgue a bout it .”
B ack bon e of t he i ni ti al ef for t w ou ld con -
TH E B ATTLE OF TH E TE NARU 287
,-:
z-
-s
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..
288 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
,Japanese plans. T he un i t was d i ver ted toT r uk wher e i t l anded on 12 August and
was at tached to the 35th B m”gade whi ch
then gar r i soned the Pal au I sl ands. T he
br igad e’s com man der w as M aj or Gen er al
K i yotake K awaguch i . T he 900 or 1,000
m en whi ch Adm ir al T anaka l oaded for h i s
f i r st r ei n for cem ent r un to Guadal canal
wer e fr om th i s I ch i k i un i t .
T h e r ei n for cem en t sh i ps l an ded Col on elI ch i k i and th i s for war d echel on at T ai vu
I ’oi nt on Guadal canal d lw i ng the n i gh t of
18 A ugu st . Whi l e th i s for ce l anded at
th i s poi n t some 22 ai r m i l es east of the
L LU ~ga, som e 500 m en of the Yokosuka
F ift h Speci al .Waval Landing Force ar -
r i ved at K okum bona. Th i s was the f i r st
of m any r uns of the T okyo Expr ess, as
M ar in es cal led t he ,J apan ese d est royer s
an d d est roy th e en em y, or , secon d, to con -t i nue wor k on defensi ve posi t i ons wh i l e
l im i t i ng act i ons to the east to st r ong pa-
t r ol s a nd ou t post s. T he fi r st cou rse, Gen -
er al V an degr i ft r eal i zed , i nvol ved accept -
i ng the pr em i se that the m ai n J apanese
for ce had l anded to the east and that i t
cou l d be deal t w i th by one M ar i ne bat-
t :L l ion. B u t i f B r ush’s pat r ol had en-
counter ed on l y a sm al l par t of the newenemy un i t wh i l e the bu l k of the for ce
st ood poi sed to st ri ke fr om an ot her d ir ec-
t ion , or fr om t he sea, absen ce of t he r eser ve
bat tal i on wou l d becom e a ser i ous m an-
power shor tage i n the per im eter . T he
i nt el l i gen ce V an degr i f t h ad gl ean ed fr om
al l sour ces was good, bu t ther e wasn ’t ,
enough of i t . So the d i vi si on sat t i gh t to
awai t devel opm ents. Wor k con t i nued on
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and cr ui ser s wh i ch sh ut t l ed suppl ies an d
r ei n for cem ents up and down T he Sl ot i n
h i gh-speed n i gh t r uns. B r ush ’s pat r ol
had encounter ed par t of I ch i ki ’s for war d
echel on , and the J apanese com mander ,
shaken by the fact that he had been d i s-
cover ed , d eci ded t o at tack at on ce.
.i t that t i m e the M ar i nes had fi ve i n -
fan tr y bat t al ion s avai labl e for d efen se of
f i el d for ti fi cat ion s, n at ive scou ts w or ked
far to the east , and M ar ines m ai ntai ned a
str on g w at ch on t he per im et er each n igh t.
T he M ar ines d i d not have l ong to wai t .
Col onel I ch i k i had wasted no t im e pr e-
prr r in ~ his a t t a ck, a n d dur in g t he n igh t
of 20–21 August Ma rine list en ing post s on
t lt e ea st ba nk of t he I lu det ect ed en emy
t roops movin g t h rough t he jungle t o t h eir
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290 P EARL H AR B OR TO G U.4D .4LC ANAL
By th i s t im e I ch i k i had assem bl ed h i s
for ce. on the br ush-cover ed poi nt of l and
on the east bank of the r i ver , and al l was
qu i et un t i l 0310 on 21 August when a
col umn of som e 200 J apanese r ushed the
exposed san dspi t at th e r iver m ou th . M ost
of them wer e stopped by M ar i ne smal l -
ar ms fi r e and by a can i ster -f i r ing 37m m
an ti tank gun of the 1st Speci al Weapons
Bat tal i on . Bu t the M ar i ne posi t i on was
not w i r ed i n , and the weigh t of the r ush-
i ng at tack got a few enem y sol d i er s i n to
Pol lock ’s l in es w her e th ey captu red som e
of h i s em placem ents. T he r em ai nder of
t he l in e h el d, h ow ever , an d fi re fr om t hese
secur e posi ti ons kept the penet r at i on i n
ch eck u nt il , t he bat tal i on r eser ve cou ld get
up to the fi gh t . T hi s r eser ve, Com pany G,
l aunched a counter at tack that w i ped outthe J apanese or d r ove them back acr oss
Al though outnum ber ed at the actual
poi nt of con tact , Pol lock assessed t he si tu -
at i on at daybr eak and r epor ted that he
cou l d hol d. H is bat tal ion had fi re super i-
or i t y because of the excel l en t ar ti l l er y
su ppor t an d becau se t he cou rse of t he r i ver
gave par t of h i s l ine en fi l ade t i r e agai nst
the enem y concen tr at i on i n the poi n t of
gr ound funnel i ng i n to the sandspi t . I n
vi ew of th i s, Gener al Vandegr if t or der ed
Pol l ock to hol d at the r i ver m outh wh i l e
th e d ivi si on r eser ve, t he 1st B at tal ion , 1st
M ar ines envel oped I ch i ki . Wh i le th i s bat-
tal ion pr epar ed for i t s at tack , Com pany
C of the 1st Engi neer Bat tal ion went for -
w ar d t o Pol l ock ’s com m an d t o h el p bol st er
defensive posi t i ons. D ur ing th e m or ni ng
t he en gi neer s bu il t an ti tan k obst acl es, l ai d
a m i ne f iel d a cr oss t he sa nd sp it , a nd h el pedthe 2/ 1 M ar ines str ing tact i cal w i r e and
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t he r i ver .
I ch i k i was r eady w i th another bl ow .
Al though h i s for ce on the east bank had
not d i rect l y suppor ted th i s f i rst at tack , i t
now opened up w i th a bar r age of m or tar
and 70m m fi r e, and th i s was fol l owed by
a not her a ssa ul t . A secon d en em y com pan y
had ci r cl ed the r iver ’s mouth by wad i ngbeyond the br eaker s, and when the fi r e
i m pr ove f iel d f or t if ica ti on s. T hey wer e
under i n ter mi tten t r if l e f i re dur ing m ost
of th i s wor k.
M ean wh il e, L i eu ten an t Col on el L en ar d
B . Cr essw el l’s d ivi si on r eser ve bat tal ion
had r ever ted to par en t con t r ol and r e-
por ted to Col onel Gates to r ecei ve the
at tack pl an for the envel opm ent . B efor e0700, Cr essw el l cr ossed t he I l u u pst ream ,
TH E B ATTLE OF TH E TE NARC 291
t i on , Aonther i gh t and Bon the l eft . As
the advance cont i nued, the enemy was
for ced i nto the poi n t of l and on the I lu ’s
east bank. By 1400 the enemy was con-
f i ned com pl etel y by the r iver , the beach ,
and the envel opment fr om the l eft and
r ear . Some of the ,J apanese made un-
su ccessfu l at tem pt s t o escape t hr ou gh t he
sur f and al ong the beach ; another gr oup
bur st ou t tem por ar i l y to the east but r an
head-on i n to Company C movi ng up fr om
i ts bat t l e at the m outh of the Bl ock Four .
The fi gh t cont i nued , w i th (l esswel l
t i gh ten i ng hi s enci rcl em ent , and m or e of
t he J apan ese at tem pt ed t o st ri ke t hr ou gh
t o th e east . T hese br eak ou t at tem pt s gave
th e new Gu ad al can al f l ier s, On t he i sl and
l ess than 24 hour s, a chance to fi r e thei r
f i r st shots i n anger , and the F4F pi l ots
fr om V M F–223 gave Cr essw el l ’s M ar i nes
th r ower s, 700 r i f l es, 20 pi stol s, m l unde-
t er m in ed n um ber of saber s an d gr eu acl es,
th r ee 70m m guns, l ar ge quant i ti es of ex-
pl osi le char ges, and 12 fl am e thr ower s.
The fl ame thr ower s wer e not used i n the
action.
Adm i r al T anaka l ater had th i s to say
abou t t he d i sast er :
I kn ew C olon el I ch iki fr om t he Midw ay opera -
t ion a n d w as w ell a w are of his ma gnificent lea d-
ersh ip a nd in dom it able figh tin g spir it . B ut this
episode ma de it a bunda nt ly clea r t ha t infa nt ry-
men a rmed w it h rifles a nd ba yonet s h a d n o cha nce
a ga inst a n en emy eq uipped w it h moder n h ea vy
a rms. This t ra gedy should ha ve t a ught us t h e
h opelessn ess of ‘ba mboo-spea r’ t act ics. ‘“
BAT T L E OF T H E EAST ERN
SO L O M O.WS
Whi l e Col onel I chi k i pr epar ed for h i s
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a h an d w i th st r af in g at tack s t ha t d est r oyed
th e ,J apan ese or t ur ned th em back i nt o th e
i nfan tr y t rap.
T o concl ude the act i on by n i gh t fal l ,
I ’andegr i f t or der ed” a tank at tack acr oss
the sandspi t and i nto what now had be-
com e the r ear of the I ch i k i For ce. The
pl at oon of l igh t t an ks st ru ck at 1500, f i r in g
at the enemy wi th can i ster and machi ne
i ll -fat ed at t ack, Rear Ad mi ral T an ak a an d
Vi ce Ad mi ral (l un icbi M i kaw a, th e E ;gh th
F leet com man der , w or ked to get th e col o-
n el >s secon d ech el on ash or e f or w hat t hey
hoped w ou ld be an or der ly, w el l-coor di -
nated effor t agai nst the M ar ines. These
tr oops w er e on boar d t he K inr yu M cw u an d
four dest r oyer t r anspor ts, and they w er e
escor ted by th e seapl ane car r ier (7hi tose
292 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD AL C AiYAL
i ng rout ine sea rch es t o t he nor t h w est .
F let cher believed t h e a re~ t o be t empo-
ra r ily sa fe from J apa nese na va l t respa ss,
a n d h e ha d sen t t he ca rr ier l~ a t sp off t o
refuel. This left him on ly t he ~ nt erpr ise
a n d t he ,S a rw t oga for his a ir support .
On 23 .iugust , t w o da ys a ft er t he B a t t le
of t h e Ten a rul .I merica n pa t rol pla nes first
sight ed t h e ,J a pa nese t ra n spor t s a n d t he
Ta na ka escort some 350 miles nor t h of
(lua da lca na l. Ma r ine pla n es from H en -
derson Field a t t empt ed t o a t ta ck t h e t roop
ca rr iers, but a hea ~ 7y overca st forced t h em
ba ck t o Lun gs. Th e fliers ha d a bet t er da y
on t h e )Mth , h ow ever . .\ t 1420 t he F4F
pilot s in t ercept ed 15 ,J apa nese bombers
bein g escor t ed t ow a rd G ua da lca n a l by 12
fight ers fr om t he ca rr ier Ryu jo. M ar ines
br oke th i s r ai d up befor e i t got cl ose.
T hey downed si x of the Zer os and ten
fr om the dam aged Enterpr ise. At the
t im e the sh i p was str uck, L i eu tenant
T t l r ner Cal dwe]l , U SN , was t~p w i th h i s
“F l i gh t 300,” and , l ow on gM , he l ed h i s
f li er s t o Gu ad al ca na l w -h er e t h ey m or e t ha n
pai d for thei r keep unt i l 27 Septem ber .
M ean wh il e .%d mi ral F let ch er ’s car r ier
pl anes l ocated the enem y task for ce i n the
E ast er n Sol or non s at abou t t he sam e t i me
,J a pa nese p lan es sp ot ted F l et ch er . L i ke
the B at t l e of M i dway, the r esu l ti ng act i on
I VN San ai r -sur face and ai r-ai r Contm t.
Su r fa ce vessel s n ei t her si gh tecl n or f ir ed a t
each other.
The Ry/ / j o, whose Zer os had far ed so
poor ly w ith J ohn Sm ith ’s F4F pi lots, took
r epeated h i ts that f i nal l y pu t her ou t of
con tr ol and l ef t her hopel essl y af l ame.
one enemy cr ui ser and a destr oyer wer e
sunk ; a second cr ui ser w as cl am aged; th e
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bom ber s i n w hat w as VM F-i Z23’s f i rst bi g
success of the war . Captai n M ar ion Car l
spl ash ed tw o bom ber s an d a Z er o, an d tw o
pl an es each w er e d ow ned by L i eu ten an ts
Zenn i th A. Pond and K enneth D . Fr azi er ,
and M ar ine Gunner H enr y B . H am il ton :
T hi s w as a good day’s wor k by the fi gh ter
p i l ot s o f l W F-2 23. I t i s n ecessa r y t o r em em ber
t ha t t he J a pa nese Z er o a t t hi s st age of t he w ar
Ch i tose su st ai n ed sever e w ou nd s bu t m an -
aged t o l im p aw ay; an d 90 J apan ese pl an es
wer e shot down. On the Am er i can si de,
20 pl anes wer e l ost and the damaged
E n f er pr i .ve l ur ch ed aw ay t o seek r epai r .
T hi s act i on tu r ned back th e l ar ger J ap-
an ese at tack for ce, an d F let ch er l ik ew ise
w i thdr ew. H e expected to r etu r n next day
and r esum e the at tack , bu t by then the
TH E B ATTLE OF TH E TE NARU 293
F iel d fou nd h i m. T he J in tst~ sh ook un der
an expl od i ng bom b that L ieutenan t L aw -
r ence Bal d i nus d r opped just for war d of
her br idge, and Ensi gn Chr ist i an F i nk of
the En ter pr i ~e scor ed a h i t on the t r ans-
por t K i n r yu M ar u am i dsh i ps. .4dm i r al
T anaka w as knocked unconsci ous by the
expl osi on on h i s f l agsh ip, an d a n um ber of
cr ewm en wer e k i l l ed or i n ju r ed . T he sh i p
d i d not l i st under the bow dam age, how -
ever , and she st i ll was seawor thy. When
T an ak a r ecover ed he t r an sfer red h i s f l ag
to the dest r oyer K ager o and sen t the
J i ntsuto T r uk al on e .Z 1
F l am es br oke ou t on the K i nr yu .l l ar u
w h ich ca r ri ed a pp r oxi m at el y 1,000 t roops
of the l ’okosu l a 5th AS’AT L F,and the de-
st r oyer I l l u2uZ i w en t al on gsi de to r escu e
su r vi vor s. A t j ust that m om ent th i s sh i p
beca me “on e of t he f ir st J a pa nese w ar sh i ps
w ent . t o the r escue of the m en fr om the
X i nr yu M ar u . T hese m en wer e pi cked up
just as the .Var u al so wen t to the bot tom .
M eanwh i l e another pass at the sh i ps had
r esu lted i n l igh t d am age to th e d est r oyer
Uzu?ci, and .4dm ir al T anaka tur ned back
for Rabau l . M any of the SN L F m en had
been l ost , an d h is for ce w as bad ly shaken
and d i sordered :
M Y w orst fea r for this opera t ion ha d come t o
be rea lized. Wit hout t h e ma in comba t unit , t he
Yokosmka 5th S 1)ecia l Xa va l La nding Force, it
w a s clea r tha t t he rema inin g a uxilia ry unit of
a bout 300 men w ould be of n o use even if it did
rea ch G ua da lca na l w it hout fur t h er misha p.zi
T hus had t i l e 1st M ar i ne D i vi si on
gai ned som e val uabl e t i me to pr epar e for
th e next ,J apan ese at tem pt to d isl od ge i ts
Lunga def ense. T ?’i tb ai r su ppor t on H en -
der son F i el d and w i th a tenuous sL ~ppl y
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to be h i t by a B–17 si nce the w ar began” 22
when these big pl anes fr om the l l th Bom -
bar d men t Gr ou p a t E spi r it .u Sa nt o ar r ived
to l end a hand to the Cactus f l i er s. T he
M uzu ki san k at once. ~ ll lot her sh ip t hen
m oved i n to r escu e th e su rvi vor s fr om th is
d est royer w hi le t wo d est r oyer t ran spor ts
“ Tanaka .4rtick?, I , 69 3,
1r ou te est ab li sh ed t o t he S ’T ewH ebr i des, t he
d ivi si on ’s gr ip on Gu ad al canal w as m uch
i n~pr oved at n lonth>s end . B ut i t st i ll w as ...
a l ong w ay fr om bei ng com pl etel y secur e,
especi al l y now that I ch i k i ’s act of har a-
M r i had poi n ted up for the tJ apanese the
i mpr opr iety of t r yi ng to d isl od ge th e l an d-
i ng for ce w i th on l y 900 or 1,000 m en .
CHAPTER 5
The Battle of the Ridge
Gener al Vancl egr if t and h i s staff wer e
awar e that the defeat of the l ch i k i Fo~’ce
l eft the di vi si on ’s posi t i on on the i sl and
on ly tem por ar i l y i mpr oved . Obviously
t he ,J apan ese cou ld be. expect ed t o m ou ntl ar ger an d bet t er pl an ned at t acks a~~i nst
t he sm al l M ar in e per im eter ; ai r an d n aval
act i vi ty at Guadal cmxd i nd i cated no
wan i ng enem y i nter est i n the South Sol o-
m ons ar ea. A noon-hour vi si t f r om Ra-
bau l bom ber s was an al most dai ly occur -
r en ce, a nd en em y w ar sh i ps a nd su bm a r in es
enter ed Seal ar k Channel near l y ever y
n i gh t to shel l H ender son F i el d.{’” A l though the Bat t l e of the Easter n
Si nce M ajor J ohn Sm ith and L ieu ten-
an t Col onel M angr um ar ri ved w i th thei r
F 4F ’s and SB D’S on 20 Au gust , t he ai rf i el d
h ad taken on a m or e pr ofi ci en t and per nm -
nent l ook. By the end of August a dai l yr ou t i ne of schedu l ed pat r ol f l i gh ts had
been i ni ti at ed . F ou r-pl an e fi gh ter pat rol s
f l ew fr om 0545 to 0830 each mor ni ng and
fr om 1400 to 1830 each after noon, and
m i xed fi gh ter -bomber squadr ons fr e-
quent l y m ade ni gh t , sear ches for enem y
sl ] i ppi ng to the nor thwest . Cactus avi a-
tor s f l ew cover for the .U li ed sh i ppi ng to
t he i sl an d, an d w en t L l pon i nt er cept d ur i ngthe .Japanese ra i ds.
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~Sol om ons gave Al li ed shi ppi ng fr om E s-
;pi r itu Santo an oppor tun i t y to i ncr ease
k he fl ow of su ppl ies t o t he bel eagu er ed M a -
r in es, th e L un gl defend er s st il l oper at ed
on a h an d-t o-m ou th basi s.
T he Cact us A ir F or ce per for m ed beyon d
al l pr opor ti on to i ts faci li ti es and equ i p-
m en t, an d t he 3d D efen se B at tal ion f in al ly
T he U . S. f i gh ter s d i d wel l agai nst the
enemy bomber s, bu t thei r onl y chance
agai nst t he h igh ly m an eu ver abl e Z er o w as
to pai r L ~p n m utual suppor t. I n th i s way
they cou l d pr otect them sel ves when the
Z er os cam e d ow n to d ri ve t hem aw ay fr om
the bomber s. T hey found that the Gr um -
m an d id h ave cer tai n ad van tages over th e
TH E RATTLE OF THE RI D G E 295
minl~tes. Dum p t r ucks wer e kept l oaded
w ith gr avel an d san d, an d “f l yi ng squ ad s”of en gi neer s r ush ed ou t to r epai r an y d am -
age i mm ed i atel y af ter the depar tur e of
.Japanesebombers.
I lu t not even count i ng enemy i l Ct i Ol l ,
H ender son per sonnel st i l l had pl enty of
problems. ii n ear l y m ethod of fuel i ng
em pl oyed dr um s st r ung up i n the r after s
of par ti a l l y bu i l t J apanese hangar s, and
even when gasol i ne t r ucks ar ri ved l aterthe fuel had to be hand pum ped fr om
dr um s to the t r ucks, T her e was no steel
m at t i ng, and the f i el d was com pl etel y at
the m er cy of the whi m si cal t r opi cal
weather:
H en derson Field w a s a bow l of bla ck dust
w hich fouled a irpla ne engines or it . w as a qua g-
mire of bla ck mud w hich ma de t he t a ke-off
resemble not hing more t ha n a fly t rying t o r ise
from a run w ay of mola sses.’
w as a per iod w hen i ~m er icau f i gh ti ng m en
wer e thank fu l for sm al l favor s. on 20i ku gu st t he t ran spor t Wi Z/ i a7}2Wu rd I {u r -
r o 20scam e u p fr om t he N ew H ebr id es w it 1~
the for ward echel on ot ’ M AG-23. .W the
m en fi nd som e of th e gear w er e pu t ash or e,
bu t th en the sh ip scu rr ied acr oss Seal ar k
Ch ann el for T ul agi w hen th e w or d cam e i n
t h at a ,J a pa n ese cr u i ser f or ce w a s exp ect ed
th at n igh t. h -ear T u l agi the t r anspor t
w ent agr ou nd and m uch of the equ i pm en tst i l l on boar d had to be jet t i soned to f l oat
h er f r ee.
N ext d ay Col on el Wi ll iam ,J . Wal lace,
gr ou p cor n m an cl er , ca me u p t o H en d er son
w i t h mor e pl anes: 19 F4F ’s of M ajor
Rober t E . Gal er ’s V? M F-224, and 12
S131~-3’s of VM SB-231 com manded by
M ajor L eo R. Sm i th . T hat br ough t the
Cactu s st r en gth t o 86 pi lot s an d 64 pl an es,10 of them N avy and thr ee Arm y.
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When engi neer s and Seabees had no
bom b cr ater s to patch , they st i l l had to f i x
L I pth e f i el d i n th e w ake of th e ear ly SBD ’S
whi ch had hard -r ubber tai l wheel s de-
si gned for l and i ng on the stur dy decks of
car r i er s. On the H ender son ear th these
wheel s “. . . chewed up the r unway l i ke
a pl owsh ar e. ”z T he sor r y cond i t i on of
t he f i el d ad ded ser i ou s oper at ion al l osses
On 1 Septem ber the gr oun d cr ew s got
m or e hel p. F i ve off i cer s and 387 m en of
the 6th N aval Const r uct i on Bat tal i on
(Seabees) l anded w i th two bu l l dozer s.
T hey woul d “. . . hel p m ake an ai r f i el d
out of H ender son and . . . cl ear a shor t
gr assy st r i p a m i le to the east cal l ed
Fi ghter 1.”3 But next day cam e one of
the i n fam ous H ender son d i saster s that ,
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TH E B ATTLE OF TH E RI D G E ~ g~
SBD, and when i t expl oded i t spewed
fl am i ng gasol i ne i n al l d i r ect i ons. (l ne
90n ml sh el l d um p w as i gn ited , an cl th e f i re
br i gade cou l d l ~ot do i t s best wor k w i th
a ll t he exp losi on s t ha t resl~ lt ed. S evera l
of t he fire-fight ers w ere injured, a nd t h e
trucks seemed t o be ma king lit t le hea clw a y
sin ce t hey ha d t o t a ke t urns cla shing off t o
t l~ e Lungs River , t he closest supply of
w a t er . I f t he fire expa n ded mucl~ mor e
it w ould set ot l’ a cha in rea ct ion a nd a llt he a mmunit ion in t he a rea w ould be lost .
H a d n ot t he sit ua t ion been so gr im, some
olcl ha ncls might h a ve been remin ded of t ile
Ch inese fire drill of a n cient . B lur in e legend,
The bla ze w a s even t ua lly brough t un der
cont rol , h ow ever , a nd t h e loss w a s serious
but not cr it ica l. .ift er t his, la rge w a t er
ta nks from coconllt pla nt a t ions w er e
spot t ed a round t he a mmun it ion dumps;
but this fire pr oved t o be t he most serious
ot ’ t he ca mpa ign. S ubsequen t losses
a w el l-or gal li zed ai r h ead qu ar ter s w ith
whi ch to deal as d i vi si on ai r of i cer . ~
Fuel i ng and ar m i ng of the pl anes con-
t i n l ~ecl i n a m ake-sh i f t m anner fo~ som e
t im e, a nd :LS l at e :L SN ovem ber bom bs h acl
t o be m an han dl ed . R ad io com m un ica ti on s
l ikew ise posed pr obl em s. Ar my an d N:Lvy
r ecei vi ng channel s d i d not m esh) and the
.i rm y pl an es of th e Cactus For ce col dd not
r ecei ve N avy t mt li c. ( l per a t i ons resol ved
th i s by em pl oyi ng the ~ildio f r om agr ou n ded .$r m y P--4O Oa lon gsi d e t he N a vy
set an d th er eafter nm ki ng si mul tal ieous
br oadcasts over tw i n m icr ophones. T h i s
was a bi g l ~el p, bu t com mun i cat i ons st i l l
wer e far fr om sat i sfactor y. 13eyond 20
m i l es the pl anes cou l d not depend on r e-
cei vi ng the f i el d , bu t the f i el d cou l d nor -
m al l y r ead the pl anes’ m essages fr om as
f ar a s 1 00 m i l es.
,Si l~cet he f i gh t aga in st I ch ik i ; t her e h acl
been l i t tl e op por tu ni ty for cl ose a ir su pp or t
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occurred in division dumps a s a result of
na va l she]ling a t nig% j. These losses w ere
ne@gible since t he a mmunit ion by t ha t
t ime ha d been buried,
This b.ombin~ ra id ha d a rr ived a t 1135,
a nd w hile t he fire depa r t ment below
w orked t o sa ve t he a mmun it ion dumps,
Ca ctus fliers w er e LIp a mong t he bombers.
of gr ou nd t roop s, b~~ t M ar i nes con ti nn ec{
to pl an for th i s sor t of ai r -gr ound team -
work. (’com m u ni ca ti on s w as t he bi g p rob-
l em h er e, t oo. A t t ha t st age of oper at ion s
on ly vi su ul si gn a]s w er e u sed , con si st i ng
m ai nl y of col or ed pan el s w hi ch th e gr ou nd
t r oops had , bu t they l eft m uch to be de-
si r ed , Pl anes now fl ew h i gher and faster
298 P EARI. H .4RB OR TO G ~ .kD .kLC .\ NAL
might be helpful for a ir -ground signa ls,
B ut , w ha t th ey r eal ly h ad t hei r eyes ou t for
wer e some r ad i o sets. T hat seem ed to be
t he on l y p ron ~i si n g sol u ti on f or a ir -gr ou nd
coor di nat i on . Rad i os i ni ti al ly avai labl e
to the d i vi si on woul d not ser ve the pu r -
pose, and i t wou l d not be unt i l October
that Vandegr i f t coul d detai l an off i cer
an d su it abl e r ad io equ ipm en t zn d per son -
nel to t r ai n as ‘(ai r f or w ar d obser ver s”
fr om each i nfan t r y r egi ment and ther eby
pi on eer i n w hzt l at er becam e an i m por tan t
ph ase of M a ri ne com bat oper at ion s.
Whi l e Geiger bu i l t up h i s ai r ar m ,
V and egr if t l ik ew ise ad ded st ren gth t o th e.
L u n gs p er i m et er . Wi th T u l agi qu i et , he
br ou gh t som e of Gen er al R uper tu s’ t roops
a cr oss t he i ch an nel t o (l u ad al ca na l. T he
2d I lat t ,al ion , 5th M ar ines m ade the m ove
on 21 .~u g~M , an d t he 1st Rai der 13n tt al i on
amph ibi ous l and i ng w i thou t i nci den t at
:~ bo(~ t0 73 0, b ut l a ter r a n i n t o t h e ,J a pa nese
for ce dug i n to posi t i ons th r oughout a
n ar r ow coast al gor ge. M axwel l was be-
yond ar ti l l er y r ange of the per im eter , and
al though the 2d and 5th Bat tal i ons of the
l lth M ar ines fi red d i ver si onar y m issi ons
east of h i m i n M atan i kau vi ll age, the J ap-
an ese faci ng t he i nf an tr y M a ri nes seem ed
incl i ned for once to m ake a st r ong stand
r ather than to sl i nk OH in to the br ush as
they had fr equent l y done i n other such
engagements.
F au lt y com mu ni cat i on s an d oth er d if f i -
cu l t i es bogged the M ar i ne at tack, and
L i eu ten an t Col on el M axw el l w it hd rew h is
for ce to com pl y w it h a.por ti on of h is pat rol
or der wh i ch r equ i r ed h im to r etu r n to the
per im eter by n i gh t fal l . Bu t the r egi -
m en tal com m an der , Col on el H u n t, or d er ed
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and the 1st Par achu te B at tal ion cr ossed
to the Guadal cana] si de on 31 August . I n
ear l y Sept em ber , w hen a d et ach men t of t he
5th Defense Bat tal i on cam e ashor e at
T ul agi , a 90m m batter y of the 3d D efense
B at tal ion j oi ned i ts par en t or gan izat i on i n
t he H en der son F iel d ar ea.
Fr om al l i nd i cat i ons these add i t i onal
t r oops w oul d be needed. Aer ial obser va-
th e bat t al ion back i nt o th e fi ght , r el ieved
M axw el l of com m an d, an d soon t her eaft er
ar ri ved on the scene h i msel f. M ajor M i l -
ton V. O’Connel l sl ;cceeded to com mand
of the bat tal i on , bu t the at tack was not
r esum ed unt i l the pr edawn hour s of the
f ol l ow i ng m or n i ng. A few J apan ese w er e
k i l led , bu t m ost of them had w i thdr awn.
The M ar i nes r et i r ed to M atan i kau vi l -
TH E RATTLE OF TH E RI D G E 299
and the r ai der ss advanced west i n to the
r ear of t he r epor ted ,J apan ese posi ti on s.
At about 0630 pl anesof M AG-23 bom bed
a nt { st r af ed t he su sp ect ed st r on g p oi n t, a nd
t w o d est r oyer t r an sp or t s, Manley an d M c-
A-can, opened u.p on the ar ea. At 0830
E dson m ade con tact ag~i nst l igh t r esi st -
ance, and h i s advance over ran two ar ti l -
l er y pi eces. H e st i l l cou l d not deter mine
the str ength of the enemy, bu t the for ce
appear ed to be w i thdr aw ing towar d the
vi l l age, an d h e r equ est ed t hat su ppor t i ng
d i ve bomber s r em ai n on stat i on i n the
even t t hat t he en em y pock et cou ld be l ocal -
i zed for an ai r st r ike. Gen er al V an degr if t
or der ed ten pl anes to r em ai n i n con t i n -
uous suppor t and pl aced another squad-
r on on cal l t o E dson .
B y 1045 t he r esi st an te h ad st i t l en ed , an d
the r ai der s r equested that mor e tr oops
l and to the w est of the vi ll age and suppor t
t he par ach ut e bat tal i on r epor ted t o E dson ,
and the com mander deci ded to m ake a co-
or di nated at tack agai nst th e f i rm opposi -
t i on . T he col onel cal l ed i n a P+OO str af-
i ng at tack and then fol l owed th i s w i th an
envel opment i nl and by h i s r ai der s wh i l e
the par achut i sts pr otected h i s f l ank and
r ear . ‘1’h e assau lt car r ied t he vi l l age, bu t
agai n the ,J apanese had el ected to br eak
con tact , an d pr epar e for an at tack at a t i me
an d pl ace of t hei r ow n ch oosi ng.
T he vi l l age was deser ted , bu t the ap-
pear an ce of t he aban don ed en cam pm en t
i nd icat ed t hat r epor ts of n at ive scou ts h ad
been m ost accu rat e. E dson est im at ed t hat
som e 4,000 ,J a pa nese h ad been i n t he vi ci n -
i t y un t i l shor t l y befor e h i s at tack , that
h i s for ce had m et on l y ou tposts and r ear
guar c]s of a new l y ar ri ved un i t wh i ch ob-
vi ousl y was pr epar ing a str ong at tack on
H en der son F iel d. T wen ty-seven J apa-
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thei r at tack . N ot want i ng to weaken the
per i meter , d i vi si on r epl i ed that such a
m ove w as n ot feasi bl e. V an degr i f t su g-
gest ed t hat t he r ai di ng for ce r eem bar k an d
r etu r n to the per i m eter i f the J apanese
pr oved too str ong to hand l e. Edson r e-
m ai ned , h ow ever , an d 45 m i nu tes l at er h ad
oyer run m or e ar ti l l er y pi eces as the bat -
nese had been ki l l ed . M ar ine casual ti es
n um ber ed t wo d ead an d si x w ou nd ed .
E dson ’s est i mate of the J apanese
st r ength w as a. l it t l e l ow , bu t he was r igl ~t
about the enem y’s i nten t i ons. J ust as the
1st M ar ines had pr evi ousl y scou ted el e-
m ents of the Zchz%i For ce i t l ater m et at
the m outh of the I I L ~ Ri ver , so Col onel
300 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD AJ J CANAL
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TH E B ATTLE OF TH E RI D G E 301
st r vyer D ivi si on z4, and put , the t r oops of
I ch i k i ’s r ear echel on on boar d two de-str oyer t r anspor ts. T hen he stood by for
t il e a rr i va l of K aw agu ch i .
Kawaguchi ’s %’th l~r;~f(f~e. a par t of t i l e
1$’tA l )~u ;s;o?? in C’hi~lii, w as bu il t ar ou nd
Col on el .M {i nosu ka ok a’s 12J th Znfunt ry
R eqi 7n en t . ~ rom (Xhina t h e unit ha cl
moved in D ecember 1941 t o 130rneo. I n
l~ a rch 1942 it moved t o (’ebu in t he P h ilip-
pines, in .~ pr il t o l~ in da na o, a nd in J un e
t o P a la u. .fler t ed for a ~ Tew (%~ inea
opera t ion t ha t n ever ca me oH , t he force
rema ined in t he P a la u Isla nds unt il la t e in
;iugust w h en it bega n t o sta ge in ech elons
t h rough Truk for t he Ra ba ul a rea . lyl len
it a rr ived for this n ew mission it w a s
formed up t o inclucle t he rea r ech elon of
t h e gd Battalion, .429th Znf an tr y (I cf i i k i
For ce), t h e 12’h t h. I n f mt r y, the 2?d l la t -
~a/ ;on , ~th l ?l fan tr y, an d u ni ts of ar t i l l er y,
men, too. T he i m pat ien t T an ak a r efer r ed
th i s d i spu te to M i kawa of the A’i gh th Fl eet
an d H yak ut ak e of t he ,Se?’en t een th .4 r T ~/.
T h ese of li cer s pr evai l ed u pon K aw agu ch i
to tem por ar il y cur b h i s wnr m r egar d for
bar ges. I [e wou l d m ake al l of the t r i p on
T :l n ak a’s d est r oy er s,. an d l an d on G uad al -
canal f r om them, besi des.7
F or t he bu il d-u l) on Gu ad al can al , K aw a-
gucl l i spl i t h i s com mancl . T he gener al
wou l d l and i n the Tasimboko ar ea w i ththe I ch i ki r ear echel on and the Ista nd t ?a
A’attaliom, 1~.$th 171/’an try Regiment.
{;ol onel (l ka wou l d l ancl w i th the remain-
der of the for ce—the E d B attal ion, l .%j th
Znfwn t r y—west of L ungs Poi n t near K o-
kumbona. Each of the two for ces was
r ei n for ced by a shar e of the ar t i l l er y,
en gi n eer s, an d ot her sp eci al t r oop s. T h er e
w as on l y one h i tch i n the r ei nfor cem entefl or ts, even i f K aw agu ch i m i gh t h ave been
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engi neer , si gnal , and ant i tank tr oops. I n
that for m the l{mwaguch i Fo~ce nllmberecl
m or e t h an 6,000 n ~en .G
.i dm i r al Tanaka had hi s dest r oyer s al l
r eady when K awag~~ch i ar ri ved . T he ad-
m i r al met immediatel y w i th the gener al
to hur ry th i ngs al ong, bu t he r an i n to d i f-
f i cu l ty at once. K awaguchi was a bar ge
un easy w ith ou t a bar ge u nd er h im , bu t th is
bobbl e had no ser i ous over -al l r esu l ts.
Capt ai n Yon osu ke M ur akam i, com mand -
i ng D estr oyer Squ ad ron .Z ~. w as t o clear
the w:L y for the l and i ngs by goi ng down
The Slot on the n i gh t of 29 .~ugust to at -
t ack a U . S. t ask for ce w hi ch w as r epor ted
to be off L ungs Poi nt . I nstead , M ur akam i
30$2 1’E ARL H ARB OR TO G TJ AD AL CAA-AL
manellver that pr oposed to st r i ke theI .un ga per im eter i n a th r ee-j aw ed envel -
opm ent fr om the w est ,, sou th , and south -
east . I t was to be a coor d i nated at tzck
w i th ai r and naval suppor t . T o the
l ~or mal pr obl em s i nher en t i n such an i n -
v ol ved p] an , K aw agu ch i i m posed u pon h is
for ce the ad di ti ol ~a] tm k of cu t t i ng a t r ai l
over th e steep jungl e-cover ed r idges an d
gor ges fr om t l~e T asi m bok o ar ea t o a poi ntsou th of H ender son F i el d . T he jungl e
t r ai l , pl anned as a r ou te wh i ch wou l d
enabl e t he ,Japanese to escape observat i on ,
was begun about 2 Septem ber by K awa-
gu chi ’s en gi neer s. I nfan tr y, ar ti l l er y, an d
other un i ts fol low ed th e engi neer s al ong
th i s hand-hew n jungl e r ou te tow ar d th ei r
1i nes of depar tu r e for the at tack agai nst
t h e M a r i n es.
On 11 Sept em ber , t he pace of t he at tack squ ick en ed . T wen ty-si x bom ber s an d ei gh t
Zer os cam e over at 1210 to pock th e fi el d,
k i ll 11 M ar in es, an d wound 17 other s, and
cl est r oy on e 1’%00 p ar k ed besi d e t he st r ip ;
and a heavy cr u i ser and two dest r oyer s
wer e sl )ot ted steam i ng south about , 100
m i l es to the nor theast . B u t on the sam e
day (he (~act l l s A i r For ce added to i ts
strength. At 1620 a f l i gh t of 24 F4F ’sthat h:Ld been i d l e si nce thei r car r i er
~~(~ru.to yaa d been t or p ed oed on 31 A ugu st
cam e L l p to H ender son fr om Espi r i tu
San to under the com mand of L ieu ten an t
Com m ander L er oy C. Sim pler . Befor e
noon the next day (12 Septem ber ) Si mp-
l er ’s m en got thei r chance to l ear n Cactu s
oper at i ons, T wenty-one of them wen t up
w ith 11 ‘{ol d” Cactu s fl ier s to shoot down12 bom ber s and th r ee f i gh ter s ou t of a
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YH Z3 BA TT L Z7 OF T H E R[DGL ’
K aw ag-uch i ’s fad e-ou t i nto the jungl e
\VtLS successful . H e was not spot ted by
M ar i nes agai n un t i l he was r eady to at -
tack , bu t i t soon becam e appar en t to the
I .unga defender s that he wou l d have im -
posi ng suppor t fr om Rabau l . Far -r ang-
i ng i nt el l i gen ce sou rces r epor ted a J apa-
42-pl an e .J apan ese st ri ke t hat cam e over
a t 1 10 0.
M eanwhi l e pat r ol s fr om the 2d Bat -
tal i on , 1st M ar ines began to encounter
fr eqn el l t opposi ti on east an d sou th east of
t he p er i m et er . N at i ve scou ts br ought ,
w or d of l ar ge. bod ies of t roops t hat cl ear ly
w er e not wander ing r em nants of I ch i ki ’s
TH E B ATTLE OF TH E R I D G E 303
i ts f l ank i n l and for appr oxim atel y hal f
t hat d istan ce. T he space i nl an d bet weent hese fl an ks st il l posed a ser i ou s pr obl em ,
bu t i t had been par t i al l y sol ved by the
establ ishment of wel l -pr epar ed str ong
poi nts and outposts. (See M ap 18)
T roops fr om th e 1st A mphi bi an T ractor
n nd Pi on eer B at tal ion s m ai ntai ned posi -
t i ons sou th (i n l and) of the 5th M ar i nes
sector west of the L ungs, whi le east of the
L u ngs a 4,000-yar d ou tpost l in e w as m ai n-tai ned by the 1st M ar ines, ar ti ll er ym en,
t he engi neer bat t al ion, t he bu lk of th e pi o-
n eer bat tal i on , an d t he r ai der -par ach ut e
bat tal i on . Gener al Vandegr i f t had or -
der ed the r ai der s and par achut i sts ou t of
d i vi si on r eser ve to augm ent , th i s l i ne by
pr epar ing posi t i ons on a l ong l ow r i dge
that extended south of H ender son F i el d
and par al l el to the L ungy Ri ver . Thethousand-yar d-l ong r idge was but a m il e
ridge. T h i s was for war d of the fl anks of
engi neer s on hi s l ef t (east ) and the pi o-neer s on h i s r i gh t , bu t Edson wanted to
hol d al l the gr ound he coul d and to l aunch
an at tack agai nst the enem y the next day.
At about 2100 that , n i gh t a J apanese
l igh t cr ui ser an d t hr ee d est royer s en ter ed
Seal ar k Channel to shel l the ai rf i el d, and
at about the sam e t i me the enem y gr ound
for ce pr obed l i ght l y at the r ai der -par a-
chu te for ce on the r i dge. F i ght i ng wasspor ad i c al l al ong the l ine, and al though
one desul tor y J apanese at tack actual ly
made a sl i gh t penetr at i on of the M ar i ne
l i ne, the enem y made no at tem pt to con-
sol id ate or expan d th is gai n.
Ear l y the next mor ni ng (the 13th ) Ed-
son l au nched h is cou nter offensi ve, bu t h e
found the enemy too st r ong and wel l -
pr epar ed to be thr own back. I n the after -noon the M ar ine off i cer w i thdr ew h i s ex-
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south of the ai r fi el d and , un l ess wel l de-
fend ed , offer ed t he J apan ese an i nvi ti ng
aven ue of appr oach to th e fi el d,
T he pi oneer bat tal i on (m inus i ts com-
pany west of the I .unga) hel d posi t i ons
just sou th of H ender son F i el d between
the L ungs and the nor th spur of the r idge
occupi ed by Edsonk for ce. F ar ther to the
hausted men nor th of the posi t i ons they
had hel d the pr evi ous n i ght and estab-
l ished a str onger l ine on a h i gher por ti on
of the r idge cl oser to the engi neer s and
pi oneer s to hi s l eft and r ight r ear . C)n the
r ight , i n the jungl e betw een the r idge and
the L ungs, a sketchy contact was m ade
wi th the pi oneer bat tal i on ; on the l eft
1’I IMRL H AR BOR TO G U AD AL CAS AI ,
.: t ““Henderson Fie ld ’----.: 1700 Ya rd6”--- I/ . .. ”: b : .’
I I :; I I >-* I I :-.
~ I I :I I :
N
t
EDSON’S RIDGE
FIRST PHASE
-. NIGHT OF 12-13 SEPTEMBER 1942
,~ ji ‘- Moin enemy thrust
w - Marine front lines
-Command posts
Scaleo 100 200 300 400 500
Yards
MAP 19
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TH E 13.kTTI .E OF TH E RI D G E
from E spirit u S a llto. Ninlit z a n d E lhormI -
ley w ere doiug a ll t l~ ey could t o bolst er
t l ~e Sol om ons toe h ol d agai nst th e J apa-
nese at tack t l mt w as com ing. I J ater i n t i le
d ay L i eu ten an t Com nm nd er L ou is ,J . Ki m
br ol l gl l t i n a f l i gh t of 12 SBD ’S of ~~S-3
and the f i el d al so got i ts f i r st t or pedo
pl an es w hen I ,i eu ten nn t H ar ol d H . L ar seu ,
I TSA T,flew in l ead in g si x T BF ’s of VT -8,’O
l ~l l t wh i l e t i l e H ender son f l yi ng for ce
gai ned by 60 pl an es d ur in g th e ]J er ’i oc{ of11–1 3 Sel )t em ber , Rabal d ’s zi r power
jum ped an adcl i t i onal 140 phmes cm 12
Sep t ember a l one.
T ak i ng per iod ic cover fr om sni pi ng an d
bom bi ng r ai ds, E dson ’s m en ccm t i nu ed t o
d i g i n for one m or e n i ght on the r i dge; on
the m or n i ng of the 14th they wer e to be
l ’el i ev ed b y t i l e $ 2clB a tt al i on > 5 th M a r i n es.
But i t l ooked as i f t he n i ght wo~l l d be thew or st th ey had seen yet ; scout i ng pl anes
E cl son ’s (I i sl )osi t i ol l })l a ce(l I I i s t w o p ar a -
chute Conl l )an ies OIL the exposed let+ f lankand t i ed them i l l on the r i gh t w i th r ai der
“OllllXlll~11 which helcl the r i dge knol l i n
t i l e cen ter of the M ar ine l i ne. ~OIIl~ l :LIl~
A of th e r ai der s exten ded dow n t l ~e w est
sl ope of the r idge towar d the L ungs and to
th e m akesh if t con tact w ith th e pi oneer s.
Rai der Com pany C, on L Lh i gh knol l t o the
nor th (r ear ) of Com pany B, was Edson ’s
r eserve.A t sun set un its w er e or gan i zed i n sm al l
com bat gr oups of about pl atoon st r en gth
d i sposed at i n ter val s al ong the m ai n l i ne
of resi stance. T her e w er e. open fi el ds of
t ir e on ly i n th e cen ter of t h e posi ti on w her e
t he M L R cr ossed t he gr assy r i dge, bu t even
h er e th e abr upt sl opes an d br ok en gr ou nd
m ade coor d i nat i on of f i r es d i f f i cu l t . I n
t i l e l ast hou r s of day] i gh t the t r oops i n l -pr o~ecl t hei r foxh ol es a nd t he f i el ds of t ir e,
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spot ted seven d est royer s com in g d ow n T i l e
Sl ot , evi den tl y t o aci d t hei r bou ~bar d men t
to the gr ol m d at tack that appear ed
shapi ng L L pi n the jungl e to the soL tth .
Du r i ng the after noon the r eser ve bat -
t td iol ~ (2,/ 5) m ovecl to an assem bl y ar ea
east of t he L u nga an d betw een th e ai rf i el d
and F .dson ’s Ri dgej and ot l i cem of th i s
but , th e r esu l ti ng posi ti on s w er e nei ther
con t i nu ou s n or com p l et e.
I n th e f i rst hou rs of d ar kn ess, L ou i e th e
L ouse, or Wash i ng-M ach i ne Char ley/ ’
chugged over to d r op h i s i nconsi stent
scat ter in g of bom bs, an d abou t 2100 h e l et
go a f l ar e that hung over the f i el d as a
r egi st r at i on poi n t for the dest r oyer task
306
pany B ’s cen tr al sector on the h i gh knol l
cau gh t m ost of t hi s f i r st assau lt an d t ur n ed
i t back, bu t the other at tack col um n foun d
an open i ng to th e w est and cam e thr ough
to cu t ot f and envel op Com pany B’s r igh t
pl atoon . Whi l e the J apanese dr ove
th r ough th i s gap between Com pan i es A
and B , the i sol ated pl atoon fought i ts w ay
back al ong 250 yar ds of the r i dge to joi n
Com pany C on the knol l to the nor th .
St i l l engaged and n ear ly over pow er ed ,
Com pany ~ r efused i ts r igh t f l ank al ong
the r idge’s w est sl opes. (See M ap 20)
Edson had been cal l i ng i n f i r e fr om
5/ 1 1’s how i tzer s si nce the begi nn i ng of
t he at tack , an d as t he J apan ese con ti nu ed
t o h am mer at h is m en t he col on el d ir ect ed
the ar ti ll er y cl oser and cl oser un t i l i t was
fal l ing w i th i n 200 yar ds of the Com pany
B l i nes. But st i l l t he J apanese cam e on,
and by 2200 E dson est i mated th at th e tw o
pany .1 wou l d joi n the for ce ther e, and
E dson or der ed h i s m en to hol d at al l costs.
I t w as t i le l ast dom inat i ng ter rai n featu r e
sol l t b of t he ai r f i el d.
Scr een i ng the w i thd r awal of the two
com pan i es w i th ar ti l ler y f i r e, Edson col -
l ected h i s m en as they f i l ter ed back and
bu i l t them up in what he hoped wou l d be a
1i ne st ron g en ou gh t o m ak e t he f in al st an d.
T he col onel and h i s off i cer s i roned out the
con f~l si on of set t in g i n t he n ew d efen se i n
dar kness an d und er f i re wh i le hol di ng off
r epea ted ,Tapauese assau l t s. I n al l , the
enem y str uck m or e than a dozen t im es
th rough out the n i gh t , the K aw aguch i m en
gr i ndi ng them sel ves i n to the fi r e fr om
M ar ine ar ti l l er y, m or tar s, m ach i ne guns,
i t ]~d r if l es i n vai n at tem pts to d i sl odge
l h l son fr om hi s f i nal knol l of B l oody
Ridge.1~ ,J a pa nese f l ar es “t el egr a ph ed ”
each at tack , pr o~i d i ng the l l th M ar ines
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u nd er st reu gt h par ach ute com pan ies an d
Com pan y B (l ess th e w ith dr aw n pl atoon )
wer e opposed by at l east two enemy bat-
t al ion s at tack i ng i n fu ll for ce.
J a pa nese i n fi l tr at i on p ar t i es w er e t ak i ng
over some of the Com pany B foxhol es,
com m un i ca ti on ] in es w r er e cu t t hr ou gh ou t
the ar ea, and the J apanese now began to
gu nn er s w it h r efer en ce poi nt s for t hei r al l-
n igh t t i r i ng i n w hi ch th ey expen ded 1,992
r ounds of 105m m pr oject i l es, som e at
r a nges a s sh or t a t 1,600 yards .
A t 0400, w ith t he ,J apan ese at tacks st i l l
i n p r ogr ess, com p an i es of r eser v e b at t al i on
2/ 5 began to move si ngl y th r ough the
d ar kn ess an d i nt o posi ti on s on th e r ai der -
TH E RATTLE OF TH E R I D G E307
ED SON’S RIDGE
FINAL PHASE
NIGHT OF 13 SEPTEMBER 1942
--khin effort by Knvog.chi
Detachment
@ -Enemy secondq ot+.cks
& - Marine frant lines a s of dusk
- Finol defensive l ine held by
Morines
- Routes of retirement on finol
defensive poeitian
MAP 20
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308 I ’1. :. iR I , H AR B (-)R TO C J I T. kD .+ TJ ( ’. \3” .i I,
for ce of abou t t wo r ei nfor ced com pan ies,
the ,J apauese engaged the M ar ines i n a
n igh t-l on g t ir e t igh t bn t fai led t o pen et rat e
t i l e l i ne.
I n another , l esser act i on of the ni gh t a
p at r ol of som e 30 .J a pa nese, evi d en tl y f rom
t he f or ce t ha t p en et r at ed E d son , w an der ed
i n to m th i n l i ne of Company C, 1st FJ ngi-
neer s i n the ar em east of the d i vi si on CP
an d n ear 5/ 11’s H ead qu ar ter s an d Ser vi ce
Bat ter y sou th of the ai r f i el d . T he l i ne
h ad been th in ned ear l i er i n th e n ight w hen
(’ompany .k of t i l e engi neer s l ]ad been
cal led hack to ai d t i le CT ’ defense, and th e
J apan ese pat ro] w hi ch st ru ck at 05;30 sn c-
ceeded i n tak i ng two l eft f l ank n ]ach i ne-
gun posi ti ons befor e headql tar ter s a]l d
ser vi ce al ’t i l ler ym en cam e l l p t o bol st er t he
l i ne and hel p evacuate wounded. T he
,T apal lese heckl ed the 1i ne for the shor t
t im e r em ai ni ng u ]] ti l d ayl i gh t, t hen r et ir ed
tanks w e r e h it al m ost at on ce by a J apan ese
an t i tank gun. Another tank char ged
acr oss the pl ai n an d over a gr ass hut on l y
to pl unge down a 3t l -foot bank i n to the
‘l ?el ~ ar u ; a l l f ou r cr ew m em ber s w er e k i l l ed .
.l four th tank was h i t by th i s an t i tank gun
shor tl y after th i s, t i le f i fth tank r etu r ned
to the i n fal ~t r y l i nes, and t i l e si xth tank
\ vas stopped by a wr ecked tr ack ,50 yar ds
i n fr on t of the ,J apan ese gun. T he n~el ~i n
th i s tank bai l ed ou t . and r etu r ned to the
i l l f a l l tr y p osi t i on . T he t an k at t ack l lacl t o
be chal ked off as a cost l y fai l ur e, bu t the
.J apan ese cau sed l i t t le t rou bl e i n th e ar ea
af ter th i s. .1 desu l tor y f i r e f i gh t con-
t in ued acr oss t he pl ai n u nt il 16 Sept em ber
w l ~en t he en em y w i th dr ew .
T act ical ly th e en ti re Kau~aguclt; Fwce
coL d d be scr at ch ed . .I bou t 400 of the
I ch ik i r ear ech el on su bsequ en tl y r each ed
K ol i Poi n t as di d some tr oops of the .%l
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i n to the jungl e. Four engi neer s wer e
k il led an (l 14 w er e w ou nded . T en ,J n p:v
n ese bod ies w er e bu ri ed i n t he ar ea.
.%I so by dayl i gh t (14 Septem ber ) t i l e
at tack s on F .d son >s R id ge. an d t he 3/ 1 l i ne
had dw ind l ed to spor ad i c sni pi ng, and i l l
th e E dson Ri dge sect or th e d isor gan ized
.J apanese wer e bom bed an d st r afed i nto
Bat tal i on , @h I n fan tr y, hu t these wer e
h ar dl y m or e. t han st raggl er s. T he r em ai n-
d er of t he for ce—t he l ar ger el em en t w hi ch
h ad st ru ck E dson ’s Ri dge—r ed uced i tsel f
to a r abbl e wh i le cu t t i ng z tor tuous jungl e
t r ai l over the souther n sl opes of M ount
.I u st en , acr oss t he u p-cou nt ry M a tan ik au
terri tory, and fi nal l y to K okur nbona.
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CH APT ER 6
Action Along the Matanikau
Ret r eat of the K mcaguch i For ce pr om -
i sed the M ar ines of the. L ungs per im eter
another br eath i ng spel l f r om gr ound at -
t ack s, bu t t her e w as n o t i me for r el axat i on
or r el i ef fr om concer n about the fu tu r e.
.l ir and n aval st r ikes con t i nL led to pound
t he H en der son F iel d d efen der s, an d aer i al
r epor ts of a con ti nu ed J apan ese bu il d-u p
at , Rabau l for ecast ad di ti on al at tem pt s t o
r et ake th e Gu ad al can al ar ea. Patro l l ing
sch ed ul es w er e st ep ped u p; i t w as d i squ i et -
i ng to know that both the l ch i k i and
K aw agu ch i F or ces had l anded on the
i sl and and m oved i n to at tack posi t i ons
w i th ou t t he M a r i nes on ce bei n g com pl et el y
safety of other A l li ed posi ti ons far ther to
the south . So these. ar eas cou l d not be
st r ipped of defender s, and even i f som e
spar e t roops cou ld be fou nd t her e st i l l w as
another oper at i on sl ated . F rom the fi rst ,
the pl an for th i s i n i t i al A l l i ed of fensi ve
i n th e Paci fi c h ad i ncl ud ed an occu pat ion
of N den i I sl and i n the San ta Cr uz gr oup
sou th east of t he Sol om on s.
T he 2d M ar i nes f i r st had been sched-
(~l ed for t hi s j ob> bu t V an degr i f t h ad been
al l owed to keep th i s r egim ent when the
opposi t i on becam e so bi t ter on T u~agi .
lJ ?~ ter t h e genem d r equested that h i s d i -
vi si on ’s th i rd or gm ic i nfan t r y r egi ment ,
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sl we of t hei r exact l ocat ion s.
At the concl usi on of the B at t l e of the
Ridge on 14 Septem ber , the M ar ines had
been ash or e for 38 d ays vvi th ou t r ecei vi ng
ei th er r ei nfor cem en ts or ad di ti on al an un u-
ni t ion. For m ost of th i s per i od the m en
cou l d be fed on l y tw o m eal s a day, and par t
the 7th M ar i nes, com e over f r om i ts
Sam oan gar r ison duty w i th i t s suppor t -
i i l g ar t i l l er y, the 1st Bat tal i on , l l th M a-
r ines. B ut Adm i r al Tu r ner dem ur r ed ; he
st i l l saw w need for the N den i oper at i on ,
and the r ei n for ced 7th M ar i nes was the
on l y am ph ibi ous for ce r ead i ly avai l abl e
AC TI ON AI J ON-G TH E MATAN IK AU 311
But by 9 Septem ber , w i th the 7th
M ar in es’ CO11VOJ 7t il l en r ou te, T ur neragr eed w it h V an degr i ft .’s A ugu st r equ est
for cont r ol of th i s i n fant r y r egi men t , and
h e r equ est ed A dm ir al Gh or r nl ey’s p er m is-
si on to d i ver t th e r egi ment fr om the N deni
operation. T he i ssue st i l l w -as not won
for th e M ar ine gener al , how ever . T ur ner
bel i eved t l ~i s fr esh un i t shou l d set L ~p
coastal st r ong poi n ts ou tsi de the L ungs
per i m eter , wh i l e Vandegr i f t hel d that ar ei n for cem ent of h i s per i m eter was the
m or e p ressi n g n eed . T ur ner r el ayed th i s
quest i on to Gh or rn l ey on 12 Septem ber ,
the sam e day the T th M ar i nes ar r i ved i n
th e N ew H ebr id es, an d Gh or rn ley n ext cl ay
or der ed th e r ei nfor ced r egi ment to m ove
as soon m possi bl e to the Guadal canal
perimeter.
A fter un l oad i ng the 5th Defense Bat -
tal i on un i ts at Espi r i t u Sante, the sh i ps
bear i ng the i n fant r y r egim ent and the
N or t h C’cw ol i na was dam aged as was the
destroyer 0’Bn%n,whi ch l ater br oke i n
two and went down whi l e head i ng back
to the V. S, fol l ow i ng tem por ar y r epai r s.
Bu t for H ender son F i eld ther e was ad -
van tage even fr om such gr im di saster s as
th i s; pi l ot s and pl anes that other w i se
w ou ld h ave been fl yi ng fr om th ei r car r i er s
cou l d now com e L I p to gi ve the Cactus
F or ce a h an d. On 18 Septem ber si x N avy
T BF ’s ar r i ved i n the L unga ar ea, and OIL
28 September 10 m or e p la nes, som e SB I )’S
and the other T BF ’s, f l ew i n . A l though
enem y r ai ds dr opped off som ew hat af ter
th e d efeat of th e K aw agu ch i F or ce, oper a-
t i onal l osses st i l l d r ai ned Gei ger ’s ai r
pow r er , an d sL l ch r ei nfor cem en t m an aged
on l y to keep the Cactus For ce at a 50-to-
70-pl an e l evel , bu t for th is L un gs w as m ost
thank fu l .
Septem ber l tl th WM a r ed-l et ter d ay for
the Guadal canal defender s. Whi l e the
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ar ti l l er y bat tal i on depar ted for Guadal -
eanal on 14 Septem ber , the sam e day th at
the 3d B at tal ion , 2d M ar ines w as br ou gh t
acr oss Seal ar k Channel fr om T ul agi .
oper at i ng w i th thr ee cru i ser s pl L ~s t he
d est r oy er s a nd m i n e s-w eep er s of t h e n ew l y-
for m ed T ask F or ce 65, t he t ra nsp or ts spen t
r ei nfor ced 7th M ar in es u nl oad ed i ts 4,262
m en , t hr ee ot her t ran spor ts w hi ch w er e n ot
par t of T F 65 en ter ed the channel w i th an
em er gen cy sh ip men t of avi at ion gasol in e.
I n al l , th i s sh i pping pu t ashor e 3,823
d ru ms of fu el , 147 ~-eh ic]es, 1,012 t on s of
r at i on s, 90 per cen t of th e 7th M ar in es su p-
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AC TI ON AL ONG TH E MATANIK .4U 313
r at i ons, and Gen er al Vand egr if t w as abl e
to adopt new defensi ve concepts for h i s
for ce of som e 19;200 m en now at L unga.
L ocal ai r power m ade a coun ter mand i ng
l ess l i kel y, and the at tack pat ter n set by
I ch ik i an d K aw agu ch i i nd icated th at m or e
at ten ti on sh ou ld be gi ven to t he i nl an d r im
of the per i m eter . On 19 Septem ber ,
Van degr i f t ’s oper at i on al Pl an 11-42 pr o-
vi ded for th i s new concept by d i vi d i ng the
d efen ses i nto n ew sector s w ith i ncr eased
a l l -a r ound st r engt h .
Rel i evi ng speci al t r oops such as the
en gi n eer s a n d p i on eer s, i n fa n tr y b at ta l i on s
f i l l ed the yawni ng gaps that pr evi ousl y
h ad exi st ed sou th of th e ai rf i el d an d al on g
the sou ther n por t i ons of the new i n l and
sector s. T he pi on eer s, en gi neer s, an d th e
am ph i bi an t r actor per sonnel now were
abl e to per for m thei r nor m al funct i ons
dur i ng the dayl i gh t hour s and at n i gh t
bol ster th e beach defenses w her e few er
cr easi ng quan t i t y, and i n m ost sector s
doubl e apr on fences st r etch ed acr oss th e
ground i n fr ont of i n fan t r y posi t i ons of
foxh ol es an d l ogged an d san d-bagged m a-
ch in e-gu n em pl acem en ts. Col on el R ober t
H . Pepper ’s 3d Defense Bat tal i on , w i th
the 1st Speci al Weapons Bat tal i on at -
t ach ed , r et ai ned r esp on si bi l i ty for an ti ai r -
cr aft and beach defense, and Col onel
Pedr o A. del l r al l e’s l l th M ar i nes, bol -
ster ed by i ts 1st Bat tal i on , r em ai ned i n a
cen tr al p osi ti on su ppor ti ng al l sect or s.
T h e 1st M a r in es r et ai n ed r esp on si bi l it y
for the east si de of the per im eter , fr om an
ar ea near the m ou th of the I l u Ri ver i n -
l and to a poi n t beyond the for m er r i gh t
f l ank wher e M c.K el vy’s bat tal i on had
fough t the J apanese acr oss the gr assy
pl ai n . T he fr esh t r oops of the 7th M a-
r ines joi ned the 1st M ar ines at that poi n tand extend ed acr oss Edson ’s Ri dge to th e
L unga Ri ver . Beyond that r i ver the 3d
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m en wer e needed. Each i n fant r y r egi -
m en t m ai nt ai ned a on e-bat .t al ien r eser ve,
on e or al l of w hi ch cou ld be m ad e avai labl e
a s a d i vi si on r eser v e. i f n ecessa r y.3
Gaps st i l l exi sted i n the per i m eter .
Gener al l y the l i nes fol l owed the h i gh
gr ound of the r i dges, bu t i n ter ven i ng
Bat tal ion , 2d M ar ines bu i l t up a l i ne that
t i ed i n on the r i gh t to the posi t i ons of the
5th M ar i nes, and th i s l at ter r egi m ent
cl osed the per i m eter w i th i ts r i gh t f l ank
whi ch connected w i th the l eft f l ank of the
3d D efen se B at tal ion a t t he beach .
T en tat i ve pl an s i n th e r eor gan i zat i on
314 P E.4RI . H ARB OR TO G U .4D ALC ANTAL
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AC TION ALONG TH E MATANI K AU 315
t he 1st Ra ider B at t a lion 4 w as t o a dva nce
a long t he coa st t o K okumbon a w here aperma n ent pa t rol ba se w a s t o be est a b-
lished.
i~ ft er pa ssing t hrough t he perimet er on
23 S ept ember , P uller’s ba tt alion next da y
surprised a J a pa nese force bivoua cked on
t he Moun t Aust en slopes, a nd sca t ter ed t he
enemy in a brief cla sh t ha t ended sh ort ly
a ft er night fa ll. The a ct ion cost P uller 7
killed a n d25 w ou nd ed , a n d t he com ma n derreq uest ed a ir support for a con tin ua tion
of his a tt ack t he next da y (25 S ept ember)
a nd st ret ch ers for 18 of his w ounded men .
Rea lizing t ha t a prompt eva cua tion of
18 st ret ch er ca ses over t he rugged t erra in
w ould t a ke a t lea st 100 a ble-bodied men,
G enera l Va ndegrift sent I .ieut ena nt
C olonel Rosecra ns’ 2d B at t a lion, 5t h Ma -
rines out t o reinforce P uller. Wit h t hisn ew st rengt h t o ba ck him up, P uller sent
a t wo-compa ny ca rry in g a nd securit y force
dow n by fire from a ut oma t ic w ea pons.
P uller ca lled in a rt illery a nd a ir, but t heenemy posit ions rema in ed a ct ive. B y 1600
t h e combin ed forces of P uller a nd Rose-
cra ns h ad sust ained 25 ca sua lt ies, a nd t he
a ct ion + $’a s broken off w hile t he Ma rines
st ren gt hen ed t heir posit ion s for t he n igh t.
Mea nw hile t h e ra ider ba tt a lion, on it s
w a y t o est a blish t h e pa t rol ba se a t
Kokumbona , h a d rea ch ed t he vicinit y of
t h e fire fight , a nd division direct ed G rif-
fit h t o join w it h 1/7 a n d 2/5 a n d t o pre-
pa re for a renew a l of t he a tt a ck next da y.
J fTit h t his la rge provisiona l group n ow
formed, Va ndegrift . sent C olonel E dson
up t o t a ke comma nd. P uller w ould a ct a s
ex ecu t iv e of ficer . E dson ’s pla n for t he
coordina ted a tt a ck next da y (27 S ept em-
ber) ca lled for t h e ra iders t o move some
2,000 ya rds inla nd, cross t he Ma ta nika u,
a nd en velop t h e enemy right a nd rea r
w hile 1/7 s uppor ted by fire a nd 2/5 st ruck
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ba ck w it h t he w ounded a nd pushed on
t ow a rd t he Ma t an ika u.
Th e g en er a l’s 24 S ept em ber com mu nica -
t ion s w it h P uller a lso ga ve t h e colonel
t he preroga tive of a lt er ing t h e origina l
pa t rol pla n so t ha t , he could conform t o
t he t ermina t ion da te of 26 S ept ember .
front a lly a cross t he river nea r it s mout h.
Th e a tt a ck bega n ea r ly on 27 S ept em-
ber , but fa iled t o ~ ~ in. Ma rines of 2/5
could not force a crossing, a nd t he ra iders’
in la nd m an euver st opped sh or t w hen G rif-
fit h ’s ba tt a lion en count ered a J a pa nese
force w hich h a d crossed t h e river during
316 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD AL C Ah TAL
2/5 t o resume t heir a tt acks a t 1330 w hile
t he I st 13a tt alion,7t h Ma rines (less C om -pa ny C ) m a dea n a mph ibious en velopm en t
w est of P oint C ruz t o st r ike t he ,J a pa nese
Ma ta nika u line from t he rea r.
U nder t he comma nd of Ma jor Who
Rogers, t he 1/7 t roops left K ukum in la nd-
ing cra ft just a s a st rong bombing ra id
ca me over from Ra ba ul. Th e d iv is ion
comma nd post t ook hea vy hit s w hich
w recked communica t ions, a nd t he de-
stroyer Bal la rd , suppor tin g t he la nd in g,
ha d t o slight her mission w hile t a king
ev a siv e a ct ion . The la nding a t. 1300 w as
unopposed, how ever, a nd t he compa nies
pushed ra pidly inla nd t ow a rd a high
gra ssy ridge + bout 500 ya rds from t he
beach.
B ut a s t he lea ding element s rea ched t he
t op of t his r idge, t hey w ere t a ken under
mortar a n d sma ll-a rms fire. Ma jor
Rogers w a s killed by a mort a r round a nd
hunt ing likely t ar get s w hile st aying clea r
of t he field a nd a ir enga gement s. .1s l~ ecircled overhea d, t he Ma r ines below
spel]ed out t he w ord “H elp” in w hit e
un der sh ir ts la id on t he h illside, a nd L eslie
ma na ged t o ma ke ra dio cont a ct w it h F ,d-
son a t t he mout h of t he Ma t a nika u xn d
r ela y t his d ist ress sig na l.
Tha t w as summons a plent y for P uller ,
ch afin g in F ,d son ’s pr ovision al com ma nfl
post w hile his ba tt zlion w ent off t o ba tt le
w it hout him. The combined a tt a ck a t t he
river mout h a nd inla nd clea rly ha d mis-
ca rr ied, a nd his men in 1/7 st ood exposed
t o t he full w ra t h of t he ,J a pa nese w est of
t he river . Wit h cha ra ct er ist ic direct ness,
t he lieu ten a nt colon el collect ed t he la n din g
cra ft a n d churned out t o boa rd t he B a 7-
Za rd. The ship a nd her skipper, soon
under t he P uller spell, st ea med t o t he
r escue close a sh or e, t he la nd ing cr aft in t he
w ake rea dy t o be used for a w it hdra wa l.
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C a pt a in Za ch D . C ox, C ompa ny B com-
ma nder, w as w ounded. C a pt a in C ha rles
W. K elly, <J r ., act ing second in com ma nd,
t ook cha rge of t he ba t t a lion just a s t he
enemy cut t he Ma rines off from t he bea ch.
Kelly found t ha t he could not communi-
I t w a s a da y for heroic a ct ion. WThen
t he force t ra pped a shore sa w t he ship
coming dow n t he coa st , S ergea nt Robert
D . Ra ysbrook st ood out on a hillock of t he
ridge a nd sema phored for a t t ent ion.
F rom t he bridge of t he B cdla rd P uller
AC TI ON ALONG TH E MATANI KAU 317
t hon y P . J la la now ski, ,J r . t ook a B row nin g
a llt ommt ic r ifle from a ma n drol)pecl ina ct ion a nd covered t h e w it h dra w a l of
(’om p a n y .4 un til lle h im self was overrun
a]id killed by t h e ,J a pw n ese. B ut by t l~ en
l~ is compa ny I Md r ea ched t he bea ch w here
it set up a ha st y defen se int o w h ich C om-
pa ny B a nd element s of C om pa ny D drew
s hor t ly t h er ea f ter .
Wit h t he Ma rines figh ting off t he en emy
I t t heir rea r, t h e la nding cra ft n ow m ovedshorew ar d t o begin t heir eva cua tion , a nd
t hereby exposed t hem selves t o h ea vy J a p a-
n ese fire from t he h igh gr ound a bove t h e
Ma rin es on t h e bea ch a n d from t h e pro-
ject in g t erra in of P oin t C ruz t o t he ea st .
Th e J a p an es e w er e d et er min ed n ot t o a llow
a t hw art in g of t heir t ra pj a nd t h e st iffen-
ing crossfire drove t he cra ft ba ck offshore
w here t he-y bobbed in ground sw ells a ndindecision.
Th is w a s obs er ved by L ieut en a nt L eslie,
Tile minia ture flot illa r et ur ned t o t h e
per im et er h ~ ndin g sit e a t K ukum by n igh t-fa ll. The a ct ion h a d cost t h is ba tt a lion 24
killed a nd 23 w oul~ ded. The ra iders a nd
2/5 likew ise w it hdrew a ft er l/~ got sa fely
clea r of t he P oin t C ruz a re:l , a n d t heir
ca sua lt ies a dded a not h er 36 dea d a nd 77
w oun ded t o t he t idly fOr t he OP er ilt iO1l.
A{ ’TION (7F 7-9 (?(YTQ13ER
(>ost ly a s t h is a ct ion a t t h e Ma ta nika uha d been, it confirmed t he da ta being col-
lect ed by int elligence a gen cies, a nd t hese
fa ct s over-a ll w ere a s import a nt a s t hey
w ere disq uiet in g. J a pa n ese sh ips st ill
en t ered G ua da lca na l w at ers n ea rly every
night , ba rges bea ch ed n long t he coa st indi-
ca t ed ma ny new la ndin~ s, a ir a t t a cks ha d
picked up a ga in since a compa ra t ive lLI1l
follow in g t he B a tt le of t he Ridge, a nd n owit w as clea r t h a t t h e ,J a pa nese t roops a s-
s em blin g on t he is la n d w er e con cen tr a tin g
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st ill keeping a w at ch ful eye on t he a ct ion
from his S B D , a n d he ca me dow n a ga in
t o len d a h a n d. Th e pilot st ra fed t h e
<J a pa nese posit ion s a nd t hen t urn ed t o
ma ke a few sw oopin g pa sses over t he la nd-
ing cra ft t o h er d t h em on t h eir w ay. Thus
just beyon d t he Ma ta nika u. An ot h er a nd
a stronger ,J a p a nes e cou nt er of fen siv e
loomed, a nd a lt hough defea t of t he lchiki
a n d K’awaguchi Forces ga ve t h e Ma rin es a
n ew con fidence in t h eir a bilit y t o hold t h e
per im et er , t h er e W:LS yet a not her fa ct or .
318 1’E ARJ , H AR BOR T() G U .kD .kLC ANAI .
.
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.%C TI ON AL OXG TH E MATANI KAU 319
C olonel Willia m ,J . Wha lin g,’ w ho com-
n mllded 3,/2 a nt i t he s cou t-s niper s on t his
special l ll issif)l l, lv :ksto le: lc ito ellvelol linel lt
by crossing t he M:~ t imika u some 2,()()()
ya rds upst rea m a nd t hen a tt a cking nort h
il~ to t he villa ge on t h e first r idge w est of
t he river. NI R1 ing w ould be follow ed by
t ile ‘it h Ma rin es ba tt a lion s w hich w ould
a lso a tt a ck nort h a brea st a ncl t o t he left of
t h e Wh al in g groLIp.
The 1st Ma rine Aircra ft Wing, w it h it s
composit e C a ct us F orce, w as t o provide
pla nes for infa nt ry lia ison, close a ir sup-
port , a nd a rt illery spot t ing. I n t he a rt il-
lery pla n , 1/11 w ould support t h e 7t h
Marines; 2/11, t he 5t h Ma rines; 5/11,
t h e Wh a ling G roup ; a nd 3/11 w ould be
in gen era l support . of t he Lun gs perim-
et er . I f a ll w ent w ell, Wh a ling>s a ssa ult
of t J apa nese posit ion s n ea r t h e coa st
w ould be follow ed by a 5t h Ma rin es river
crossin g, a pa ssa ge of Wha lin gt s lines,
a nd a pursuit of t he en emy t ow a rd P oin t
ma nd post , w ould coordina te t he ent ire
opera tion . Movement s of t he forces w ere
t o get underw a y on ‘i Oct ober, a n d t h e,
coordina ted a tt a ck w -ould j urnp off on 8
october.
F rom r ecen t, exper ien ce w it h t his gr o<’-
ing J a pa nese force, t he Ma rin es expect ed
a st iff t ight w it h a ll t he usua l a nd un usua l
obst a cles en count ered in ba tt le. B ut in
t h is ca se t h ere w as t o be one la rge fa ct or
t h ey h a d no rea son t o suspect . B y a n un-
for t una te coincidence t h e J a pa nese a lso
h a cl set 8 Oct ober a s t he da t e for a n a t -
t a ck of t heir ow n, a nd t h eir scheme could
ha rdly h a ve been a bet ter count er a ga inst
t he Ma rines ha d t hey been looking over
t he shoulders of Va ndegrift ’s st a ff. Ra -
ba ul h a d order ed C olonel Ta da ma su
Na ka gurna t o cross t h e Ma t a n ika u on 8
Oct ober w it h his .@h lnfa.nt t~y a nd est ~ b-
lish a rt illery posit ions -w hich could sup-
port t h e n ew count era tt a ck t h en in pla n-
n ing-. To a ccomplish t his mission, Na ka -
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C ruz w here t he 7t h Ma rin es on Wha ling’s
left . w ould close t he t ra p in fron t t o t h e
w it hdra wing enemy. The 3d B a tt a lion,
1st Ma rin es provided t he division reserve
for t he opera tion,’ a nd Va ndegrift ’s com-
W-ha ling h a d been promot ed t o t he ra nk of
guma sent a n en veloping force inla ncl
a cross t h e Ma ta nika u on 6 Oct ober w hile
he slipped t h e ca ut ious first echelon of a
br idgeh ea d a cross t he r iver n ea r t he coa st .
Th er e t he ,J a p a nes e for ces m et t he M a rin es
w h o moved from t he Lungs perimet er a t
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AC TI ON ALONG TH E MATANI KAU 321
I t w as a most , efiect ive a rra ngement for
methodical extermination, a nd P uller
a nd his men kept it up unt il mort ar a mmu-nit ion ra n low . Then t l~ ey w it hdrew t o
join t he Wha ling G roup a nd H a nneken,
a nd by 1400 t he combined ra iding force
ha d r et ired ea st of t he Ma ta nika u t hrough
t he covering posit ions of t he 5t h Ma rines
a nd t he r aid er s.7 Th e t hr ee-da y oper at ion
ha d cost t l]e Ma rines 65 dea d a nd 125
w ounded. .1 ,J a pa nese dia ry found la ter
by Ma rines pla ced t he -&h Znfant?y losses
a t 700 m en .
‘ positions at t h e r iver mout h w er e ret a ined t o
gua rd a ga inst a n ew J a pa nese crossing.
Ra in a nd t he t hrea t of a new count er-
offensive ha d t hw art ed t he Ma rines’, t it -
t a ck pla ns, but , t he a ct ion could st ill godow n in t he ga in column. The ra id ha d
t ripped up t he a tt ack Colonel Na ka gurna
ha d pla nned for t he sa me period, a nd it
ha d done a wa y w it h a grea t number of his
men. .knd in t he short t ime t ha t men of
t he ‘it h Ma rines ha d been a shore on t he
isla nd, t hey ha d ea rned ~ right t o ident ifi-
ca tion a s vet era n t roops. S o -w it h a com-
plet ely comba t-w ise division on ha nd—
m~ d Army reinforcement s on t he w ay—
Va ndegrift a nd his st a ff n ow m a de p]a n s
t o meet t he st rong J a pa nese a t t a ck t ha t
w as bea ring dow n upon t hem,
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CHAPTER 7
Japanese Counteroffensive
In spit e of t he misca rria ge of Na ka -
g-unM’s effort t o est a blish a bridgehea d
a cross t he Ma t a nika u, t he J apa nese
Seventeen th , Avmy con t i nu ed p rep a ra t i on s
for it s big push. on 9 Oct ober, t he sa me
d ay t ha t L ieut en ant C olonel P uller ca ugh t
a ma jor port ion of Na ka guma % @ ln.-
~ a nt iry bet w een t he devil of sma ll-a rms
a nd t he deep sea of a rt illery a nd mort a r
concentrations, Lye ven teen th .4n??y General
H aruyoshi H ya kut a ke la nded on G ua da l-
ca na l t o t a ke persona l cha rge of t he
J a pa n es e ca m pa ig n.
Things w ere ser ious but not despera te.
~ llt houg-b Icl]iki a nd Ka wa guchi ha d a l-
low ed unfounded opt im ism a nd overcon-
fidence t o sw amp t heir missions a gya inst
t a lions plus one ot her A.4A ba t t ery; a
hea vy regiment a nd a n independent t a nk
compa ny; one regiment a nd one ba tt alion
of mount a in a rt illery; a n engineer regi-
ment , a nd ot her t roops including a mort ar
ba tt a lion a nd a .unit of r econ na issa nce a ir -
cra ft . Inclllded in t his genera l list ing
w ere t he K tn mgw hi bm ”gad e, t he I ch iki
r ei n f ow ed 7 xzt t a7i on a nd ot her ba t ta lions
of t he ~th a nd I i?@h I nfan tr y Reg~m en ts
( Na ka guma ) a lrea dy defea t ed or w ea k-
ened by t he Lunga defenders.
B y rea son of t he odd impa sse in w hich
bot h t he ,J a pa nese a nd t he Allied na vies
chose t o a void decisive ba tt le t o conserve
t heir fleet s, t he S olom on s w a ter s ch an ged
ha nds every t w elve hours, a nd t hus ea ch
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t he Ma rines, H ya kut ake st ill ha d a st rong
for ce a nd a proud confidence t ha t he could
w ipe out t he I ,lmga posit ions in one blow .
.lnd w it h G ua da lca na l sa fely ba ck in
,J apa nese ha nk, Imper ia l t roops t hen
w ould ret a ke Tula gi a nd occupy Rennell
side kept a n import ant t rickle of a id going
t o it s sm a ll com ba t for ce w hich r epr esen ted
t he sin gle poin t. of gr oun d con ta ct bet w een
t he belligerent pow ers. In da ylight w hen
C a ct us could fly cover, t he Allied ships
ca me in from E spirit u S a nt o a nd ot her
. J AI ’AN E S E C OU N TE R OF F E NS I VE 3 23
G ua da lca na l bya bout 1800. Th is wa sju st
inside t h e ra nge of S BD ’S a nd TI I F ’s fromH en der son F ield , but , t he ma neuvering
sh ips ma de poor t arget s, a nd t he la te h our
ga ve t h e America n pla nes t ime for only
one cra ck a t t hem before t urn in g ba ck for
Lungs. i\ ft er t ha t t he lZxpress h a d a n
open line a ll t h e w a y t o S ea la rk.
Wh ile t ra ns por t dest roy er s un loa ded on
eit her side of t he Ma rine perimet er , J a pa -
n ese w arsh ips st ood close in a t Lun gs a ndw ent t o w ork w it h t heir gun s. Louie t he
Louse dropped fla res t o a id t h e na va l gun-
ners, a nd ~ ~ ?:t sllil~ g-hla clli~ le (la rlie
lurked overhea d t o fr it t er out his bombs
during lLdls in surfa ce fir ing. U nder such
a tt a cks t h ere w m lit t le t h e Ma rines could
do but crouch in t h eir foxholes a nd pra y-
er sw ea r. Lun gs defen ders could est ima te
150 new enemy ground soldiers for everydest royer t ra nsport -oft en five or six a
mght -t ha t ma de t he E xpress run , a nd by
ba tt a lions of t he 3 ’8 th D ;w k i on , on e regi-
m en t a n d t hr ee ba t ter ies of h ea vy a rt illery ,a ba t t a lion t t nd a ba t t ery of mount a in
a rt illery, a mort a r ba tt a lion, a t a nk com-
pa ny, a nd t hree ra pid-fire gun ba t t alions.
Special t roops in cluding engineers a nd
m ed ica l per sor mell a n d r em na n ts of ea r lier
a t t a cks brought t he J apa nese force t o
about , 20,000men.
F acin g t his m oun tin g J a pa n ese s tr en gt h
w as a Ma rine force of a bout t h e sa me size.Arr iva l of t he 7t h Ma rines a nd t he t ra ns-
fer of ot h er t roops from Tula gi bolst ered
G en er al Va n degr ift ’s Lu nga pos it ion s, bu t
unt il 7 Oct ober t here w as lit t le hope t ha t
more rein forcement s w ould be for t hcon~ -
ing. Rea r a rea s in t he S out h P acific h a d
ga in ed lit tle st ren gt h sin ce Va ndegr ift h ad
a rgued for cont rol of h is 7t h Ma rines, a nd
t he pla n for t h e occupa tion of Ndeni st illw a s in t he pen ding ba sket . Marine
st ren gt h t h us promised t o clet er iora te
w hile .J a pa nese
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ea rly oct ober t h ese t roops bega n t o la nd
insult ingly close, just a cross t he Ma ta ni-
ka u eight t o t en miles from H en derson
F ield. The Allied t urn t o use t he w a ters
ca me a t da yligh t , but U . S . for ces did not
h a ve t he ma n pow er t o ma tch t he ,J a pa nese
w hile .J a pa nese st ren gt h cont inued t o
moun t . More t ha n 800 Ma rine ba tt le ca s-
ua lt ies h a d been eva cua ted by ea rly ~ ct o-
ber , a nd ma la ria cont in ued t o t ake it s t oll}
Th e C a ct us fliers w ere not doin g much
more t h a n holding t heir ow n, eit h er . B y
324 P EARL H AR B OR TO G CAD AL C ANTAL
t heir sh ar e of losses. On t he fir st da y of
Oct ober G enera l G eiger ha d 58 pla nes;t wo da ys la ter t he count st ood a t 49.
I f t he J ~ pa nese h a d fa iled t o w in, pla ce,
or show w it h Ichiki, Ka wa guchi, a nd Na -
ka guma , t he Allies likew ise ha d been un-
a ble t o improve t heir odd s by a ny com fort -
a ble m argin , To G enera l H a rmon t he
sit ua tion looked a bout a s grim a s it ha d on
11 ilt t gust w hen he expressed doubt t ha t
t he Ma rines could hold t heir per imet er ,a nd on 6 Oct ober he w rot e t o Admira l
(lh or mley t ha t t he Nden i oper at ion sh ould
be q ua shed unt il t he sit ua tion improved.
H e q uest ioned t he logic of holding t roops
idle for a new opera tion w hen t hings w ere
going so poor ly in a ba tt le a lrea dy joined.
H e a dmit t ed cert a in fa ct ors fa voring t he
Ndeni occupa tion, but he a dded t ha t, “. . .
in t he fina l a na ly sis t hey a re individua llyor cum ula t ively vit a l t o t he success of m ain
offensive opera tion or . . , ma int a ining
securit y of S out h P a cific ba ses a nd lines of
a nd on 8 OG t ober he ordered Admira l
Turner t o emba rk t he 164t h Infa nt ry oft he America l D ivision, H armon’s choice
for t he job, a n d depa rt Noumea for
G ua da lca na l on 9 (lct ober .
I t w a s t o be a blocka de run in force.
Transports Zei[ in a n d . U c(’a w 7 ey , carry-
ing supplies, 210 n len of t h e 1st Nla r ine
Aircra ft l l~ in~ a n d 85 YLir ine ca sua ls a s
w ell a s t he 2)850 men of t h e ~ rmy r egi-
men t , sa iled un der escor t of t h ree de-st royers a n d t hr ee min e la yers w h ile a
la rger for ce of four cruisers a n d five de-
st royers st ea med off t he con voy% left fla nk.
Th es e cr uis er s, San Fr an ci sco, Sal t L ake
(’i t y, H el en a, a nd B oise a nd dest royers
B u ch an an , W .vn ea n, F w en hol t , L a f ley, a nd
.VcCaUa w e r e comma n ded by Rea r Ad-
mira l Norma n S cot t . Ot her L“. S . Na va l
for ces in t he sur roun din g w a ter s in clud edR ea r Admir al G eorge D . Mur ra y’s H ornet
ca rrier group som e 180 miles sout hw est of
G ua da lca na l, a nd Rea r Admira l Willis
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com mu nica t ion s.” s
S pecifica lly , H armon recommended
a ba ndoning t he Ndeni opera tion unt il t he
G ua da lca na l sit ua t ion improved; rein-
forcement s of C act us (G ua da lca na l) by a t
August us L ee>s ba tt leship Washington
gro~ lp a bout 50 miles ea st of Ma lia t a .
S cot t ’s s cr een in g s ta t ion for t he u nloa d in g
w a s nea r Rennell I sla nd.
. TAP AN E S E C O U NTE R OF F E NS I VE 325
.~ctuallj’ S cot t hea ded t o int ercept a
for ce st ron ger t ha n r epor ts h ad ind ica ted.
observers fa iled t o spot t hree hea vy
cruisers, t wo sea pla ne ca rriers, a nd eight
dest royers st ea ming some dist ance a wa y
out side of The Slot . J a pa nese Vice Ad-
mira l G unichi Mika wa , comma nder of t he
E igh th F leet a nd t he (2ut er flea Forces,
a nd Vice Admira l J inichi Kusa ka , EZev-
en th Ah Z Veet comm ander, ha d t ea med up
t o st rike t he st rongest blow yet a ga inst t he
bot hersome (’~ ct us fliers. In t he a ft er-noon of t he llt hj Kusa ka ha d 30 fight ers
md 35 bombers up t o occupy H enderson
fliers w hile Mika wa ’s bomba rdment a nd
r ein for cing g roups st ea med sout h out sid e
the norma l J a pa nese t ra nspor t rout e.
H ea vy cruisers A oh, Kinugaau, a nd
3’u~wtaka wi t h , des t royers Hatswyu& a nd
Fubuki ma de up t he bomba rdment group
w hile t he reinforcing fleet included sea -pl a ne ca r r ie rs (’hitose a n d iV&s hin , a n d d e-
stroyers A k& & -i , .4.sagu m o, N at au gw no,
Y am a gu m o. M u r a ku r n o, a nd f i h i rayuk i .
Fla gship S an Pranczkco, w it h r ud im en -
t a ry ra da r of t ha t ea rly period, ha d no
cont a ct s, a nd S cot t cont inued t o st ea m
t ow a rd S a vo w it h his ships in column.
H e. c oun ted t his t he best a rea for in ter wpt -
ing t he E xpress he hoped t o dera il, a nd a t
a bout 2340 he ha d r eversed course t o hea d
ba ck t ow a rd t he Ca pe w hen t he H elena ,
a t la st confident a bout t he blips from her
bet ter r ad ar eq uipm en t, a nn oun ced her fix
of a t a rget six miles a wa y. Fort una tely,
since t he U . S . fleet w a s ha ving “eye”
t rouble, t he J a pa nese ships w ere com-
plet ely blind, a nd even t hough cert a in
com mu nica t ion s m is un der st a nd in gs 5 fu r-
t her dela yed America n fire, first sa lvos
from t he H elena a t 2346 ca ught t he enemy
by complet e surprise. S cot t 7s ships ha d
usur ped Tokyo’s t ur n in S ea la rk C ha nn el.
The Sal t L ake Ci ty, B oi se, a nd Fccrem
bolt quickly a dded t heir fire t o t ha t of t he
H elena , a nd short ly t herea ft er t he U . S .
fleet crossed t he J a pa nese “T” (sa iled
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By a bout 2 2 00, w hile S cot t m a neu ver ed
in t he w a t ers of I ron B ot t om S ound be-
t w een Sa vo Isla nd a nd C a pe E spera nce,
t he ,J a pa nese bomba rdment group ca me
int o The Slot a nd st ea med sout h in a
a hea d of t he J a pa nese column a nd a t r ight—a ngles t o it ) so t ha t a ma jorit y of t he
America n guns could bea r on ea ch J a pa -
nese ship a s it ca me forw a rd. The J a pa -
nese destroyer Fubuki sa nk a lm ost a t on ce,
326 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD AL C ANAL
S cot t coulcl count t ile en ga gem ent a vic-
t ory, but it did not resolve t he seesa wingfor pow er in t he S olomons w at ers or skies.
The ,J a pa nese only st epped LIp their air
a t ta cks on H en der son F ield a nd con tinued
prepa ra tions for t he big push.
PREPAl i .4T 10N FOR BAT TL E
Transports M cCauJey a nd Zeilen a r-
rived a t Kukum w it h t he Army reinforce-
ment s ea rly on 13 Oct ober, but t his w a s
one of t he few bright spot s of t he da y.
B ot h ra da r a nd t he N’ort hern S olomons
coa st w a tchers missed a n a ir a t t a ck t ha t
ca me over a t 1202, a nd t he F 4F >S could n’t
ge t U p ill t ime t o lr,lmper t h e 22 fi~hter-
e.scort ed bombers t ha t ra ined dow n t heir
bombs from 30J )O0 f eet . B ot h H enderson
Field a nd Fight er 1 w ere da ma ged, a nd
fir es fr om t he a t ta ck bur ned 5,000 ga llons
of a via tion fuel.
B et ween 1330 a nd 1400 z second st rike
t erba tt ery ra nge, t hese w ea pons bega n a
slow met hodica l regist ra tion on t he fielda nd t he perimet er . The fire w a s a bra nd
of da ma ge a nd dest ruct ion t he men a t
Imnga lra d t o live w it h, a nd so t o ha ve a
pinpoint t a rget for t heir a nger if not t heir
w ea pons t hey na med t his new ent ra nt in
t heir w ar P ist ol P et e.
P et e, a s w a s most oft en t he ca se w it h
Louie t he Louse a nd Wa shing-Ma chine
(Xha rlie, w as plura l. H ya kut a ke ha dla nded 15 of t hese how it zers. B ut for t he
Ma rines a nd soldiers it w a s difficult t o
ima gine ba tt eries get t ing t ha t persona l,
xnd P et e>s pa rt icula r bra nd of hell w as a
most persona l a nd singula r t hing. S o
P et e beca me one enemy, t he devil him-
self—t he devil a nd one big gun a ct ing a s
Tojo’s per son a l N im rod .
And a ft er he t humped a w a y a t t heperimet er a ll t ha t da y, a n enemy t ask force
built a round ba t t leships H a runa a nd
Kongo ca me int o Sea la rk Cha nnel a ft er
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of 15 ,J a pa nese bombers ca ught most of
t he America n pla nes ba ck on t heir fields
refueling. S ome pla nes w ere da ma ged,
a nd t he st r ike undid t he repa ir w ork t ha t
h ad been st a rt ed by t he 6t h S ea bees follow -
ing t he ea rlier ra id. A few C a ct us pla nes
n ig ht fa ll t o la un ch a n 80-m in ut e bom ba r d-
ment .7 This w a s t he J a pa nese Combat
WU isvkn 3, com ma nded by Vice. Adm ir al
Ta keo Kurit a , a nd it a lso included light
cruiser IYUmL a nd t hr ee sh ips of D est roy er
, J AP AX ES E C OU X TE R OF I ’E N S IVE 327
I ncomplet ely knock out t he Ma rine a ir a nd
~ clea r t h e w ay for a coordina ted infa nt ry
a tt a ck. I .o~ lie t h e I .ouse illllmina ted t he
t ielcl, :~ l ~ clt lle b ig g lllls cllt loos e. C ocon ut
t r ees s plin t er ed , b uil(lin gs a n d l~ u t ,sr ip ped
open a n d cra sh ed dow n , fra gment s a nd
w recka ge t ore in t o pla nes a nd men , a nd
m or e ga solin e w en t u p in br igh t fir es w hich
h elped J a pa nese gunnersst ayon t arget for
t heir syst ema t ic covera ge of t he field w it h
m or e t ha n 900 r olln ds of t he h ig h explos ive
shells.
; ~ s~ i {l i~ l i r a lr r :~ l l :~ k : i cl escr ib ed i t l a t er :
The scene w as t opped off by fla re bombs from
our observa tion pliines fly ing o~ -er t he field, t he
w hole spect a cle ma king t he Ryogokn t irew orks
displa y seem like mere child’s pla y. The night ’s
pit ch da rk w a s t ra n sformed by t ire int o t he
brightness of da y. S pont aneous criesmrd shout s
of excit em en t ra n t hr ough out ou r sh ips.8
Then , a s t he ships beca me silent a n d
w it hdrew ea st of S a vo I sla nd, t he pla nes
ca m eba ck. h Tigh tbon lber s con tin ued t heir
st rikes int ermit t ent ly unt il da ybrea k,
2,000”y ar d st ret ch of H en der son t ha t st ill
w as usa ble a nd fly ba ck t o E spir it u S ant e.
Th e ,J a p an ese “P a goda ,” a ir h ea dq ua rt er s
since t h e ea rly da ys, ha d been pa rt ia lly
w recked, a nd G enera l G eiger ha d it bull-
dozed a w a y. I t h a d proved t oo good a
r egis tr :lt ion poin t, for bom ber s, a n yw a y.
For t h e rest of t h e da y t h e ,J apa n ese
sh ips ma in t a ined t heir cont rol of t he
w a ters a round G ua dzlca na l, a nd pla nes
cont in(led t o pr ess t heir a dva nt a ge in t he
a ir. B et w een t he bombin gs a nd t he shell-ings, P ist ol P et e’s effect ive in terdict ion
prevent ed repa ir or use of t he ma in a ir-
st rip, a nd by mida ft ernoon H en derson h ad
t o be cha lked OR a s complet ely un fit for
use. B y la t e a ft ernoon fliers of t h e
Army’s 67t h F igh ter S qua dron a nd 13 dive
bomber pilot s used F igh ter l—a nd n ea rly
a ll of H enderson’s rema ining supply of
fu el—t o st rike ba ck fin ally a t t he J a p an eseby a t t a cking a n ea rly run of t h e Tokyo
E xpress t h en only 70 miles nort h of
G ua da ]ca na l. One ship w a s sun k a nd a n-
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a nd by da wn of 14 Oct ober t h e C a ct us Air
F orce could fly only 42 of t he 90 ph mes
t ha t h ad been oper at ion al 24 h our s ea rlier.
F ort y-onernen ha d been killed a nd ma ny
m or e -w oun dedj a n d t he a ir field w a s a com -
plet e s ha m bles . Among t h e dea d w ere
ot h er da ma ged, but t he E xpress did n ot
t u rn b a ck .
Tha t night , (14 Oct ober) t h e J a pa nese
cr u is er s C h .ok oi a n cl Kinu.gasa m ov ed d ow n
t he cha nnel t o bomba rd H en derson F ield
P 13AR L H .4R BOR TO G U AD AL CAh TAL
f ly. 1311tone of t hese pla nes h a d t o be
scr at ched ~ v]lel~ it t um bled i~ lt o w cra ter
on t ile w a y t o t he st r ip, a nd Lieut ena nt ,
Robelt M. P a tt erson lost S 13D num ber t wo
w l~ en t ile pla ne hit ii S hell hole w hile he
ra ced for his t a keoff. P at t erson t ried it
a ga in w it h t he la st dive bomber , a n d t his
t ime be ma de it . H is sin gle-pla ne a t ta ck
(lid not lmmper t he ,J a pa nese much, but
w hile l~ e w a s flying, t he ground crew s
qllickly pa t ched ot her phmes. I t re-s em bled a ll in for nla l n eig hb or h ood b oxkit e
club, w it l~ members ha rdly a ble t o w ait
for w ork t o be complet ed before t hey
t est ed t heir cra ft sma nship. one a t a t ime
t he first folm plw nes w ere t a ken up t o
lm ve a cha nce a t t he cocky J a pa nese t ra ns-
por t s. Tw o minor hit s w ere scored, but
G enera l G eiger st opped t he a ssem bly line
comba t a ct ion unt il he could must er morestrengthos
i~ t 1000 C a ct us w a s rea dy w it h 12
SBD’S, and t hey w ent up t o drop 500- a nd
con fid en t in t l~ is d ar in g da ylight deliver y
of h is r ei nf or ce n~ e n t s.E ven G enera l G eiger ’s ow n pilot , Ma jor
.J :w k C ra n~ , l]a d his t urn d~ lr ing t ha t, cla y
of clespera tioll w hen he ma de a run on t he
t ra nspor ts w it h t w o t or ped oes slun g un der
t he w ings of t he genera l’s B 7ue G oo,se, a
bulbous m~ cl gout y P 13Y-5A. C ra m got
t he t orpedoes off, but t hen he w as cha sed
ba ck t o Fight er 1 b y a clut ch of Zeros, like
spa rrow s a round a ponderolls ha wk, a ndone det ermined enemy fight er ha d t o be
shot , a w a y from t he smoking ~ oose a s
Cra m ca me in for his la nding.
B y da y’s en d t hree bombed t ra nspor t s
of 7,000 t o 8,000 t ons ea ch w ere bea ched
a nd b~ wning off Ta ssa fa ronga t a nd t he
ot her t wo IMC 1led ba ck up S ea la rk C ha n-
nel a nd The S lot . B ut in spit e of t his, t he
J a pa nese h a d ma na ged t o unloa d 3,000 t o4,000 men of t he %Wth a nd 16 th l n fcv n.t r y
Regi?nents a s w ell a s 80 per cent of t he
ships’ ca rgo. These t roops, t he la st t he
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1,000-pound bom bs on t he t ra nsport s a nd
t l~ en st ra fe t heir decks. Tha t, a tt ack sa nk
one of t he t ra nspor t s. Next ca me a tt a cks
fr om 1’–39’s a nd t he r elic P 400’s, a nd fir es
broke out , on t w o of t he ships. Aft er t ha t,
.J a pa uese w ere a ble t o la nd pr ior t o t heir
concent ra ted effort a ga inst t he a irfield,
brought G enera l H ya kut ake’s st rengt h on
t he isla nd t o a bout 20,000 men.
G enera l Va ndegr ift now ha d a pproxi-
. J AP AX E SE (’O ~ XTE R OF F E X’S I VE 329
B a tt alion w it h elem ent s of t he 1st S pecinl
We+ lpons B a t t alion, a mphibia n t ra ct or-men, pioneers, a nd engineers w ho held
7,1OO ya rds of bea ch t ha t st ra ddled t he
I mn.ga River. (S ee Ma p23, Ma p S ect ion)
.S ect or Tw o-The 164t h Infa nt ry a nd
elem en ts of specia l w ea pon s u nit s w it h con -
t rol of a 6,600-ya rd line from t he bea ch
inla nd a long t he I lu River a nd t hence w est
t o a point nezr t he ea st slope of B loody
Ridge.S ect or Three-The 7t h Ma rines (less 3d
B at t a lion ), a 2,500-ya rd front of inla nd
jungle from B loody Ridge w est t o t he
I mn ga R iver .
S ect or Four-The 1st Ma rines (less 3d
Battalion), 3,5oo ya rds of jungle from t he
Lungs w est , t o t he inla nd fla nk of t he fina l
sector.
.S ect or F ive—Th e 5t h Ma rin es h old ingt he nort hw est curve of t he m ain perim et er
fron~ t he fla nk of t he 1st Ma rines nort h t o
t he sea a nd t hen ea st a long t he bea ch t o
a ir field. On 15 (lct ober in K okurnbona he
issued his a tt ack or der t o Lieut ena nt C ~ en-er a l Ma sa o Ma r uy a ma >s gd D;?)hion. D a t e
for t he a ssa ult w as set t ent a t ively for 18
oct ober. The %’dDilvkion w ould sw ing fa r
inla nd t o hit t he Ma rines from t he sout h
w it h a night a t t a ck in t w o columns of ba t -
t alions w hile t he ,Yeventeenth Amwy art i l-
lery commander, G enera l S um iyoshi,
w ould shell t he perim et er a nd t hen la unch
a diversiona ry st r ike w it h infa nt ry unit snea r t he mout h of t he Ma t a nika u. F or
t his coa st a l a tt a ck S umiyoshi ha d a force
of some 2,900 men comprising t he ba t -
t a lions of t he J th Z nfcm t~ plus a t a nk
com pa n y, s even ligh t field a r tiller y pieces ,
fift een of t he 150m m how it zers, a nd t hree
100nlm gLILIS.
F or his inla nd a t t a ck, Ma ruya ma ha d
some eight or nine infa nt ry ba t t a lionst ot a ling 5,600 men, plus a rt illery a n d
support ing t roops. G enera l K aw aguchi,
w ho ha d t r ied his ha nd in t he sa me a rea
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t he w est fla nk of t he 3d D efense B a tt alion,
S in ce t l~ e ,J a pa nese a t ta ck w a s expect ed
from t he w est a cross t he Ma t a nika u, t he
gr ea t est st ren gt h w a s con cen tr at ed on t ha t
sicle of t he per imet er . F orw ard of t he 5t h
before, w ould comma nd t he right a rm of
t he a ssa ult w it h t wo ba tt a lions of t he %KIth
Znfant ry , one ba t t a lion of t he l 2@h Zn-
fant ry , a nd element s of t he 3’d L ight
Trench Mortar BattaZion9 6t~ a nd 7th lm -
330 1’E .4R L H AR ROR TO G U AD AL CANTAL
hfa ruya rna ’s signa l of vict ory a t t he a ir-
fielcl, mld his a t t a ck from t h e sollt l~ w a sordered t o press unrelent ing clest ruct ion
upon t he en emy ul~ til C xenera l l~ nn cle~ rift
himself ca me for t h t o surren der .
Thus ch a rgecl , G en era l fi~ a ruya ma
st ruck out t h rough t he ju~ lgle w ilderness
on 16 Oct ober .
Tra nsport at ion w -a s pedest ria n, ca rgo
moved on bendeii ba cks, a nd ha nd pow er
drove t he engilieering t ools. ‘1’hus t he
column of enveloping ,J a pa nese inched
sin gle file a cr oss t he t or tu ou s C iua da lca n al
ba ck count ry like a segment ed serpent
cra wling t hrough t ile perpet ua l w et sha d-
ow s of t he t ropica l forest .
The so-ca lled Ma ruya ma Tra il, begunby engineers in S ept ember, scra tched it s
t hin sca r a long t he floor of t he jungle
sout hw ard from Kokumbona , ea st a cross
n~ ort a rs a lso beca me t oo burdensome t o
n~ a na ge. F req llent 1y un sur e of t hei r exa ctloca tion in t he j(ln g]e, t he .J a pa nese by 19
Oct ober st ill ha d not crossed t he ripper
Lungs, a nd ~ Ma ruyma post poned his
a ssa nlt unt il t he 22d. Mea nw hi]e C ~ en-
er a l S um iy osh i’s fift een P ist ol P et es
poun decl t he L unga per im et er , a ir a t ta cks
con tin ued , a n d I mper ia l w a rs hips st ea m ecl
bra zenly int o S ea la rk (Xa nnel nea rly
every night t o shell t be a ir field, bea ches,a n d M a rin e pos it ion s.
Th e t em po of a ct ion obviou sly w a s build -
ing up for t he count eroffensive, a nd
Ma r in es a n d sold ier s w or ked con st a rt t lj~ t o
im pr ove t heir field for tifica tions a nd keep
LIp a n a ggressive pa tr ol sch ed (de. pa tr ok3
clid not go fa r enough a field, how ever, t o
discover Ma ruya ma ’s w ide-sw inging en-
veloping for ce, a nd reconna issa nce t o t heeast fOLU ld no indica t ions of a ,J apilnese
build-up on t ha t fla nk. ThLM G en era l
~ ~ a ndegrift a nd his st a ff w er e a w a re only
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t he Ma ta nika u a nd t he Lungs inla nd from
Mount Aust en, a nd t hen nor th t o a n a ssenl-
bly a rea sout h of B loody Ridge. S a fely
beyond ra nge of Ma rine pa t rols a nd
hidden from a eria l view by t he vine-la ced
of S umiyosh i’s t hrea t a ]on g t he coa st from
t he w est .
Th ere t h e first probe ca me on 20 Oct ober .
~ .J a pa n ese comba t , pa t rol , a ugment ed by
t w o t a nks> ven t ured int o view on t h e w est
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332 I ’E ARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC Ah TAL
ba t t:~ l ioll lla clt nke]~ z few ca su alt ies fr om
a rt illery a nd mort a r fire, but neit her oft hese first t wo a tt mcks h ad posed a ser ious
t h rea t .
At t he Ma ta nika u posit ions on 22 Oct o-
ber S umiyoshi cont inued fir ing his mor-
t a rs a ncl a rt illery but mount ed no new
a ssa ult . I nla nd, G enera l Ma ruya ma
st ruggled w it h t he jungle some dist a nce
from his lines of depa rt ure, a nd he w a s
forced t o post pone his pr oposed a ssa ult t o23 Oct ober. B ut on t ha t da y he st ill w a s
unprepa red t o a tt ack a nd a ga in he set ba ck
h is pla ns a not her 24 h our s.
At a bout 1800 on t he 23d, how ever,
S um iy oshi on ce m or e in ten sified h is a rt il-
lery a nd mort a r fire t o la y dow n a n ort ho-
dox prepa ra t ion pa t t ern on t he Ma r ine
ea st ba nk posit ions a nd a long t he coa st al
rout e from t he Lungs P erimet er . Neart he end of evening na ut ica l t w ilight t he
a rt illery fire cea sed, a nd a column of nine
lt l-t on medium t anks churned a cross t he
The ot her eight hulks rema ined st rew n
a long t he sa nd ba r a cross t he river mout h,:Lnd a rt illery fire knocked out t hree more
t a nks t lmt never got t o a tt ack. H unclreds
of t he enemy soldiers w ho ha d been w ait -
ing t o follow t he t a nks w ere killed. The
a ct ion w a s over by 2200~ a lt hough a t a bout
midnight t he ,J apa nese ma de a ha lf-
hea rt ed a tt empt t o cross t he river fa rt her
upstream. This t hrust w as t urned ba ck
w it h lit t le t rou ble.F rom his st udy of int er roga tions of t he
J a pa nese gen er als in volved, D r. ,J oh n Mil-
ler , J r ., sums up:
S umiyosh i h a d sent on e t a nk compa n y a n d
on e infa n t ry regiment for w a rd t o a t t a ck a pre-
pa red posit ion over a n obvious a pproa ch rout e
w hile t he Am erica ns w ere ot herw ise un en ga ged.
Th e Ma ruya ma force, st ill m o~ -in g in la nd, h ad n ot
r ea ch ed it s l in e of depa rt ure. I n 1946, t h e re-
slxmsible com ma nders ga ve different rea sons for
t he la ck of co-ordin a tion a nd bla med ea ch ot her .
According t o H ya kut a ke, th is piecemea l a tt a ck
h a d been a mist a ke. Th e coa st a l a t t a ck w a s t o
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sa ndspit in a n a tt empt t o force a penet ra -
t ion. I n a ssembly a rea s t o t ile rea r in-
fa nt ry t roops st ood by t o a ssa ult in t he
w ake of t he t a nks.
S lim-ba rreled 37’s a ga in bla st ed a t t he
h a ve been delivered a t t h e sa me 1ime a s Ma ru-
ya ma ’s forces st ruck a ga inst t he sout hern per im e-
t er l in e. ~ fa ruya ma , a ccordin g t o H ~a kut a ke,
w a s t o h a ve n ot ified t he btlln fantrg w h en h e
r ea ch ed h is lin e of depa rt ure on 23 Oct ober , a n d
h e so not ified t h e 4t lb I n fant ry . Th e r eg im en t
. J . %P A XE S E C O I ~ XTE R O FF E h TS I W2 333
ill da ylight hours. Tel ep hon e com m un i ca t i on
l t i td been frequent ly disrupted. AS a r es u lt t h e
coa st force hiid been one da y behind in it sknmvledgeof Maruyama ”smovement . ”
Mea n w h ile t he Ma rin e division” h a d
st a r t ed a sh ift of ma n pow er w it hin t h e
perimet er . I n t he fa ce of S umiyosh i’s a t-
t a cks, a nd w it h n o pa trol cont a ct s t o t h e
s ou t]l or ea s tj t he 2d B a t t a lion j 7t h Ma r in es
on 23 (M ober pulled out of it s sout hern
1ines ea st of t h e LLIIIga a nd moved w est
t o relieve t he 3d 13a tt alion, 1st Ma rines a tt h e mout h of t h e Ma ta nika u. This left t h e
1st B a t ta lion, 7t h Ma rines (P uller) w it h a
responsibilit y for t h e defense of a ll of
S ect or F ive, t h e 2,500-ya rd defense lin e
fronl t h e inla nd fla nk of t he 164t h I nfa n-
t ry w est a cross t he sout h ern slopes of
B looc]y Ridge t o t he Lunga River . P ul-
ler”s ext en ded lin es w ere t hin, but t here
a ppea red ver y lit tle da nger fr om t he sou th .H a nneken’s 2/7 did not effect it s in-
t en ded relief, how ever , beca use of t h e
h ea vy ,J a pa n es e a rt iller y fir e t ha t en ga ged
jungle ra vines a bout 1,000 ya rds sout h of
H ill 67 before t hey could be enga ged. I n
t h e fa ce of t h is t h rea t a ppa ren t ly hea ded
for t he 4,000-y a rd ga p bet w een t he Ma t a ni-
ka u out post a nd t he Lunga perimet er , 2/7
w as a ssign ed t o plug t his hole, a nd t h e 3d
B at t alion, 1st Ma rines ret a ined it s posi-
t ion s overlooking t he bench a nd t he Ma -
tanikau.
I .a ter t h e sa me da y ca me ot her indica -
t ion s t h a t t he S umiyoshi a ct ion w ould not
be t h e only J apa n ese effor t a ga inst t heperimeter. La t e in t he a ft ern oon of 24
Oct ober a n observer in t he 1/7 lines sout h
of t he a ir field sa w a J a pa n ese. officer s tu dy -
ing B loody Ridge t h rough field gla sses,
a nd a scout -sn iper pa trol report ed seein g
t he smoke from “ma n y rice fires” in t h e
Lungs va lley a bout t w o miles sout h of
P uller ’s posit ion s on t he Ridge. B y t his
t ime t w iligh t w a s set t lin g over G ua da l-ca na l, a n d t here w a s lit t le t he Ma rines
could do but w ait out development s from
exist ing posit ions. The only t roops not in
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3/1 on t he 23d, a nd on t h e follow ing da y a
])ew a ssign ment w as given t o t he 7t h Ma -
rines ba tt a lion. On t he 24t h t he Ma rines
of 3/7 on H ill 67 sout h of t he Ma ta nika u
n lout h h ad spot ted a J a pa nese column , ob-
fron t lines w ere t h ose in reserve in t he
va rious defen sive s ect or s a nd t he 3d B a t ta -
lion , 2d Ma rin es, t he division r eser ve, t hen
bivo{la cked n or th of H en der son F ield.
Th e rice fires a nd t he officer w it h field
334 P EARL H ARB OR TO G ~ TAL)ALC ANAI ,
w it l~ l]ea vy ra in), t he ,J a pa nese genera l
ordered a na rrow a tt a ck over t he ground
Ka wa guchi’s force ha d a ssa ult ed in micl-
September. Tile pla in effor t w a s a ssig ned
t o t he Z9th l nf w nt r y, with t he 16th I nf an -
t r y i n reserve , wh i le .fa r t h er t ot h eea s t t h e
K aw aguchi comma nd-now led by C olonel
‘1’os llin a ri S h oji “ —w as t o ma ke a pa ra l-
lel iWSalllt.
;~t a bout 2130 a ,J a pa nese unit cla shed
briefly w it h z 46-111211 out post P uller ha d
st a tioned forw ard of his t act ica l w ire, but
a ft er a shor t fire fight t he enemy bypa ssed
t he posit ion, a nd t he ba tt lefield w a s q uiet .
P la t oon S ergea nt Ra lph B riggs, J r., in
c]]a rge of t he out post , not ified P uller t ha t
a la rge force of ,J a pa nese w ere moving
a bout t he out post l~ ill t ow a rd t he ba t ta lion
lines, but P uller ordered his men t o ho]cl
t ir e so t ha t B r ig gs coL dcl in filt ra t e t o sa fet y.B ut t he out post a lrea dy w as fla nked by t he
,J a p a nese m ovin g a round t he hill, a nd
B riggs led his men t o t he ea st w hile t he
enemy moved closer t o P uller ’s ba tt alion
t heir a tt ack. Then xt 0030 on 2’5 Oct ober,
S :1s 11’sn len ca m e olt t of t he ju ng le scr ea n -
in g t heir b(mzaisj t hrow ing gr ena des, a nd
f il ’i l~ .gr if les a l ~c ll n:~c ll il le g ll ll s t o s t r ik e t , ]l e
left cent er of 1/7’s line w it h a n a ssa ult
in del)t ll on a na rrow front . P uller ca lled
i 11m or ta r a nd a rt iller y con cen tr at ion s h is
r i fl en len t ook LIp a steady fire, and the ma-
cl]il~e guns ra tt led a lmost endless bt w st s
(I olv n t h eir t in a l pr ot ect iv e lin es .
F ronl P uller ’s left , t roops of t he 2d
Ra tt a ]ion, 1Wt h Infa nt ry a dded t heir fire
t o t ha t of t he Ma rines, but st ill t he J a pw
nese a ssa ~ ~ lt ed, t rying t o rush a cross t he
fie]ds of fire t ow a rd t he Riclge. The a t -
t a ck kept llp for 10 or 15 minut es, but
fina lly grouud it self t o a ha lt a ga inst t he
combined a rms of t he U . S . force. Then
t here w a s a l~ dl w hile t he ,J a pa nese re-
groupe(l a nd ca me ba ck a ga in , t rying t o
clea r a pel~ et ra t ion w it h t heir gr en ades a nd
sma l 1 a rms. The Ma rine co&la nder a s-
sessed correct ly t ha t his men w ere st and-
il~ g off t he ma in a t t a ck of Ra ba ul?s big
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a l]d bega n t o cut t he t zct ica l w ire in front
of t he 1/7 posit ion s.14
While P uller ’s m en st ra inecl t o nea r t he
a pproa ching enemy a bove t he sound of
count er offensive: a nd t ha t t he for ce in t ile
jllng]e t o his front obviously w as st rong
enol[gh t o keep S UC 1la tt acks going most
of t he night . H e ca lled for reinforce-
, TAP A XE S E C O ~ X TE R O FF E X TS I VE 335
t ile m or ta r posit ion w on ba ck t he t ube fr om
t ile en em y, a n d in t he m a ch in e-g un sect ion
S ergea nt ,J ohn B a silone t ook rescue ma t-
t ers int o l~ is ow n ha ncls. For t his a ct ion
a ]~ d l a ter h er oism in br aving J a pa nese fir e
t ob ril~ g llp a m mu nit ion , I ?m silon e.b eca m e
t he first enlist ed Ma rine of World Wa r I I
t o w ill t he Meda l of H onor. ‘5
.~ s t hese a tt a cks cont inued, (2010nel
H all’s soldiers bega n t o a rrive in sma ll de-
t a chment s. P nller ma de no a t t empt t o
give t his ba t t a lion a line of it s ow n on his
t hrea tened front , but inst ea d ha cl his men
lea d t hese fresh t roops int o his line w here
t hey w ere most needed a t t he moment . The
fight ing w a s t oo brisk a nd t he night t oo
ra iny for a ny ma jor reshuffling of lines.
B y 0330 t he reinforcem ent w as com plet e,
a nd t he .J a pa nese a tt acks w ere becoming
less int ense. Infa nt ry a nd suppor t ing
fires ha d cut dow n t he Na su force so t ha t
ea ch new a ssa ult w as ma de w it h few er a nd
few er m en .
Fort una t ely, a ll ha d not gone w ell for
combine(l IT. S . infa nt ry ba tt a lions, t he
a rt illery , a nd 37m m~ s fr om t he neighbor -
ing 2d lh~ t t a lion, 164t h infa nt ry. B y
d a w n i IIJW\L ca lled ba ck his men t o re-
group for la t er a t t a cks, a nd P uller a ncl
H all bega n t o reorga nize t l~ eir int ermin-
gled ba tt a lions a nd rea djust t heir lines.
Th e fir st st ron g effor t of t he cou nt er offen -
sive lItLd been t urned ba ck, but t he re-
nla incier of 25 Oct ober, S unda y in t he
S olomons, w as not a rest ful da y.
H ea vy ra ins on t he 23c1 a nd 24t h ha d
t urned Fight er 1 int o a mud bog, a nd a t
(B OO P ist ol P et e opened up a ga in on
H enderson t o fire a t t en-minut e int erva ls
unt il 1100. Wit h C a ct us fliers t hus eff ec-
t ively grounded, enemy pla nes from
Ra ba ul t ook a dva nt a ge of t his, a nd t he
fir st fa ir w ea t her in t hr ee da ys, by a t tem pt -
ing t o give t he J a pa nese count er offen sive
some sembla nce of t he coordina tion t ha t
G enera ls S umiyoshi a nd Ma ruya ma ha d
muffed. Likew ise st rong enemy na va l
forces, t o be enga ged next da y in t he B at -
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t he J a pa nese pla ns. NTasu bore t he brunt
of t he effor t w it hout a ssist a nce t o h is r ight
w here t he second a ssa ult ing column w -a s
t o ha ve st ruck. C olonel S hoji, w it h K aw a -
guchi’s former comma nd, ha d st ra yed out
t le of S a nt a C ruz, w ere know n t o be a p-
proa ching, a nd ea rly in t he morning t hree
<J a pa nese dest royers, a s bold a s t he Zeros
overhea d, ca vort ed int o S ea la rk C ha nnel
t o ch a se of ~ t w o Am er ica n d es tr oy er -t r a ns -
336 P EARL H ARB OR TO G LTAD ALC AA’AL
t w ice,” a nd L un gs d efen der s n ot con nect ed
w it h C a ct us oper a tion s p]im bed ou t of t heir
foxholes t o w a tcht he clogfight s w hich be-
ga n a ft er Fight er 1 dr ied enough t o Wp-
pOr t t a keot fs. Th es e . im er ica n planes
w ere a ble t o go up a t 1430 t o meet a 16-
bomber st r ike from Ra ba ul a nd ha mper
t his a tt ack; a nd a nine-pla ne bom bing r aid
a t , 1 500 d um ped it s explosives on (len em l
G eiger ’s boneya r do fdisca rdedw reeks. I t
I va s 1730 befor e C on dit ion R ed ]ift eclj but
a ft er get t ing a irborne t he C a ct us fliers
hld given a good a ccount of t hemselves.
For t he second t ime in t l~ ree da ys (’a p-
t a in F oss sh ot d ow n four J a pa nese fig ht er s,
r rn d a ll ot her m em ber s of t he G ua da lca na l
flying force w orked so w ell t o ma ke up for
t ime lost during t he w et morning t ha t 22
enemy pla nes ha cl been dow ned by la t e
afternoon. Tln-ee Am erica n pla nes, butno fliers, w ere lost in t he a ct ions. .And
w hile t he F4 J VS were Lat t lillg t h e ze ros
S13D’S a nd 1>–39’s w ent off t o t he nort h
t o a tt a ck m lurking J a pa nese na va l force.
ma de visua l cont a ct w it h t he left (ea st )
fla nk of (’olonel H a nn eken ’s 2d B a tt a lion ,
7t h Ma rines w hich ext ended from 3/7’s
da ljgling fla nk nea r t he Ma ta nika u ba ck
t ow ard t he I .unga per imet er . I t w as clea r
t ha t Ma ruya ma w a it ed in t he jungle t o
la unch a not her a tt a ck in t he big count er-
ot ieusive, a nd t he I .unga defenders w ere
det ermined t o ha ve st ronger posit ions
rea dy t o meet him t his t ime.
I n sljit e of his losses t he pr evious night ,
Ma l’lly anla st ill ba d n la npow er sufficien t
t o build it bet t er a t t a ck a @nst t he h f:t -
rines a nd sold ier s, but , h e som eh ow ga in ed
some fa ult -y int elligence w hich kept t he
~ f ’h oji (li’t ~ u w qv ch i) F or Qe id le f or a s econ d
nig]~t. Th e in t ellig en ce ca u sed M a ru ya r na
t o expect a 1“. S . count era tt ack on his right
(ea st ) fla nk, a nd he sent S hoji, w ho ha d
got tel~ lost in t he w et da rkn ess of t he fir st
a ssa ult , t o smeel~ t he fli~ nk w hile Na su’s
J9th I r i fan t~y a nd t he 16t h I n.fml t ry (pre-
viously t he Ma ruya rna reserve) ma de
rea dy t o ca rry t he new a ssa ult .
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They sa nk a dest royer a nd put a cr~ liser
ou t of a ct ion .
Mea nw hile, in t he reorga niza t ion of
lines sout h of B loody Ridge, Lieut ena nt
.ift er da rk (on 25 Oct ober), t he ,J a pa -
nese repea ted t he pa tt ern of a t t a ck used
t he previous night . Wit h only ma chine
guns t o :Lugmellt t heir h a ncl-ca r ried w ea p -
OUS grollps of from 20 t o 200 soldiers
.TAPAN’ESE C’OVA’TEROFI’ESSIVE 3:37
ca ll lil~ es t hrough out t he night w hile
fa r t her t o t he w est C olonel oka (w hose
t roops pr oba bly h adbeen t l~ ose spot ted o]~
N 1ol ll lt . ku st ell ’s s lcjl J e sol 1230ct ob er ) s en t
his force + ga inst t h e t hin line of 2/7.
Th is Ma rine bcct ta lion ha d been under m--
t illery fire (from t he Kokumbonz a rea )
t h rou gh ou t t h e cla y , s niper s 21s 0 ha d s cor ed
some America n ca sua lt ies, a nd now from
2130 t o 2,300 i t w a s ja rred by t hree st rong
a t t a cks w hich Oka ma de in ba t t a lion
st ren gt h. The w eigh t of t he a tt a cks fellmost ly hea vily on C ompa ny F on t he left
fla n k of H a nn eken ’s lin e.~ ~ l}t il nlidnight t h ese t h rust s w ere
t hrow n ba ck, but a t 0300 a n a ssa ult sw ept
over t he Ma rine compa n y. E nfila din g
fire from n ea rby foxholes of C ompa ny G
fa iled t o dislodge t he ,J a pa nese, a nd t hey
t ook over C ompa n y F ’s high groun d. I n
t h e h a ze of mornin g some 150 J a pa nesecou ld b e ob ser ved in F /$2/7 f ox holes f ir in g
America n ma ch in e guns a t a dja cent Ma -
r ine emplacements.
America n fight ing ma n. H a d t he envelop-
ing ,J a pa nese successfully n egot ia ted t he
Ma ruya ma Tra il w it h t h eir mort a rs a ncl
a rt illery , a nd ha d t he ,J a pa nese ma na ged
over -a ll coor din a tion , t he ba t tle m ig ht w ell
l~ a ve h ad a different out come. At lea st t h e
,J a pa nese w ould ha ve t a ken a hea vier t oll
of America ns a nd might w ell h ave effect ed
ser ious pen et ra t ion of t he perimet er . B ut
t h ese errors formed t h e foun da t ion of a
gr isly monument of fa ilure: some 3,500
,J a p a nes e s old ier s d ea d , in clu din g C ~ en er a lLNa SLI n d h is regiment al comma nders-
C olonel F urumiya (f29t h In fw nt ry) a nd
C olon el H iroya su (16t h Znfa nt ~ y). I t w as
a bea ten a nd disorga nized J a pa nese force
w hich bega n w it hdra win g inla nd durin g
t h e m or nin g of 26 O ct ob er .’s
B y con t ra st > a lt hough records a re
sket chy or n onexist ent , America n losses
w ere fa r less: proba bly a round 300 dea d
a n d w ou nd ed, in cludin g t hose h it , b y sh ell-
ing a ncl b ombing. The 164t h In fa nt ry sus-
t a ined 26 killed a nd 52 w oun ded (durin g
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Ma jor Odell M. (’onoley , 2/7 execut ive
officer , led a jury-r igged coun t era tt ack
force of hea dq ua rt ers t roops a ga inst t hese
,J a pa nesel a nd h e w as join ed by a pla toon
from C ompa ny C , 5t h Ma rines ;md by per-
a ll of Oct ober), it l~ d t he 2d B at t alion, 7t h
Ma rin es lost 30 dea d in it s a ct ion a ga inst
O ka ’s ,J a p a nes e. No figu res a re a va ila ble
on los ses of 1/7, bu t ev id en ce in dica t es t ha t
t hese proba bly dicl n ot much exceed 100
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J AP AN ES E C OL TN TE R OF FE NS I VE 339
a n d w hile C olon el Okcc’s br ief pen et ra t ion
of 2/7’s line st ill w as t w o hours a w a y, a n
Am er ica n pa t rol pla ne sout hea st of (}ua cl-
a lca na l repor t ed sight ing element s of a
la rge J a pa nese fleet in t he w at ers nea r t he
S a nt a C ruz Isla nds. These ships com-
prised a not her pa rt of t he “coordina ted”
, J a p a n es e ccjl ll lt el .ot ie ll si ~ ~ e . ~ i d n~ i r a l I t on -
d o of t l~ e i S er on d Fkt a n d Aclr nir a l N a gu -
n looft he 7’1i~ ” d F leet lla clt e:~ m eclllp w it h
four ca rriers a nd four ba tt leships, eight
cr uis er s, 28 d es t roy er s, a n d s uppor t in g v es -
sels; a nd t hey w ere st a nding by t o st ea m
int o ,S ea la rk C ha nnel w hen t hey got t he
“B onza i” signa l t ha t H enderson Field ha d
been reca pt ured. 20 Mea nw hile t hey
g ua r ded a ga in st Am er ica n r ein for cem en ts
or cou nt er mea su res fr om t he sou th .
Refir Admira l Thom as (~ . K inka id, t hen
nort hea st of t he New H ebricles w it h t l)e
E n ter ]mk and H olnef ca r rier g rou ps ,
moved t o i~ t t a ck. .\ t 0650 on 26 October
t w o m or e obser va t ion pla nes spot ted J a pa -
n es e ca r rier s 200 miles nort hea st of t he
, J a p a n es e a i rcr a f t . Ot h er f lig ht s f ollow ed
fr om b ot h f or ces .
Like some of t he previous P acific na va l
ba tt les, it w as a n a ir-a ir a nd a ir-surfa ce
afia ir . The opposing ships dicl not close
for sllr fa ce fight ing. Tw ent y l-. S . pla nes
w ere lost t o enemy a ct ion a nd 54 t o ot her
ca uses. Th e ,J a pa nese lost 100 pla nes.
The fa t e of U S S H wnet i s a n exa m ple
of t he d esper :l t e fight in g w hich t ook pla ce
during t he S a nt a C ruz ba t t le. La med by
a st a rboa rd bomb hit , t he ca rrier next
ca ught a spect a cula r suicide cra sh a s t he
. J a pa n es e s qlm dr on lea d er ’s w ou nd ecl ph me
gla nced ot f her st a ck a nt i burst t hrough
t ile flight deck w here t w o of t he pla ne’s
bombs exp loded . ,J a pa ]lese “K at es” t hen
bore in on t he ca rrier t o la unch t heir t or-
pedoes from low a st ern. TWO exploded in
el~ g in eer in g s pa ces ? a n d t he s hip, clou ded
by t hick smoke a ncl st ea m, lur ched t o st ar-
boa rd. I )ea d in t he w a t er , she t hen t ook
t hree more bomb hit s. One exploded on
t he flight deck, a not her a t t he fourt h deck,
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.~ merica n force a t a bout t he sa me t ime
,J a pa nese pla nes w ere sight ing t he IT. S .
ships.
.I ir a ct ion bega n a lmost a t once. ,Ta p:t -
nese ca rrier Zuiho w ccs h it in l~ er st er n by
a nd t he t hird below t he fourt h deck in a
for w ar d m ess in g com pa r tm en t.
As if t ha t w ere not enough, a bla zing“I <a te”’ deliber at ely cr asllecl t hr ough t he
port forw a rd gun ga llery a nd exploded
340 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
was so ba dly ma uled t ha t she sfiw no more t hough cont rol of S out h P acific w at ers st ill
a ct ion for n ine m ont hs. ha d not been resolved, t he loss of pla ]les
h’ot defea ted, but hea ring of t he .I rm y”s was a ser ious blow t o .J i ~pi t] :I II d one t l ~ a t ,
f a ilu re ol~ (}~ m d a lc: ma lj t h e ,J a pa n es e n a va l w a s t o a id t he .\ llie{l fleet w it hin a few
force w it hdrew a t t he end of t he da y. Al- w eeks. A bigger na va l ba t tle w a s br ew ing.
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CH APTER 8
Critical November
I f Tokyo by now rea lized t h a t one of her
lon g t en ta cles of con qu est h acl been a ll but
per ma nen tly pin ch ec] off un less t he S olo-
mons inva ders w ere a t la st t a ken in I ll
s er iou sn es s, t he cr it ica l G u a da lca m d s it ua -
t ion likew ise w as get t ing more a ct ive a t-
t ent ion in Wa sh ingt on. on 18 oct ober
Admira l G horrnley h a d been relieved of
kS out h P acific Area comma nd by t he a g-
gressive Admira l Willia m F . H alsey , ,J r .,
a nd a lmost immedia t ely t he new com-
ma nder w a s a llot ted more fight ing ml~ scle
t o b a ck h is a g gr es si ve nes s. ’
Ten da ys a ft er H alsey a ssumed his new
comma nd, t he Ma rine C orps est ablisheci
a supra -eche]on st a ff for coordina tion of
a ll Fleet Ma rine Force unit s in t he S out h
P acific. Ma jor G enera l C la yt on B . ~ ~ ogel
l~ ea ded t his n ew ly or ga nized I Mmin e An ~ -
a nd t he llnhea lt hy t ropics. H alsey prom-
ised Va ndegrift a ll t h e support he C OU IC 1
must er in his a rea , a nd t he a chnira l a lso
r eq uest ed a ddit ion al h elp from Nimit z a nd
f rom Wa s h in gt on .
S hort ly a ft er t his con fer en ce t he Ma rin e
C omma nda nt , G enera l H olcomb, w ho h a d
conduct ed his observa tions of t he Ma rine
ln ~ it s in a ct ion on G ua da lca na l, sought t o
clea r L Ip t ]le comma nd cont roversy be-
t w een G enera l Va nciegrift a nd Admira l
Turner. H olcomb prepa red for Admira l
K ing, t he. C hief of N-a va l Opera tions, a
dispa t ch in w hich he set for t h t he prin-
ciple t ha t t he la nding force comma nder
should be on t he sa me connn a ncl level a S
t he n ava l t a sk for ce comm an der a n d sh oL Ild
ha ve unrest rict ed] a ut horit y over opera -
t ion s n sh ore. I Iolcom b t hen used h is .goocl
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l)h ibiou s C or l)s w it h hea dq ua r t ers a t
Xoumea . H e exercised no t act ica l con trol
over t he G ua da lca na l opera tion ; his st a ff
w:Ls con cer ned on ly w it h a dm in ist ra t ive
ma t t ers. ~ nd it w ould not be unt il la t er
ot lices t o get Admira l H a lsey t o sign t his
dispa tch. The Ma rine C omnla nda nt t hen
st a rt ed ba rk t o t h e S t a tes, a nd a t Nimit z’
ot lice in P ea rl H arbor he a ga in crossed t he
pa th of t he dispa tch lle ha d prepnred for
342 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD .4LC ANAL
sh eph er ded Ma rin e (’or ps t hinkin g on t his
import a nt ma tt er a cross t he P acific t o it s
fir st ser ious con sifler at ion by t he t op n~ ili-t a r y h ier a r ch y .’
Aside from t he genera ] policy t ha t {li-
rect ed America ’s ma jor w ar effort t ow a rd
Na zi G erma ny during t his period, t he
S out h P a cific w a s not intent ional]y
slighted. B ut a s Rea r .idmira l S a muel E .
Morison point s out , Wa shingt on a t t his
t ime ha d it s ha nds full:
Our predica men t in t he S olomons w a s mor e
t ha n ma t ch ed by tha t ca used by t h e G er ma n sub-
ma rines, w hich , dur in g t he mon t h of Oct ober ,
sa nk 88 ships a nd 5S 3,.710 tons in t h e At la nt ic.
Th e Nort h Afr ica n ven t ure w a s a lrea dy a t sea :
B rit ish forces in E gypt st ill h a d t o be supplied by
t he C a l)e of G ood H ope :I ])d S uez rout e. G ua diil-
ca na l ha d t o be fit t ed by t h e J oin t C hiefs of S t a ff
in to a w orldw ide st ra tegic pa nora ma , but G ua da l-
cw na l could be reinforced on ly by dra w in g on
forces or igina lly commit t ed t o t he build-up int he U nit ed K ingflom ( Opera t ion “B olero”) for
a cross-ch:a nn el opera t ion in 1943. Genera l
.I rn oid w ish ed t o concen t ra t e a ir forces in
E urope for t h e st ra t egic bombin g of G er ma n y ;
Admira l K in S a nd G en era l Ma cArt h ur a rgued
tiglitingg.I ke S cleni oper at ion , m uch d og-
ea red fr om per pet ua l sh ufflin g in t he pen d-
i]~ g t ile> t illa lly ’ w a s scr apped by H a lsey,a ]](l t ile 1st B at ta lion, 147t b Infa nt ry, t he
la t est out t it t o ~ ti~ rt t he Ncleni job, w as
ca lled ot f it s collrse t o t he sitIl t~ Ch-uz
isla nds a n(] divert ed t o (lua da lca na l.
ot her ba t t a l ions of t he 147t h regiment
follow-cd.
.11s0 sch ed uled t o r ein for ce t he gen er al
G ua da lca na l effort w ere C olonel Richa rd
H . .J e schke’s 8t li Ma rines fr om Am er ica nS anloa , t wo compa nies ((Y a nd E ) of C olo-
nel E va ns F. C a rlson’s 2d Ra ider B a t -
t a lion: a clet a chment of t he ilt h D efense
B at t a lion, P rovisiona l B at t ery K (w it h
B rit ish 25-pounders) of t he Am erica l D i-
vision’s 246t h Field Art illery B a tt alion,
5(00 Sea bees, t w o ba t ter ies of 155n ~ m g un s,
a (ldit iona l .I rmy a rt illery unit s, a nd de-
t achment s of t he 9t h I)efense B at t alion.The old G ua cia lca na l shoest r ing from
w hich t he opera tion ha cl da ngled for t hree
crit ica l mont hs w -a s being bra ided int o a
s tr on g cor d.
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ilga inst risking disa st er in t he S olom ons a nd New
Guinea in order t o prm-ide for t h e e~ ent unlit y of
a fut ure opera tion in E urope. I ’resident Roose-
velt broke t he dei~ (l lf~ k on 24 Ort ober by sendin g
a st rong messa xe t o ea ch member of t he .Toin t
The t wo l&5mm gun ba tt eries-one Ma -
rine a ncl t l~ e ot her .irmy 5—la nded in t he
I ,u ng a per im et er on 2 Novem ber t o pr ovid e
t he first effect i~ e w ea pons for a nsw ering
C RI TI CAL NOVE MB ER 343
t he comma nd of ( ‘olonel n’. 13. Tut t le,
comma nder of t he 147t h I llfa nt ryj t his
force la nded on 4 h’o~ ember a t .401a B aya bout 40 miles ea st of t he Lul~ ~ ii. There,
over t he object ions of Va ndegr ift a nd
ot her s, Tut tle’s com ma nd w a s t o con st ruct
a n ew a i rf ie ld .’)
G eiger ’s C a ct us Air Force a lso grew
w hile Va ndegrift a dded t o his ma n pow er
on t he ground. J a pa nese polmding under
t he Oct ober count eroffensive ha d a ll but
put t he (lua da lca na l fliers out of a ct ion;on X oct ober, a ft er D ugout S unda y, C a c-
t us ha d only 30 pla nes ca pa ble of get ting
int o t he a ir . 7 B ut in t he lull of a ct ion fol-
low ing t he defea t of G enera l H ya kut a ke
a nd t he w it hdra wa l of t he J a pa nese na va l
force from t he B at t le of S a nt a C ruz, C a c-
t us ground crew s ha d a cha nce t o do some
repa ir s, a nd more pla nes bega n t o a rrive a t
H en der son F ield .Lieut ena nt Colonel Willia m O. B rice
brought his MAG -11 t o N’ew C aledonia on
30 Oct ober, a nd in t he next t w o da ys pa rt s
of Ma jor J oseph S a iler , J r .’s . vNIs13-
N ovem ber t her e w er e 1,748 m en in G u ad a l-
ca na l’s a via t ion unit s, 1)557 of t hem
M a r in es .’+ ‘.\ s t hese fresh t roops a nd fliers ca me
a sh or e, t he vet er ans of G ua d:dca na l’s da rk
ea rly da ys w ere ofl on a n expedit ion t o t he
w est . IYit h t he ,J a pa nese reeling ba ck
from t heir defea t of la t e Oct ober, t he
Ma rin es sough t t o dislod ge t he en em y com -
l)let ely from t he K okum bona -P oha River
a rea some five a nd a ha lf miles w est of t he
Ma ta nika u. once clea red from t his a rea ,w here t he isla nd’s nort h cot lst bends
sha rply nort hw est t ow a rd C a pe E sper-
a nce, t he ,J a pa nese P ist ol P et es w ould be
beyond ra nge of H enderson Field, a nd t he
Ma rines a nd soldiers could possibly m eet
,J a pa nese r ein for cem en ts fr om t he Toky o
E xpr ess befor e a n ot her bu ild up could m us -
t er st rengt h for a new ma jor effor t a ga inst
t h e p er i met er . U nder C olonel E dson, t heforce on t his opera t ion included t he
colonel’s 5t h Ma rin es, t he 2d Ma rin es (less
3}2 ), a nd a n ew Wh aling G r oup consist ing
of t he scout -snipers a nd t he 3d B a tt alion,
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13 2 a nd Ma jor P a ul Font anz’s vMF-2’11
repor t ed Llpt o C ha da lca na l. (h ~ Novem-
ber B riga dier G enera l Louis E . MToods
a ssum ed comm and a t C act us, a nd G enera l
7t h M a r in es. The llt ll Ma rines a nd Army
a rt i]lery ba tt alions, C a ct us fliers, engi-
neers> a nd bomba rdment ships w ere in
suppor t . (S ee Ma p 24)
344 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC AhTAL
r ines ha d come a cross from Tula gi; g a nd shelled bv cruisers S a n Francisco a nd
t he engineers w ere rea dy w it h t h:ir fuel- Helena a id d es tr oy er Sterrett wh i le P –39’s
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drum floa ts a nd ot her bridging ma teria l
for t he cr ossing sit es.
C ompa nies A, C , a nd D of t he 1st E n-
gineer B a tt alion const ruct ed t he bridges
during t he night of 31 Oct ober, a nd by
a nd S B D ’S from H enderson F ield a nd
B -17’s from E spir it u S a nt o st ra fed a nd
b o m b e d J apa nese posit ions a round
Kokumbona.
Ma rines of 2/5 a dva nced a ga inst lit tle
C RI TI CAL NOVE MB ER 345
a ga p w hich opened bet ween t hese a tt ack-
i ng comp a n ies. Th e opposit ion h eld fir m,
how ever , a n d C ompa ny C , ha rdest hit in
t he first cla sh w it h t he ent renched J a pa -
nese, ha d t o w it hdra w . The C ompa ny B
comma nder, t rying t o fla nk posit ions
w hich ha d pla gued t he w it hdr aw n unit , led
a 10-m a n pa t rol in a n en velopin g m a neuver
w hich skirt ed behind C ompa ny C , but t his
pa t rol a lso suffer ed h ea vy ca sua lt ies a nd it ,
t oo, w as forced t o w it hdra w. E dson t hen
commit t ed his reserve, a nd C ompa nies I
a nd K of 3/5 (Ma jor Robert O. B ow en)
ca me up t o t he ba se of P oint C ruz on a line
bet ween 1/5 a nd t he coa st . This put a Ma -
rine front t o t he ea st a nd sout h of t he
J a pa nese pocket ; but t he enemy held, a nd
t he Ma rines h alt ed for t he nigh t.
Next . morning (2 November) E dson’s
2d B a t t a lion (Ma jor Lew is W. Wa lt )
ca me t o t he a ssist a nce of t he regiment ’s
ot her t w o ba t t a lions, a nd t he enemy w as
t hus ba cked t o t he bea ch just w est of P oint
C ruz a n d enga ged. on t he ea st , w est , a nd
sout h. The Ma rines pounded t he J a pa nese
Fina l reduct ion of t he J a pa nese st rong-
hold bega n a t 0800 on 3 November . C om-
pa nies E a nd G of 2/5 first a ssa ult ed t o
compress t he enemy int o t he. nor t hea st
corner of t he pocket , a nd t his a t t a ck w as
follow ed by a dva nces of C ompa ny F of
2/5 a nd C ompa nies I a nd K of 3/5. J a p-
a nese r esist a nce en ded sh or tly a ft er n oon.
At lea st 300 enemy w ere killed; 12 a nt i-
t an k 37m m’s, a field piece, a nd 34 m ach in e
g un s w er e ca pt u red .
I t seemed t ha t t his success should a t
la st help pa ve t he w a y for pushing on
t o K okumbona , t he const a nt t horn in t he
side of Lunga defenders a nd long a mili-
t a ry object iv e of t he per im et er -r es tr ict ed
Ma rines. F rom t here t he enemy w ould be
driven a cross t he P oha River, H ender son
Field w ould be beyond rea ch of P ist ol
P et e, a nd t he J a pa nese w ould ha ve one
less w ea pon a ble t o bea r on t heir effor t s
t o ground t he C a ct us fliers. B ut t he frus-
t ra t ing Tokyo E xpress a ga in qua shed
Ma r ine a mbit ions. The E xpress ha d
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w it h a hea ’vy a rt illery a nd mort ar prepa -
ra tion, a nd la te in t he a ft er noon la unched
a n a tt a ck t o compress t he enemy pocket .
C ompa nies I a nd K st opped short a ~ ~ inst
shift ed it s t ermina l ba ck t o t he ea st of
t he perimet er , a nd a not her buildup w as
t a king pla ce a round Koli P oint .
The 8t h Ma rines w a s not due in S ea la rk
C ha nnel unt il t he next da y (a nd t here w as
346 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD .4LC ANAL
im por ta n t d ecis ion , a nd on 26 Oct ober
C a pt ain Toshika zu Ohma e, Chief of S ta ff
of t he Sou theastern F l eet , ca me dow n t oG ua da lca na l from Ra ba ul t o see w ha t
G enera l H ya kut ake proposed t o do a bout
it . And w hile H ya kut a ke ha d been proud
a nd confident . w hen he rea ched G ua da l-
ca na l on 9 Oct ober, Ohma e reflect ed Ra -
ha ul’s current mood w hich ha d been m uch
da mpened during t he mont h. The coLm-
t eroffensive fa iled, Ohma e believed, be-
ca use H ya kut ake bungled by not ca rryingout a tt acks a ccording t o schedule a nd be-
ca use t he Army did not underst and prob-
lems fa cing t he fleet . “The Na vy lost
ships, a irpla nes a ncl pilot s w hile t rying
t o give snpport t o t he la nd a ssa ult w hich
w a s cont inua lly dela yed,” Ohma e sa id
la ter in r espon se t o int er roga tions.l”
On ) Oct ober H ya kut ake’s a ppet it e ha d
been set for P ort Moresby; G ua da lca na lw a s but a bot hersome bit of folia ge t o be
brushed a side a long t he w ay, a nd t he g-en-
era l ha d t he bulk of his 38t h D ivision a nd
ot her r es er ves , plu s q ua nt it ies of su pplies,
to divert his reserves t o a new a ssa ult
a ga inst \ 7a ndegrift a nd t he H enderson
flier s on t he ba nks of t he L un ga .This t ime, t hough, t hings w ould be
conduct ed different ly . Ra ther t ha n lurk-
ing in w a it of successes a shore, t he im-
per i a l PZeet w ould run t he show . Ohma e’s
chief, Admira l Isor oku Ya nnunot o, com-
ma nder of t he Com bi n ed Z V eet , wa n t ed
H ya kut a ke’s uncommit t ed t roops of t he
38th Diu ion 13 t o la nd a t Koli P oint so
t he Am erica ns w ould be w orried a nd splitby forces on bot h sicles of t hem. H igh-
speed a rmy vessels w ould t ra nsport t hese
t J a pa nese t roops dow n The S lot under
escort of t he Tokyo E xpress. Then Ya ma -
mot o’s bomba rdment ships a nd J a pa nese
fliers w ould knock out H enderson Field
once a nd for a ll, a nd H ya kut a ke could
la nd more t roops a nd finish off a ba tt ered
defensive ga rrison w hich w ould ha ve noa i r s upp or t .
I t w a s a bold pla n, but t here w ere some
a pa nese officers w ho t hought t ha t it w as
not pa rt icula rly w ise. .idrnira l Ta na ka ,
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in Ra ba ul a nd t he S hor t ha nds rea dy t o
plunge sout h w hen t he a irfield a t Lungs
w as plucked from t he S olomons vine like
a ripe gra pe. B ut now “t he sit ua t ion w a s
t ha t vet era n of ma ny dist ressing hours in
The S lot , w a s one of t hese. H e ha d sug-
gest ed a ft er t he Oct ober defea t t ha t de-
fenses should be pulled ba ck closer t o
C RI TI CAL NOVE MB ER
C olonel S hoji a lrea dy w a s a t Koli P oint
w it h his vet era ns of t he oct ober a ssa ult
a ga inst B loody Ridge, a nd ot her ,J a pa nese
t roops now ma de rea dy t o join him t here.
H ya kut a ke pla nned t o build a n a irfield
t here so ,J a pa nese pla nes could be more
effect ive during t he N“ovember a tt acks.
B ut w hile E dson a n d J Vha ling fought
t heir a ct ion t o t he w est a round P oint C ruz,
a Ma rine ba tt a lion ma rched out t o t he ea st
a nd st epped int o t he middle of H ya ku-
t a ke’s pla n s t h er e.
On 1 November, t he sa me da y E dson
a nd VVha ling crossed t heir foot bridges
w est w ard over t he Ma ta nika u, division
sent Lieut ena nt C olonel H erma n H . H an-
neken’s 2d B at t a lion, 7t h Ma rines out t o
invest iga te report s of J a pa nese a ct ivit ies
t o t he ea st . H a nneken t rucked his men t o
t he Tena ru River t ha t da y, a nd on 2 No-
vember t he ba tt alion ma de a forced ma rch
a cross t he ba se of K oli P oint t o t he Met a -
pona River, a bout 13 miles ea st of t he
perimet er . Int elligence ha d it t ha t t he
347
t hey w ere ca rrying out init ia l pla ns of
t he Imper ia l Army a nd N“a vy for t he
build up t o t he ea st .
Ra in ha d put C olonel H anneken’s ra dio
out of commission, a nd he could not con-
t a ct division w it h informa t ion of t his
la ndin g. Th e Ma rin es held t heir posit ion s
t ha t night but moved t o a tt a ck next . morn-
ing a ft er a n eight -ma n J a pa nese pa t rol
a pproa ched t heir line by t he Met s.pona .
Ma rines killed four members of t his pa -
t rol, a nd t he ba t t a lion t hen moved up t o
fire 81mm mort ars int o t he enemy’s la nd-
ing sit e. This brought no immedia te re-
sponse, but a s H anneken?s infa nt rymen
prepa red t o follow t his mor t a r prepa ra -
t ion a la rge force of Imperia l soldiers
ma neuvered t o fla nk t he Ma rines w ho be-
ga n a lso t o dra w mort a r a nd a rt illery fire.
In t he fa ce of t his coordina t ed a t t a ck by
t he J a pa nese, 2/7 w it hdr ew , figh tin g a r ea r
gua rd a ct ion a s it pulled ba ck t o t a ke up
st ronger posit ions on t he w est ba nk of t he
Na limbiu River, some 5,000 ya rds w est of
t h e M et a p on a .
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,J a pa nese ha d not yet been a ble t o build
up much st rengt h here, a nd H a nneken;s
mission w a s t o keep t hings t ha t w a y, On
t he night of 2 November he deployed his
D uring t he w it hdra w a l, H a nneken
ma na ged t o ma ke ra dio cont a ct w it h t he
C P a t Lunga . H e report ed his sit ua tion,
348 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
Cruisers S an F r an ci sco a nd H elena a nd
destroyers Sterrett a nd Lan.sdowrw shelled
likely t a rget a rea s ea st of t he Ma rine
ba tt alion, a nd pla nes ra nged overhea d in
va in sea rches for signs of t he enemy.
C om mun ica t ion s st ill w er e non e t oo good,
how ever, a nd element s of 2/7 w ere a cci-
dent a lly st ra fed a nd bombed by some of
t he first pla nes t ha t ca me out from Ca ct us.
Mea nw hile, division ha d m ade t he deci-
sion t o concent ra te m ore force a ga inst t he
evident buildup t o t he ea st . The w est ern
a t t a ck t hen in progress w ould be ca lled
ba ck w hile G enera l Rupert us, due t o come
a cross S ea la rk Cha nnel from Tula gi, w ent
t o Koli P oint w it h C olonel S ims of
t he 7t h Ma rines, a nd S ims’ 1st B at t alion
(P uller). And t o t he effort s of t his regi-
ment (less it s 3d B at t a lion), Va ndegrif t
a dded t he 164t h Infa nt ry (less 1st J 3a t -
t a lion) w hich w ould ma rch overla nd t o
envelop t he Koli P oint enemy from t he
sout h. Art illery ba tt eries of t he 1st B at -
t alion, 10t h Ma rines w ould be in genera l
support.
qua rt ers.” And t o a dd even more t roops
t o t his concent ra tion of effor t t o t he ea st ,
Va ndegrift obt ained relea se of C arlson’s
2d Ra id er B a tt a lion fr om C olonel Tut tle’s
comma nd a t Aola B a y, a nd ordered it t o
ma rch overla nd t ow a rd Koli P oint a nd
cut off a ny J a pa nese w ho might flee ea st
from t he envelopment of t he 7t h Ma rines
a n d t he 164t h I nfa n tr y.
On 4 November t he J a pa nese on t he ea st
ba nk of t he Na limbiu did not seriously
t hrea t en t he Ma rines on t he w est , but
G en er a l R uper tu s h eld d efen sive posit ion s
w hile a w a it ing t he a rriva l of t he 164t h
Infa nt ry. The soldiers, w eight ed dow n
by t heir hea vy pa cks, w ea pons, a nd a mm u-
nit ion, rea ched t heir first a ssembly a rea
on t he w est ba nk of t he Na limbiu inla nd a t
a bout noon. There t he regiment a l C P
bivoua cked for t he night w it h t he 3d B at -t a lion w hile t he 2d B at t a lion pushed on
som e 2,000 y ar ds dow nst rea m t ow a rd K oli
Point.
hText d ay t he 3d B a tt alion, 164t h cr ossed
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B y dusk of 3 November t he 2d B a t -
t alion, 7t h Ma rines rea ched t he w est ba nk
of t he Na limbiu River nea r t he bea ch a t
Koli P oint , a nd t here G enera l Rupert us
t he river a bout 3,500 ya rds upst rea m a nd
a dva nced a long t he ea st ba nk t ow ard t he
Japanese. The 2d B a t t a lion likew ise
crossed t he river a nd follow ed it s sist er
C RI TI CAL NOVE MB ER 349
Act ion on 6 h’ovember likew ise fa iled
t o fix t he J a pa nese in solid opposit ion, a l-
t hough t he 7t h Ma rin es cr ossed t he Na lim -
biu a nd moved ea st w ard a long t he coa st ,
a nd t he 164t h Infa nt ry found a n a ba n-
doned enemy bivoua c fa rt her inla nd.
Mea nw hile, C ompa ny B of t he 8t h Ma -
rines, just a shore on t he isla nd, moved ea st
t o join t he a t t a cking forces a s did regi-
m ent al hea dq ua rt ers a nd t he Ant it ank a nd
C C ompa nies of t he 164t .h Infa nt ry . The
com bin ed for ce t hen a d va n ced t o posit ion s
a mile w est of t he Met a pona River a nd
t here dug in for t he night , t he Ma r ines
nea r t he bea ch t o gua rd a ga inst . a n ex-
pect ed ,J a pa nese la nding t ha t did not
materialize.
L“nknow n t o Ma r ines a nd Army com-
ma nders, t he sit ua t ion w as shift ing be-
ca use of new cha nges in t he J apa nese
pla ns. D uring t he night of 5–6 November
t he enemy bega n t o ret ire ea st w ard from
posit ions fa cing t he Ma rines a cross t he
Na limbiu, a nd w hen t he U . S . force
st opped w est of t he Met a pona t he J a pa -
of Gavaga C reek, a st rea m some 2,000
ya rds ea st of t he Met a pona River. The 2d
B at t alion, 164t h Infa nt ry w a s a tt ached t ot he 7t h Ma rines a s regiment al r eserve, a nd
t he com bined forces m oved ra pidly t o sur-
round t he J a pa nese. D ur ing t he a dva nce
G enera l Rupert us ret ired from t he a ct ion
w it h a n a tt a ck of dengue fever , a nd Va n-
degr ift pla ced G en er al S ebr ee in com ma nd
of t he ent ire opera tion. The 1st B a tt alion,
7t h Ma rines m et st iff r esist ance, a nd four
Ma rines w ere killed w hile 31, including
L ieut en ant C olon el P uller , w er e w oun ded.
Ma jor J ohn E . T1’eber next da y succeeded
t o com ma nd of t his ba t ta lion.
H anneken’s 2]7 moved a round t he J a p-
a nese t o t ake up posit ions ea st of t he cr eek
w it h it s r ight fla nk on t he bea ch. The
2d B at t a lion of t he 164t h Infa nt ry , com-
mit ted from reserve, t ied in on 2,/7’s left
(inla nd) fla nk, st ra ddled G ava ga C reek
sout h of t he ,J a pa nese, a nd t ied in w it h
t he right fla nk of t he 1st B a t t a lion 7t h
Marines. F rom t his point 1/7 ext ended
nort h t o t he bea ch a long t he w est side of
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nese w ere ea st of t he river prepa ring rea r
gua rd defensive posit ions t ha t w ould a id
a genera l w it hdra w a l. G enera l H ya ku-
t a ke a nd Admira l Ya ma mot o on 3 or 4
t he J a pa nese posit ions, a nd t he ring w as
closed on t he enemy. J ~ 7it h t his a ct ion t o
t he ea st t hus st a bilized, division ca lled for
t he ret urn of t he 164t h Infa nt ry (less 2d
350 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
a n d F of t h e 164t h I n fa n t ry w ere un a ble
t o ma ke con t a ct a cross t he sw ampy creek.
Th is a ct ion con tin ued t hr ou gh 10 Novem -ber , w it h repea ted orders by G enera l S e-
bree for2/164t o close t he ga p a cr os s t he
creek. This w a s n ot done, how ever , a n d
t he, comma nder of 2/164 w as relieved on
10 November.
D uring t h e nigh t of 11–12 h ’ovember
m ost of t he enemy esca ped a long t he creek
to t he sout h . On 12 November t h e t hree
ba tt a lien s sw ept t h rough t h e a rea w heret h e J a pa nese h a d been t ra pped, met lit t le
opposit ion , a nd w it h drew t ha t a ft ernoon
a cross t ile Met apona River . Ma rin es est i-
ma ted t h a t, t he a ct ion h a d cost t he en emy
approximately 4-50 dead. About 40
America ns w ere killed a nd 120 w oun ded.
Mea n w hile, C olon el C a r lson a n d h is
ra ider s, t ra veling cross-coun t ry t o K oli
P oint , en coun t ered t he rea r elemen t s oft he ret ir ing J a pa n ese. J oined by h is
C ompa nies B a nd F , a s w ell a s elemen t s of
C ompa ny D , C ar lson concen tra ted his ba t-
t a lion inla n d n ea r t h e na t ive villa ge of
men t fleet , a nd Admira l Mika vva of t he
E igh th F leet h a d st epped up his pla ns for
t h e buildup on t he w est side of t he Ma -rin e perimet er . On t he nigh t of 7 No-
vember Ta na ka sen t C a pt a in Tora jiro
S a to a n d h is D e~tr oyer D ivi si on 15 down
The S lot w it h a n a dva n ce un it of some
1,300 troops. Aft er eva ding a L’. S .
bomber a t t a ck in t h e a ft ernoon , t h ese
sh ips la nded t he t roops a t Ta ssa fa ron ga
sl~ or t ly a ft er midn igh t a nd t hen sped ba ck
nort h t o t h e sa fet y of t h e S h or t la n ds.ll~ hile t hese sh ips ca me nort h, t he secon d
shut t le w ent sout h from Ra ba ul t o t h e
S h ort la nds w it h t h e ma in body of t h e 3’8th
Div is ion. Tw o da ys la t er (on 10 h“ovem-
ber) 600 of t hese t roops un der Lieut ena nt
G en era l Ta da yoshi S a n o ma de t he move
from t h e S hort la n ds t o G ua da lca na l. Th e
con voy w a s heckled by U . S . pla n es a nd
P T boa t s, but t he t roops w ere la n ded
sa fely, a nd t h e ships ma de it ba ck t o t he
S hort ha nds on 11 November .”
BRI EF REN E?VAL OF
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B inu a nd pa trolled t he surroundin g a rea .
D uring t he. a ft ernoon of 12 November t he
ra iders bea t ot f five a tt a cks by t w o J a pa -
n ese com pa nies. S ca tt ered a ct ion s t ook
WELSTERAT A T T ’A CK
Mea nw hile C olon el Ar th ur ’s 2d Ma rin es
(less 3/2), a ugmen ted by t he 8t h Ma rines
C RI TI CAL NOVE MB ER 351
Division) to ma neuver inla nd a nd fla nk
t he Am er ica n a dva nce.
B ut before I to could st rike—a nd befor et he America ns w ere a wa re of his t hrea t—
G enera l Va ndegrift a ga in ha d t o ca ll off
t he w est ern a tt a ck. On 11 3Tovember t he
t roops pulled ba ck a cr oss t he Ma ta nika u,
clest roy ed t heir bridges, a nd resum ed po-
sit ions a round t he Lungs perimet er . In-
t elligence sour ces ha d becom e a w ar e of t he
pla ns of H ya kut a ke a nd Ya ma mot o t o
mount a n ot her s tr on g cou nt er off en sive,a n d lTa ndegrift w a nt ed a ll ha nds a va il-
able.
I t did indeed a ppea r t ha t t he Lungs
per imet er w ould need a ll t he st rengt h it
cou ld m us ter . Ra ba ul w as nea rly rea dy
for a sh ow dow n, w inner t a ke a ll, a nd t het ime w a s now or never . The J a pa nese
w ere losing t heir best pilot s in t his S olo-
m on s a ct ion, a nd sh ippin g ca sua lt ies ]ike-
w ise w ere beginning t o t ell. At t he sa me
t ime Allied st rengt h in t he S out h P acific
ha mmer H enderson Field w hile Ta na ka
la nded t he soldiers. Yet a t hird J a pa nese
flot illa ra nged t he S olornons in genera lsuppor t . Not hing w as t o prevent t he 38th
Division from la nding w it h it s hea vy
eq uipment a nd w ea pons. The t roops
w ould be put a shore bet ween C a pe E sper-
a n ce a n d Ta s sa f a ron ga . 20
On 23 November t he 8t h Ma rines pa ssed
t hrough t he 164t h Infa nt ry t o a t t a ck t he
J a pa nese posit ions st ea dily t hroughout
t he da y . Aga in t here w a s no ga in, a ndt he America n force dug in t o hold t he line
confront ing t he st rong J a pa nese posi-
t ions. There t he a ct ion ha lt ed for t he
t ime w it h t he forces fa cing ea ch ot her a t
close qua rt ers. The 1st Ma rine D ivision
w as due for relief from t h e G ua da lca na l
a rea , a nd more t roops could not be a l-
lot ted for t he w est er n a ct ion.
On 29 November Admira l King a p-proved t he relief of Va ndegrift ’s division
by t he Mt h Infa n t ry D ivision t hen en
r out e from H aw a ii t o Aust ra lia . Th is d i-
vision w a s t o be shor t -st opped a t G ua da l-
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w a s slow ly grow ing. I t w a s becoming a n
a wkw ard ba tt le, a nd J a pa n w as spendin g
a lt oget her t oo much t ime a nd ma teria l on
ca na l a nd t he Ma r ines w ould go t o Aus-
t ra l i a .
D uring t he per iod t ha t preceded t he
w it hdra w a l of t he 1st D ivision, t he la st
352 P E.ARL H ARB OR TO G U AD AI .C ANAL
but t he U . S . lost t he cruiser Northampton,
a nd t hree ot hers, t he ~~n.neapol~, NW-C
Orleams, a nd P erw acola , w ere seriously
damaged.
B ut J apa n’s da y of smoot h sa iling in
The S lot w a s over. 11’it h a reinforced
subm arine fleet of 24 boa ts, Admira l H al-
sey~ s comma nd ha d been prow ling t he
rout e of t he Tokyo E xpress t o dest roy or
da ma ge severa l enemy t ra nsport s. The
,J a pa nese edge in fight ing ships a lso w as
becoming less impressive. In a ddit ion t o
t h e ca r rier Enterpm”se, H alsey ha d a va il-
a ble t wo ba tt leships, t hree hea vy a nd one
light cr uiser s, a light a nt ia ir cr aft cr uiser ,
a nd 22 dest royers orga nized in t w o t a sk
forces.
The st rengt h of t he Lunga perimet er
w a s likew ise m uch im pr oved sin ce t he J a p-
a nese a t t a cks of la t e Oct ober. Arriva l
of fresh t roops ena bled a n ext ension of de-
fensive posit ions w est t o t he Ma ta nika u
a nd t he est a blishment of a st ronger line
a long t he sout hern (inla nd ) port ions of
t he infa nt ry ring a round H enderson
F ield. Th ese new posit ion s plus t he sh oot -
a rea w ould cover t he t roop movement . A
da y la t er (9 November) Admira l S cot t
st iiled from E spirit u S ant o w it h a supply
run for G ua da lca na l, a nd a da y a ft er t ha t
Admira l Ca lla gha n follow ed w it h his five
cr uis er s a n d t en d es tr oy er s.
E arly on 11 November (t he da y Va nde-
grift ca lled off his w est ern a dva nce)
S cot t’s t ra nsport s a rrived off Lunga Roa d
t c begin unloa ding. E nemy bombers
t w ice int errupt ed t he opera t ions, a nd
d am aged t he Betelgeuse, L ib ra , a n d Zei li n.
D a ma ge t o t he la tt er ship w as serious, a nd
she w as mot hered ba ck t o E spirit u S a nt o
by a dest roy er . Th e ot her t wo t ra nspor ts
r et ir ed a t 1800 t o I nd ispensa ble S tr ait . be-
t w een G ua da lca na l a nd Ma la it a, a nd la ter
joined Turner’s t ra nsport s. D uring t he
night Admira l C a lla gha n pa t rolled t he
\ .;a t er s o f S ea la r k C ha n nel.
Turner’s t ra nsport s w it h t he 182d In-
fa nt ry a rrived a t da wn on 12 November t o
begin un loa ding t roops a nd ca rgo. D urin g
t he morning t he Betelgewse a nd Libra
drew fire from nea r Kokumbona . The
t w o ships esca ped da ma ge, how ever, a nd
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ing by t he 155mm guns kept P ist ol P et e
from ca refree ha mmering a t t he a irfield
a nd bea ch a rea s.
And t he perimet er w a s t o grow even
America n count erba tt ery a nd na va l gun-
fire silenced t he J a pa nese. U nloa ding
cea sed in t he a ft ernoon, a nd t he ships w ere
flushed int o dispersion by a n a t t a ck of
C RI TI CAL NOVE MB E R 353
m iles n or th -n or th west . B y m ida ft er noon
a not her sight ing pla ced t w o ca rriers a nd
a bra ce of dest royers som e 250 miles t o t hewes t .21 Coa st wa tchers in t he upper S olo-
mons logged ot her sight ings. Turner a p-
pra ised t he va rious report s a t t w o ba tt le-
ships, t w o t o four hea vy cruisers, a nd t en
t o t w elve dest royers. C a lla gha n w a s
hea vily out weighed. B ut H alsey’s orders
w ere t o get t he na va l support of G ua da l-
ca na l out of t he da rk ba ck a lleys of t he
S out h P acific; a nd a ft er he shepherded
t he unloa ded t ra nsport s sout h t o open w a-
t er , Ca lla gha n t urned ba ck t o enga ge t he
enemy.
J apanese battleships Hiei a nd Kzki-
shkz, lig ht cr uiser ,Vaga.ra. a nd 15 de-
st roy er s st ea m ed s out h t o d eliver Ad mir a l
Ya ma mot o’s first blow of t he new coun-
teroff ensive. This bomba rdment group
w a s t o ent er S ea la rk Cha nnel a nd ha m-
mer H ender son Field a nd t he fight er st rip
t o uselessness so t ha t C act us a ir could not
bot her G enera l H ya kut a ke’s reinforce-
ment s en rout e. Th is ,J a p a nese m is sion
ga ve Ca lla gha n one slight a dva nt a ge.
a dmira l t herefore dela yed a ct ion unt il he
w a s sure of t he sit ua t ion. B y t ha t t ime
t he ra nge ha d closed t o a bout 2,500 ya rds,a nd t he va n dest royer of t he America n
force w as nea rly w it hin t he J a pa nese for-
mation. When t hey ma neuvered t o
la un ch t or ped oes, t he Am er ica n sh ips d is-
orga nized t heir forma tion, a nd t hey t ook
u p in depen den t f ir in g. S om e sw er ved off
course t o a void collision, a nd in t he melee
bot h Am er ica n a nd ,J a pa nese ships fir ed a t
t heir s ist er cr a ft .
The S an Fra ncisco ca ught 15 solid hit s
from big J a pa nese guns a nd w a s forced
t o w it hdra w w it h Admira l C a lla gha n
killed a nd ot hers, including C apt ain Ca s-
sin Young, her skipper, dea d or fa t a lly
w ounded. A cruiser hit on t he At lan ta
killed Admira l S cot t a nd set fire t o t he
ship. B ut t he sma ll America n force held
in spit e of hea vy losses, a nd by 0300 t he
t J a pa nese gr oup r et ir ed w it hout being a ble
t o a t tem pt it s bom ba rdm en t. m ission. Th e
Imperia l bomba rdment force ha d lost t w o
dest roy er s a nd four ot her s w er e da ma ged.
Th e ba tt leship H iei lim ped a w ay d am ag ed
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For shore bomba rdment , t he Imperia l
b at t lesh ips ca r ried h igh explosive pr ojec-
t iles for t heir 14-inch guns, not a rmor-
by more t ha n 80 America n hit s.
For t he America n ships it w a s a cost ly
vict ory. H enderson Field ha d been pro-
354
h eels of t he ret ir ing ,J a pa n ese ships.
Th ey found t h e cr ippled ba tt leship H iei
a fire nea r S a ve, a nd bombed a nd st ra fed
h er t hroughout t h e da y. Th e J a pa n ese
fought a losing ba t t le t o sa lva ge t heir
h a pless sh ip, but t h ey ha d t o scut t le her
n ext da y (14 November ).
D urin g t he n ight ba t t le off G ua da l-
ca na l, Admira l Ta na ka h a d been ordered
t o lea d h is con voy ba ck t o t he S hort la nds.
H e h ea ded sout h a ga in from t here durin g
t h e a ft ern oon of 13 November a t a bout t h e
same t ime t ha t Admira l H a lsey order ed
Kinka id t o w it h dra w t he ca rr ier Enter-
pr~ge sout h w it h t h e remn a n t s of C a lla -
gh an ’s for ce. H a lsey w a nt ed t h is ca r-
r ier —t he S out h P a cific’s sole oper at ion a l
fla tt op-sa fely out of J a pa nese a ircra ft
range. To gua rd H enderson F ield, Ad-
mira l Lee w ould st ea m on n ort h w it h his
battleships Washington a n d Sou th Da-
kota a nd four dest royers from K inka id’s
t a sk force. The dist a n ce w a s t oo grea t
for Lee t o ma ke t h a t night , h ow ever , a nd
only t h e ‘F ula gi P T boa ts w ere a va ila ble
t o prot ect S ea la rk C h a nn el. Shortly
P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
F irst C act us a t t acks st ruck t he ret ir in g
w ar sh ips w h ich h a d sh elled H en derson
durin g t h e night . G roun d crew s on t he
field h a nd -loa d ed t heir pla n es a n d vis it in g
cra ft . from t he l ?n ter pr iw w ith fuel a nd
ordn a nce, a nd t h e pla nes moun t ed from
t he muddy run w a ys in a tt a ck. Th ey da m-
a ged J a pa nese h ea vy cruiser Xhugma
a nd t h e light I sw zw P la nes st ill on t he
Ente~prise, now 200 miles sout hea st of
G ua da lca na l, a lso a tt acked t he J a pa nese
w a rships. Th ey a dded t o t he t roubles of
t he Kinugma a nd I suzu, a n d a lso da m -
a g ed h ea vy cr uis er s L’hokai a n d Ma ya a nd
destroyer Michishio.
Mea nw hile, t h e 11 t roop t ra n spor t s
st ea med on dow n Th e S lot un t il by a bout
1130 t h ey w ere n ort h of t he Russells a nd
n ea r S a ve. A previous light a t t a ck by
f i ;nterprise fliers ha d in flict ed lit tle da m-
a ge t o t his convoy, but a t 1150 seven t or-
pedo bomber s a nd 18 dive bombers from
H ender son w ere refueled, rea rmed, a nd
boring in for a n a t t a ck. Th is st rike
hulled severa l of t he t ra nsport s . .4bout
a n hour la t er 17 fight er-escor t ed dive
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a ft er midnight J a pa nese cruisers a nd de-
st royers ent er ed t h e cha nnel a nd shelled
t he C act us a ir field for a bout ha lf a n hour .
There w as no ser ious da ma ge, how ever .
b om ber s d eliv er ed t h e s econ d con cen t ra t ed
America n a t t a ck on t he t r a n sport s a n d
sa n k on e of t h em. Next t urn w en t t o
15 B –17’s t ha t h a d left E spir it u S a nt o a t
C RI TI CAL NOVE MB ER 355
a t remen dous volume of a nt ia ircra ft fire. C rew s
w ere n ea r exha ust ion. Th e rema in in g t ra ns-
por t s ha d spen t most of t h e da y in eva sive a c-t ion , zigza ggin g a t h igh speed, a n d w ere n ow
sca tt er ed in a ll dir ect ion s.
I n det a il t h e pict ure is n ow va gue, but t he
gen era l effect is indelible in my mind of bombs
w obbling dow n from h igh -fly in g B –17’s, of ca r-
r ier bombers roa r ing t ow a rd t a rget s a s t hough
t o plun ge full in t o t h e w a t er , relea sing bombs
a nd D ullin g out ba rely in t ime; ea ch miss sending
up t ow er in g column s of mist a nd spra y; every hit
ra isin g clouds of smoke a nd fire a s t ra nspor t s
burst int o fla me a nd t a ke t he sickening list t ha tspells t h eir doom. At ta cks depa r t , smoke
screen s lift a n d revea l t he t ra gic scene of m en
jumpin g overboa rd from burn in g, sinking ships.
S hips regrouped ea ch t ime t he en emy w it h drew ,
but precious t ime w ’a s w a st ed a nd t h e a dva n ce
d ela yed. “
In spit e of t his disa st rous da y, Ta na ka
st ea med on sout h in h is fla gsh ip, doggedly
lea d in g t r a ns por t s K inugawa M ar w , Ya-
m a .t .su k i M a r w , 2 1i r o7ca wa M a r w , a nd Ya -
m aur a M a.r w on t ow ard G ua da lca na l.
These ships a nd t hree dest roy ers from D e-
stroyer D im”si on 15 w hich cont inued t o es-
cort him w ere t he only sound ves-
lig ht cr uis er s Sendai a n d Nagara, a nd a n
ent ire dest royer squa dron. Kondo w a s
t o com plet e t he H en der son F ield kn ockou t
w hich Admira l C a lla gha n’s force ha d
t hw a rt ed t wo night s ea rlier .
Throughout t he da y Admira l Lee like-
w ise sift ed in telligen ce r epor ts w hich fun -
neled int o his fla gship, t he ba t t leship
Washington. Then he m oved a ga inst t his
pow erful Tokyo E xpress w hich w a s
hea ded his w ay.23 Lee ent ered S ea la rk
C ha nnel a t a bout 2100 on 14 November
a nd pa t rolled t he w a t ers a round S a ve.
.4n hour befor e midnight , ra da r indica ted
n J a pa nese ship (t he cruiser Sendai) nine
m iles t o t he nor th . About 12 m inut es la ter
t he t a rget w as visible by ma in ba tt ery di-
r ect or t elescopes a n d L ee or der ed ca pt a in s
of t he Washington a nd t he Sou th D ak ot a
to fire w hen rea dy . Their first sa lvos
pr om pt ed t he Sendai to t urn out of ra nge.
S hort ly before t his Admira l Ta na ka ,
st ill lea ding his four t ra nsport s sout h t o-
w a rd G ua da lca na l, ha d been much re-
lieved t o see Admira l Kondo’s Second
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sels Ta na ka ha d a t sundow n t ha t
da y—”. . . a sorry remna nt of t he
force t ha t ha d sort ied from S hor t ha nd.” 23
B ut w ha t w as w orse, Ta na ka t hen got t he
Fleet in front of him in The S lot . B ut
w hen t he cruiser h’endai scur ried ba ck
fr om t his first brief brush w it h t he Ameri-
ca n ships, t he J a pa nese officers found t ha t
356 P EARL H ARB OR TO G IJ AD ALC ANAL
Tora jiro ~ a t o--int o t he fight , a n d t h e a d-
mira l t h en t urned his t ra nspor ts nor t h a nd
shepherded t hem beyon d ra nge of t h e im-
pendin g a ct ion. Ylea n w h jle .~ dmira l
K on do’s fleet closed for t he fight , a n d S OOn
t he America n dest royers lea ding .~ dinira l
Lee’s forma t ion ca me w ith in visua l ra n ge
of some of t hese ships. The l’. S . de-
st r oyers got t he w orst of t h e ba rga in. 13y
2330 a ll four of t h em w er e out of a ct ion:
t he WaZke a fire a nd sin kin g, t h e Benlw?n
limpin g a wa y, t h e Preston gut t ed by fire
t h a t ca used h er a ba ndon men t la ter , a nd
t h e Gu+n da ma ged by a shell in her engine
room. Only on e J a pa nese dest royer , t he
Ayurami , h a d been da ma ged.
Th e t w o U . S . ba t t lesh ips con t in ued
n ort hw est bet w een S avo a nd C a pe E sper-
an t e . The Sou th D ak ot cz, t urning t o
a void t he bu rn in g d es tr oy er Preston? came
w it hin ra nge of t h e J a pa nese ships w hich
h a d just scuffled w it h t h e ~ merica n de-
st royers, a nd t he w ord pa ssed by t hese
,J apa nese ships brought t heir “big brot h-
ers” out from t h e shelt er of S a ve’s n or t h -
w est coa st .
a n d Talcao, revea led by t heir ow n sea rch -
light s, a lso w ere da ma ged, B ut t he orig-
ina l J apa n ese on sla ugh t . ha d ca used
en ough ser ious da ma ge t o t h e A ’ou th D a-
Iota t o force h er t o ret ire, a lso.
Admira l Lee con t inued on a nort h -
w est er ly course t o diver t t h e J a pa nese,
t hen bore a wa y t o t h e sout h w est nea r t he
Russells, a nd fina lly ret ired from t he a rea
w hen he not ed t he J a pa nese likew ise w it h-
dra w in g. Th e enemy ba t t leship lZi~ i-
shima w a s a ba n don ed a s w a s t he de-
stroyer Ayanami . Am er ica n dest roy er
Benharn likew ise ha d t o be a ba n doned
later .
Wit h h is escor tin g d es tr oy er s d isper sed
by t his ba tt le a nd it s a ft erma th, Admira l
Ta na ka n ow w a s a lone in his fla gsh ip
Hayashio w it h t h e four t r a nsport s. H e
ma de full speed for Ta ssa fa ron ga , but it
w as clea r t o him t h a t t he t r a nsport s w ould
n ot be a ble t o un loa d before da ylight .
Aft er t h a t t he U . S . pla nes w ould a t t a ck
t h em like t hey h a d t h ose six t r a nsport s
w hich t r ied t o unloa d durin g da yligh t in
Oct ober . B ut t hese men w ere cr it ica lly
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~ ~ dmira l K on do stea med int o t he figh t
w it h d es tr oy er s Asagumo a n d T er u .zu ki i n
t he va n follow ed by hea vy cruisers A t ago
needed on C rua da lca na l, Ta na ka knew .
H e sen t a messa ge t o Admira l Mika w a a t
E igh th F leet hea dq ua rt ers a nd a sked if he
C RITIC AL NOVE MB ER 357
nort h , g~ t hered up his dest royers a ga in
a nd sa iled t hrough t he w at ers ea st of S avo
Is land.”
Th e a dm ir al w rot e la t er :
D ayligh t brough t t he expect ed a er ia l a ssa ult s
on our gron n clecl t ra nspor ts w hich w ere soon in
fla mes from direct bomb h it s. I la t er lea rn ed
t ha t a ll t roops, ligh t a rms. a mmun it ion , a nd pa rt
of t he pr ov is ion s w er e la n ded s ucces sfu lly .”
Tw o guns of t he 2.Mt h C oa st Art illery
B a t t a lion a n d t he 5-inch guns of t he 3d
D efense B a t t alion a lso cont ribut ed t o t he
da ma ge of t he grounded t ra nsport s. This
fire hit t w o of t he ships, a nd t hen t he
Am er ica n d est roy er .Veade ca me over
from Tula gi t o ent er t he fight . P la nes
from H enderson Field a n d E spir it u
S a nt o soon joined t his grisly “B uzza rd
P a t rol,” a nd t he J a pa nese t ra nspor t s w ere
reduced t o useless hulks engulfed in
flames. J a pa nese pla ns for a big Novem-
ber coun ter offen sive h ad m et d isa st er , a nd
I mperia l hea dq ua rt ers now bega n t o t hink
seriously a bout . t he more ca ut ious pla n t o
pL dl t he line ba ck closer t o Ra ba ul. There
t he Imperia l force on t he isla nd bega n t o
dw indle 2’ w hile t he America n comma nd
cont inued t o grow . C rit ica l N ovem ber
ha d t ur ned int o decisive Novem ber, in t he
P acific Wa r a s w ell a s t he G ua da lca na l
B a t t l e . The t J a pa nese never a ga in a d-
va nced a nd t he Allies never st opped.
Admira l Ta na ka , w hose skillful con-
duct of t he convoy a nd a ggressiveness
in t hrow ing his four escort ing dest royers
int o t he ba t t le a ga inst Admira l Lee>s
force nea r S a vo ha d cent ribut ed most t o
w ha t lim it ed success t he <J a pa nese ha d h ad
during t his ha rrow ing mont h, summed it
up t his w ay:
The la st la rge-sca le effor t t o rein for ce G ua da l-
ca na l h a d en ded. My con cern a nd t repida tion
a bout t he en t ire ven t ur e h a d been pr oven w ell
foun ded. As con voy comma n der I felt a h ea vy
r es pon si bi li ty . 27
BACK T O WARD K OK U M BON A
Wit h t his ,J a pa nese a t tem pt t o r ein for ce
G en er al H ya kut ake d ecisively st opped, t he
America n ground a dva nce t o t he w est w as
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now w ere some 10,000 new J apa nese
t roops on Cha da lca na l, but t hese recent
sea a nd a ir a ct ions ma de it clea r t o t he
resum ed. G enera l S ebree, w est ern sect or
comma nder, w ould be in comma nd. Wit h
t he t roops of his sect or-t he 164t h I n-
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CH APTER 9
Final Period 9 December 1942 to9 February 1943
At t he Noumea con ference w it h Ad-
mira l H alsey in Oct ober , G enera l Va nde-
gr ift st ressed t h e n eed for get t ing t he 1stMa rine D ivision t o a h ea lt h ier clima te.
B ut a t t h a t t ime t h e J a pa n ese coun t er-
offen sive w as underw ay, a nd a not her
enemy effor t a ga inst t he Lungs perimet er
bega n short ly a ft er t h is Oct ober a tt a ck
w a s t urn ed ba ck. Troops could not be
spa red from C h a da lca na l during t h a t
per iod, a nd sea la nes t o t h e a rea w ere t oo
h a za rdous for a ra pid buildup of t h e is-la n d g a rr is on . I t w a s not unt il a ft er t he
import an t na va l a ct ions of November t ha t
s uf ficien t r ein for cem en t s cou ld b e b rou gh t
in t o relieve t he 1st Ma rine D ivision . B y
t h a t t ime it w as clea r t o a ll t h a t t hese vet e-
ua lt .ies t o enemy a ct ion , 8,580 fell prey a t
on e t ime or a not h er t o ma la ria a nd ot her
t r opica l d is ea s es .
Records ma ke it impossible t o sepa ra te
t h ese t w o t ot a ls. Ma ny m en w it h ma la ria
w ere h ospit alized more t ha n once a nd t hus
a dded t o t h e t ot a l a s ca ses’ ra th er t h a n a s
individua ls. S ome of t h ese la t er w ere
killed or w oun ded in a ct ion . B ut on t h e
ot her ha nd ma ny suffered from a milder
form of ma la ria or ot her illness a n d did
n ot t urn in a t t h e h ospit a l a t a ll. I t be-
ca me a rule of t h umb in f rent -line unit s
t ha t unless one ha d a t empera ture of more
t ha n 103 degrees t here w ould be no light
dut y or excuse from a pa trol mission. The
t ropics w ea kened nea rly everyone. F ood
hcid been in sh or t supply during t he ea rly
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ra ns n eeded t o be t a ken out of t he jungle.
C om pa r ed t o la t er a ct ion s in t he P a cific,
ca sua lt ies in t he division ha d n ot been ex-
w eeks of t he ca mpa ign, m uch of t h e fa re
h a d been subst a n da r d, a n d most of t he
lon g-t im e vet er an s of t he figh tin g su ffer ed
360 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD .4LC AN.4L
w here. This could not be, how ever, a nd
t he Ma rines w ho held out in t he Lungs
perimet er during t he da rk ea rly da ys de-
served a brea k. They ha d t a ken Anler i-
ca ’s first offensive st ep a ga inst long odds,
a nd t hey ha d held out a ga inst st rong ,J a -
pa nese a tt acks w hen G lla da lca na l w as a ll
hut cut off from i llied support . F or t his
t hey w ere a w a rded a P resident ia l U nit
C it a tion a nd —w ha t w a s t o be inm led ia t ely
more sa t isfying t o t ile survivors-a re-
ha bilit a t ion a nd t ra ining period in ~ iu-
st ra lia . The M Ma rines, a lso on ha nd for
t he origina l la nding, w -a s to be sent t o h“ew
Zealand.
On 9 D ecember 1942, comma nd of t he
t roops a sh or e on G ua da lca na l pa ssed fr om
(ienera l Va nclegrift t o ilfa jor G enera l
Xiexa n der M. P a t ch , cou )n lim din g g en er a l
of t he .lmerica l D ivision a nd senior Army
officer present . On t he sa me da y t he 1st
Ma rine D ivision bega n t o emba rk for .\ u-
st ra lia . The 5t h Ma rines sa iled t ha t da y,
follow ecl a t int erva ls of a few da ys by di-
vision h ea dq ua rt er s per son nel, t he 1st Ma -
r iva l t he Ar my clivision n um ber ecl 13,169
men-more t ha n 3,000 shor t of full
st rengt h. The 164t h Infa nt ry , in i~ ct ion
since t he Oct ober fight ing on Illoody
Ridge, w as in lit t le bet t er sha pe t ha n t he
1st Ma rine D ivision regiment s. B ot h t his
regiment a nd t he 182d Infa nt ry w ere ea ch
u nd er st ren .g th by a bol~ t 860 n lel~ .
Ma jor G enera l ,J . La v-t on C oil ins’ 25t h
D ivision, bound from H a w a ii t o New
C aledonia , w -a s divert ed direct ly t o G ua -
d a lca n al w h er e, it s 35t h I nf an tr y R eg im en t
la nded on 17 T)ecem ber , t he 27t h I nfa nt ry
on 1 J a nua ry, a nd t he 161st Infa nt ry on 4
? J a n u a ry , .\ lso on 4 ,J a nua ry , t he 6t h Ma -
r in es (C olon el C ~ ild e.r T. iJ n ckson ) a n d d i -
~ -ision hea dq ua rt ers of t he 2d Ma rine D i-
vision ]a nciecl from X’ew Zea la nd t o join
t heir ot her regiment s, t he 2d a nd 8t h Ma -
rines. B riga dier G enera l Alphonse D e
C’a rre, t he AT)C , a ct ed a s division com-
m ander w hile t his division w a s on G ua da l-
ca na l, a ncl a lso served a s com ma nder of a ll
ot he~ r Ma rine ground unit s. Ma jor G en-
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r ines a nd, a ft er a longer int erva l, by t he
7t h Ma rines. The comma nd of G enera l
P a t ch included H enderson F ield, t he
er al ,J olm Ma rst on, com ma nding genera l
of t he 2d Ma rine D ivision, rema ined in
New Zea la nd beca use he w a s senior t o
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362 P EARL H AR B OR TO G UAD AL C ANAL
B y 7 J a nua ry a rriva l of a ddit iona l re-
pla cem en ts h ad pla ced G ua da lca na l’s com -
bined a ir , ground, a n d na va l forces a ta bout 50,000. The 2d Ma rine D ivision
now ha d a st rengt h of 14,733; t he Ameri-
ca l D ivision, 16,000; t he 25t h D ivision,
12,629. This w a s a ma npow er level be-
yond even t he drea ms of t he ea rly Lungs
defenders, a nd, w it h t he S out h P a cific a ir
a nd na va l pow er a lso grow ing, t he Allies
a t la st w ere a ble t o la y pla ns for a t t a cks
t ha t, w ould defea t t he J a pa nese on t he is-la nd a nd keep reinforcement la ndings t o
a m in im um .
Wit h G ua da lca na l clea rly out of t he
shoest r ing ca tegory a t la st , G enera l H ar-
mon on 2 J a nua ry designa ted t he G ua da l-
ca na l-Tula gi comma nd a s XIV C orps.
G enera l P a t ch beca me corps comma nder
a nd G enera l S ebree, former America l
.&D C , a ssumed comma nd of t ha t di-vision.4
A mont h a nd n ha lf ea rlier t ha n t his, on
15 November , inst a lla tions of t he C act us
Air Force a lso ha d ga ined a more digni-
fied t it le. On t ha t da t e Rea r Admira l
Avia tion E ngineer B at ta lion relieved t he
6t h S ea bees, a nd on t he J a nua ry da te Ma -
jor C hest er C la rk’s 2d Ma rine Avia tionE ngineer B at t a lion a rrived. These w ere
t he only unit s of t heir kind w it hin t he Ma -
rine C or ps, a nd, t oget her w it h t he rema in-
ing S ea bees plus t he orga nic engineer ba t-
t alions of t he 1st a nd 2d Ma rine D ivisions,
t hey kept t he a ir fields in sh ape.
P a rt of t his w ork included const ruct ion
of a new st rip, Fight er 2, closer t o t he
bea ch nea r K ukum. Fight er 1, a lw ays un-usua lly slow t o dry a deq ua tely a ft er t ropi-
ca l ra ins, w a s a ba ndoned w hen t his new
st r ip beca m e oper a tion a l, a bou t t he m id dle
of D ecember . B ot h H enderson a nd
Fight er 2 t hen w ere built up w it h cora l
for bet t er dra ina ge, a nd st eel Ma rst on
ma ts, now becoming a va ila ble, a lso w ere
la id on t he runw a ys. Tools st ill w ere
sca rce, how ever, a nd t he old J a pa nese r oa droller s, for exa mple, cont inued t o be used.
B riga dier G enera l Louis E . Woods, w ho
ha d relieved G enera l G eiger a t C a ct us on
7 November so t he w ing comm ander could
ret urn t o his hea dq ua r t ers a t E spirit u
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ilubrey W. Fit ch, w ho ha d relieved Ad-
mira l McC a in a s C omAirS oP a c, desig-
nt it ed H enderson F ield a nd Fight er 1 a
S ant e, st ayed on a s C om ma nder Aircra ft ,
C a ct us Air F orce unt il 26 D ecember w hen
he in t urn w as relieved by B riga dier G en-
FI NAL P E RI OD , 9 D E C E MB E R 1942 TO 9 F E B RU ARY 1943 363
B omber G roups (t he llt h a nd t he 5t h) be-
ga n t o opera t e t hrough G ua da lca na l on
lon g-ra nge recon na issa nce mission s. On23 November six 0S 2U ’S ca me in t o run
a nt isubma rine pa trols; on 26 November
t he 3d Reconna issa nce S q ua dron of t he
Roya l Nevv Zea la n d Air F orce a rr ived
w it h it s Lockheed H udson s, a nd during
t he period 15 t o 25 D ecember night pa -
t rolling P BY’s of 17P –12 a rr ived. Also
during D ecember t he Army sent in t he
12t h, 68t h, a nd 70t h Fight er S q ua dron s
a nd t he 69t h B omba rdmen t S q ua dron of
E-26’s.
This a ddit ion al a ir st ren gt h en abled t he
Allies t o ma int a in t he upper h a nd t hey
h a d ga ined over t he Tokyo E xpress a n d
Ra ba ul fliers. J a pa nese commanders
point ed up t heir loss of pilot s a s t he most
s er iou s t rou ble r es ult in g fr om t he fig ht in g
a round G ua da lca na l, a nd severa l J a pa -nese oficers, including C apt ain Ohma e,
list t his loss a s t he t urning point a t G ua -
da lca na l a nd t h erefore t he t urning point
in t he P a cific w ar .5 Oh ma e sa id la t er :
lVe w er e a ble t o la nd a num ber of t roops a n d
GE A7E RA L S IT UAT IO N
T he L 1. S. forces ha d not been idle dur-
ing D ecember . Th e perimet er now ex-t ended w est a long t he bea ch t o P oint
C ruz, sout h t o H ill 66 (n ea rly 2,oOO ya rds
inla nd from t he bea ch a t P oin t C ruz)
vvhere it w as refused ea st t o t he Ma ta ni-
ka u t o join t h e former Lun ga perimet er
out post line ea st of t h a t r iver . There w as
lit t le expa nsion t o t he ea st , but a sepa ra te
America n force held K oli P oint out side
t h e m a in per im et er .
The Aola B a y force, fina lly giving up
a ir field const ruct ion t here beca use of
sw a mpy, unsuit able t erra in, moved ea rly
in D ecember t o K oli P oint w here a field
la ter w as built . This force, st ill un der t he
com ma nd of C olon el Tut tle, n ow in clu ded
t he colonel’s 147t h In fa nt ry, t he 9t h Ma -
rine D efen se B at t a lion, t h e 18t h Na va l
C on st ruct ion B a tt a lion (S ea bees), a n d ele-
men t s of t h e 246t h Field Art illery B at -
tal ion.
The limit ed offensive t ow ard K okum-
bona w a s ha lt ed la t e in November w hen
t he J apa nese t r ied t o moun t a second
s tr on g cou nt er offen siv e a ga in st t he per im -
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supplies [on G ua da lea na l], but our a ir losses
w er e t oo gr ea t . Almost a ll of t he Na vy’s first
cla ss pilot s a nd a few of t he Army ’s w er e lost in
et er , a nd a t t h a t t ime a J apa n ese move-
ment t o build up forces in t he Mount Aus-
t en a r ea w a s not ed . Now , ea r ly in D e-
364 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
t he sout h a bove H enderson Field ha d t o
be clea red before ma ny t roops w ent w est
a long t he nort h coa st t o drive t he J a pa nesebeyond K okumbona . The enemy line
from P oint (l-w inla nd w a s dug in for a
d et er min ed st a nd , a ncl J a pa nese st ren gt h
w a s a ga in mount ing in t he B isma rcks.
(h~ 2 D ecemberl G enera l H it oshi Inla -
m ura , comm ander of t he J a pa nese -E ight fi
Area . Army, a rrived in Ra ba ul t o a ssume
comma nd of t he enemy’s S out h P acific
fires a nd w ha t w as left of ~TeIled Hyaku-take’s Seventeenth Army. Ima mura ha d
been ordered dow n from ,J a pa n t o ret a ke
G ua da lca na l, a nd for t his job he brought
a long 50,000 men for his .E ight h Area
.lrmy. H ya kut a ke rema ined on G ua da l-
ca na l w here his t roops w ere disposed gen-
era lly from P oint C ruz inla nd t o Mount
Aust en, fa cing t he America n line w est of
t he Ma t a nika u. The rea r a rea s, a nd t hebulk of H ya kut a ke’s suppor t t roops, ex-
t ended from t he P oint C ruz line w est t o
C a p e E s pe ra n ce . This J a pa nese for ce in-
cluded remna nt s of t he 2d D ivi si on ( Gen-
era l Ma ruya ma ), 38t h D i vi si on (Gen er al
At t his t ime t he t ot al J a pa nese st rengt h
on t he isla nd st ood a t a bout 25,000 men.
B ut t hey w ere inca pa ble of concent ra tedoffensive a ct ion, a nd t hey ha d dug in for
a defensive st and w hile a wa it ing G enera l
I ma mur a’s E ight h, Ar ea Am Ly r ein for ce-
ment s. Ra tions w ere low , ma la ria now w as
more preva lent in ,J a pa nese ra nks t ha n
in Am er ic<m , a mmunit ion st ocks w ere
n ea rly exh aust ed , pr event ive a nt { cor rec-
t ive m edica l ca pa bilit ies w er e pr act ica lly
nonexist ent , a nd t he Tokyo E xpress w asha rd pressed t o ma int a in even a st a rva -
t ion-level of supplies. Admira l Ta na ka
st ill w as in cha rge of t his supply opera -
t ion dow n The S lot ., a nd t he mea sures now
being t a ken w ere despera t e ones. D e-
st royers t r ied t o supply t hese Imperia l
t roops by m aking high-speed r uns t o G ua -
da lca na l a nd dropping OH st rings of
la sh ed -t og et her d ru ms in to w h ich su ppliesha d been sea led. B arges from t he isla nd
t hen w ere t o t ow t hese drums a shore.
This procedure w as not t oo successful,
how ever, a nd t he t roops ma na ged t o re-
t rieve only a bout 30 per cent of t hese sup-
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S a no ), a nd t he Kawagwchi a nd lchicki
Forces. (See Ma p 26, Ma p S ect ion )
C onfront ing t he America ns on his left
plies t ha t Ta na ka ’s dest royers ca st upon
t he w a ter .
Ta na ka ’s first run w it h t he drums oc-
FI NAL P E RI OI ), 9 I )I K’E M13E R 1942 TO 9 FE B RU .iRY 1943 365
in t o fa ce t he America ns could not even
h old defen sive posit ion s u nless t hey cou ld
be fed a nd ca red for . Ta na ka ’s dest roy-
ers ra ced dow n The S lot . on 3 D ecember
a nd dropped st r in gs of 1,500 drums. B ut
t h e isla nd t roops ma na ged t o ha ul in only
a bout 300 of t hese from t h e w a t ers off
Ta ssa fa ron ga a n d S egila u. “our t rou-
bles,” Ta na ka sa id , “w ere st ill w it h us. ” 6
On 7 D ecember C a pt a in S a to led 10 de-
st royers t o C ~ lmda lca na l for t he t hird J a p-
a nese a t t empt t o supply t he t roops. F our-
t een T_;. S. bomber a nd fight er pla nes lo-
ca t ed t h is force in The S lot a t a bout
n ight fa ll, h ow ever , a nd on e J a pa nese sh ip
w a s h it a nd ha d t o st a rt ba ck n ort h un der
t ow by a n ot her dest royer . Tw o ot her
s hips escor ted t his a ided cr ipple. Adm ir al
Ta na ka w ent sout h t o t he scene in h is new
fla gsh ip, t he n ew ly-built dest royer Terw-
ZZA’ an im pr ov ed 2,500-t on m od el ca p a ble
of 39 kn ot s. Th e ot h er dest royers w hich
h a d been on t h e dr um run w ent , on sout h
t ow a rd G ua da lca na l but ha d t o t urn ba ck
w hen t hey en count ered P T boa t s a nd
U . S . pla nes. ThLI S t h e t hird supply run
fa iled com pl et el y.
w en t t o t he a t t a ck. The J a pa nese sh ip
ch a sed t he P T boa ts a wa y but in t he proc-
ess got hit in it s port side a ft . by a t or-
pedo. Th e sh ip ca ught fire a nd beca me
unna viga ble a lmost a t on ce, a nd t he de-
stroyer iVaqan(~mi hurr ied a longside t o
r escue survivors. Ta na ka , w ho h a d been
w oun ded a nd knocked un con scious, plus
ot hers from t h e officers a n d crew w ere
t ra nsferred t o t h is ot her dest royer , a nd
t he dest royer AmslI i a lso ca me up t o h elp.
B ut t he h ea r t en ed U . S , P T boa t s ch a sed
t h ese soun d sh ips a wa y from t he sinking
Teruauki , a nd t h e ,J a pa nese could only
drop life ra ft s t o crew mem bers w ho w ere
st ill in t he w a t er . S om e of t he drums
w ere recovered by t h e t roops a shore, but
w it h t he loss of such sh ips a s t he T erwm& i ,
t his sor t . of sLlpply opera t ion w a s becom-
in g ver y cost ly . An d n ow t h e moon w a s
en t ering a ph a se w hich ca used ot her such
a tt em pt s t o be t empora rily post pon ed.
J a p an ese defen ses h a d r eceived very lit tle
help for t he a ct ion s w hich n ow sh a ped up
a ga in st t hem .
The 132d I n fa nt ry of t h e America l D i-
vision bega n t he offensive a ga in st Mount
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The fourt h of th ese supply runs ca me
on 11 D ecember , a nd Ta na ka h imself led
.kust en on 17 D ecember , a nd by ea rly J a n-
ua ry t roops of t h is regimen t h a d t he ma -
366 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC Ah lAL
ing inla nd from P oint C ruz served t o ex-
t end t he America n posit ions fa rt her int o
,J a pa nese t er rit or y w est of Moun t Aust en .
(S ee Ma p 27, Ma p S ect ion)
T H E CORPS OFFE iVSI ~E
Wit h t he J a pa nese in t he Mount Aust en
a rea loca lized in t he ~ ~ ifu, t he drive t o t he
w est could get underw ay. C~ enera l P a tch
pla nned t o ext end his P oint C ruz-H ill 66
line fa rt her inla nd a nd t hen t o push w est ,
dest roying t he J a pa nese or dr iving t hem
from t he isla nd, G ener al C ollins’ 25t h D i-
vision (w it h 3/182, Ma r ines of 1/2 a nd
t he Arner ica l Reconna issa nce S qua dron
a tt a ched) w ould a dva nce w est of Mount
A u st en on t he ext ended fla nk inla nd, a nd
a t t he sa me t im e a ssum e responsibilit y for
t he G ifu P ocket w hich now w ould be be-
hind t he XIV C orps line. (S ee Ma p 2’i,
Ma p S ect ion ).
The 2d Ma rine D ivision (less 1}2)
w ould provide t he corps’ r ight element
from t he 25t h D ivision’s nort h fla nk t o t he
bea ch. The America ] D ivision (m inus t he
182d Infa nt ry, division a rt illery, a nd
C la rence A. Orndorff) w ould be t he di-
v is ion r es er ve .
The ground t hus a ssigned t o t he 27t h
Infa nt ry consist ed of a jumble of hills
(dubbed t he G alloping H orse beca use of
t heir a ppea ra nce on a er ia l ph ot ogr aph s)
w hich lie some 1,500 ya rds sout h of H ill
66. Army unit s bega n t heir a t t a cks
a ga inst t his t erra in on 10 J a nua ry, a nd,
cluring t he fina l a ct ions here t hree da ys
la t er , Ma rines on t he right fla nk of t he
corps line be~ ~ n t heir for wa rd m ovem ent .
La unching it s a t t a ck w it h t he 8t h Ma -
rines on t he right a nd t he 2d on t he left ,
t he 2d D ivision im med ia tely en coun ter ed a
series of cross com pa rt ment s in w hich t he
J a pa nese h ad est a blish ed ver y effect ive d e-
f en si ve pos it i on s. sing a minimum of
men a nd w ea pons, t he enemy fired dow n
t he long a xis of t hese va lleys w hich w ere
perpendicula r t o t he Ma rine a dva nce, a nd
t hus enga ged t he a tt a ckers in a cross fire
in ea ch t er r a in com pa r t men t .
E nemy posit ions of t his t ype held up t he
8t h Ma rines t hroughout t he da y, but t w o
ba t t a lions of t he 2d Ma rines a dva nced
a bout 1,000 ya rds on t he inla nd fla nk.
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2/132) w ould h old t he m ain per im et er .
S ince t he 25t h D ivision a ppa rent ly
The 6t h Ma rines t hen moved up t o relieve
t he 2d Ma rines w hich w as long overdue
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368 P EARL H AR B OR TO G UAD AI A2ANAL
s ou t h~ l Wit h th is u n it in pla ce,t h eXI V
C orps a tt a ck jumped off w it h t he 25t h D i-
vision on t he left t o envelop t he enemysout h fla nk, a nd t he C AM D ivision ( C om-
posit e .4rmy-Ma rine) t o a dva nce w est
a long t he coa st . The C AM D ivision con-
sist ed of t he 6t h Ma r ines, t he 182d a nd
147t h I nfa nt ry regiment s, a nd a rt illery of
t he America l a nd 2d Ma rine D ivision?2
(S ee Ma p 28, Ma p S ect ion )
The 25t h D ivision bega n it s fla nking
movement on 20 J a nua ry, sw inging in t o-w ard K okumbona a nd t a king H ills 90 a nd
98 by 21 J a nua ry. This high ground, im-
media t ely sout h of Kokumbona , w a s in
front of t he C AM D ivision a nd domi-
na t ed t he coa st a l a rea a round t he J a pa -
n es e b a se. The enemy t roops fa cing t he
C AM D ivision t hus w ere out fla nked a nd
pa rt ia lly surroun ded by t h e t w o forces.
The a tt a ck cont inued on 23 J a nua ry w hent he 27t h Infa nt ry occupied Kokumbona ,
but by t his t ime most of t he enemy a l-
rea dy h a d slipped a wa y a long t he coa st .
Mea nw hile, t he C .4M D ivision on 22
,J a nua ry ha d opened a full-sca le a tt a ck
A ra dio spot t ing freq uency w a s a s-
signed t he four S FC P S serving w it h t he
a ssa ult ba tt a lions of t he 6t h Ma rines a ndt he 182d Infa nt ry, a nd on t his frequency
t he shore spot ters ca lled in fire missions
from t he dest royers. Anot her frequency
w a s est a blish ed bet w -een t he D ivision Na -
va l G unfire Officer ( NG FO ) a nd a ll four
of t he dest royers, a nd forw ard spot t ers
a lso could use t h is net if t he need a rose.
In t h is pha se of t he corps a dva nce, Ma -
r ines in t he C AM D ivision ra n int o t hes tr on gest oppos it ion , a nd t hey w ere
st opped t he first da y by a bout 200 J a pa -
n ese in a ra vine w est of H ill 94. Wit h
t he help of t he close-in na va l gunfire a dd-
ing it s w eight t o a rt illery, a ir , a nd infa n-
t ry w ea pon s, t his opposit ion w a s over-
come by noon of 24 J anua ry w hen t he
C AM D ivision ma de cont a ct w it h t he 25t h
D ivision on t he high ground a bove Ko-kumbona . Alt hough some of t he fight ing
ha d been m ost difficult , t he J a pa nese w ere
pulling ba ck slow ly. I t a ppea red t ha t
t hey w ould proba bly est ablish st rong de-
fen ses fa r th er w es t.
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w it h t he 6t h Ma rines on t he right by t he
bea ch, t he 147t h Infa nt ry in t he cen t er ,
Act ua lly t here w ould be m ore st iff fight -
ing on t he isla nd, but no a ll-out st a nd of
FI NAL P E RI OI ), (1 I ) E C I MI B E R 1942 TO 9 F E B RU ARY 1943 369
vember a tt empt t o ret a ke G ua da lca na l,
Now a sma ll force of J apa nese ha d met
w it h disa st er t rying t o reca pt ure P ortMoresby from a cross t he Ow en S t a nley
Mount a in s, a nd t he 50,000 t roops G en er al
Ima mura brought dow n from J a va t o re-
inforce H ya kut a ke w ould ha ve t o be used
in New G uinea . Around 15 D ecember
t he J a pa nese decided t o eva cua te G ua da l-
ca na l a nd build up new defenses fa rt her
nort h in t he S olomon cha in. The st a rv-
ing t roops on t he isla nd w ould fight de-la ying a ct ions t ow ard C a pe E spera nce,
a nd t hey w ould be eva cua ted in det a ch-
m ent s from t ha t point . by fa st dest royers.
C omma nding t hese dest royers w ould be
Rea r Admira l Tomiji Koya na gi, former
chief of st a ff of t he S econ d F l eet . H e
ha d repla ced t he w ounded a nd exha ust ed
Admira l Ta na ka , w ho now w as on his w ay
t o t he home isla nds w here he w ould serveon t he Na va l G enera l S ta fl.
XIV C orps ma int ained t he moment um
of it s w est ern a dva nce by resupplying it s
a tt a cking divisions over t he bea ch a t Ko-
kumbona , w here t he Tokyo E xpress ha d
Allied comma nd concluded t ha t t he en-
emy w a s rea dy for st ill a not her a tt empt
t o ret a ke G ua da lca na l. Admira l H a lseydeployed six t ask forces sout h of G ua da l-
ca na l, a nd G enera l P a tch reca lled t he 25t h
D ivision from t he w est er n a dva nce t o bol-
s t er t h e per im et er . I t w as t he sa me prob-
lem G enera l Va ndegrift ha d fa ced so
ma ny t imes in t he pa st , but now t here
w ere more t roops a nd t he w est ern a tt a ck
did not ha ve t o be complet ely st opped.
P ursuit of t he J a pa nese w a s a ssigned t ot he C AM D ivision .
This est ima te of J a pa nese int ent ions
slow ed pur suit of t he enemy a nd proba bly
a ided t heir esca pe, but t he mist a ke w a s
a n honest one. Act ua lly t he J a pa nese
st rengt h a t Ra ba ul ha d been mount ing,
a nd t he ba sic int elligence w as good. B ut
t his t ime t he a ct ivit y in t he B isma rcks
a nd t he S hor t la nds w as t he result of J a p-a nese pla ns t o complet e t he eva cua tion of
G ua da lca na l a nd t o st a rt new defensive
in st a lla t ion s closer t o R a ba ul.
B y t his t ime t he J a pa nese ha d nea rly
com plet ed t heir w it hd ra w a l t o eva cua t ion
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oft en unloa ded, a nd ordering t he a tt a ck
t o push on t ow a rd t he P oha River, a
st rea m some 2,500 ya rds beyond H ya ku -
a rea s a round C a pe E spera nce, a nd w hen
regiment s of t he C AM D ivision la unched
t heir new a tt acks ea rly on 26 J a nua ry t hey
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FIN-AL P ERI OI ), 9 I ) EC ri;MB E R 1942 TO 9 FE B RU ARY 1 343 371
resumed on 30 J a nua ry, a nd t he soldiers
ra n int o resist a nce nea r t he mout h of t he
B onegi River a bout 2,000 y ar ds nor thw est
of t he P oha . There t he unit s fought unt il
2 Februa ry w hen t he J a pa nese w it hdrew .
The U . S . force a dva nced a ga in next da y,
a nd on 5 F ebrua ry t he 147t h held up 1,000
ya rds short of t he U ma sa rni River , a
s tr ea m s om e 2,500 y a rd s n or th w est , of Ta s-
sa fa ronga P oint .
Mea nw hile, t o form a new t ra p for t he
ret rea ting J a pa nese, G enera l P at ch on 31
J a nua ry dispa tched t he r einfor ced 2d B a t-
t alion, 132d Infa nt ry a round C ape E sper -
a nce t o la nd nea r t he w est ern t ip of t he
isla nd. From t ha t point t he ba tt a lion w as
t o a dva nce t o Ca pe E spera nce a nd cut off
t he J a pa nese line of ret rea t. Aft er la nd-
ing ea rly on 1 Februa ry a t Vera hue, t he
force a dva nced t o t he villa ge of Tit i,
nea rly a t hird of t he w a y t o t he ca pe. B y
7 Februa ry t his force w a s rea dy t o push
on from t ha t villa ge, a nd t he nort h coa st
a t t a ck w a s prepa red t o a dva nce beyond
t he U ma sa rni R iver.
B y t his t ime t he 147t h Infa nt ry ha d
been relieved a t t he U ma sa rni by t he 161st
defea t of J apa nese forces on G ua da l-
ca na l. . . . “ 11 From a ha za rdous ea rly
st ep up t he long isla nd pa th t ow a rd To-
kyo, t he Allies ha d ga ined a solid foot ing
w hich w ould becom e a n a ll-im por ta nt ba se
unt il a ft er t he mount ing of t he fina l offen-
sive a ga inst Okina wa t wo yea rs la ter ,
H a ppy t o hea r t he new s t ha t G ua da l-
ca na l w as a t la st secured—but ha rdly dis-
a ppoin ted t ha t, t hey h ad n ot been t her e for
t he fina l cha se—w ere t he vet era ns of t he
1st Ma rine D ivision in Aust ra lia , t he 2d
a nd 8t h Ma rines in New Zea la nd, a nd t he
1st Ra ider a nd lsi P ara chut e B at ta lions in
New C a ledonia . These old isla nd ha nds
w er e r est in g, fight ing off recur rin g a t ta cks
of ma la ria , get t ing t he jungle out of t heir
blood, a nd a lrea dy t ra ining for t heir next
campaign.
EPILOGUE
G ua da lca na l w a s t he primer of ocea n
a nd jungle w ar. I t w a s everyt hing t he
~ nited states could do at that moment
a ga inst everyt hing t he J a pa nese could
ma na ge a t t ha t pla ce. From t his t he
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Infa nt ry of t he 25t h D ivision, a nd on 8
Februa ry t his regiment rea ched D oma
America ns lea rned t ha t t hey could bea t
t he enemy, a nd t hey never st opped doing
3772 P EARL H AR B OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
a nd unofficia l circula tion of lessons
lea rned t here by t he Arm y, hTa vy, a nd Ma -
r ines w er e m any a nd fa r-rea ching.Vet era ns of a ll ra nks from a ll bra nches
of t he service ca me home t o t ea ch a nd
sprea d t he w ord w hile ma ny more st a yed
on t o t em per t he r epla c~ r nent s com ing out
t o t he w a r. B a rra cks bull sessions a nd
bivoua c ya rns a dded color a nd not a lit t le
w eight t o t he forma l per iods of inst ruc-
t ion. Thus w a s t he myt h t ha t t he ,J a pa -
n ese w er e super men sh at ter ed, a nd t he bit sof comba t lore or t he legenda ry t a ll t a les
a nd t rue w hich begin, “Now , on t he
‘C a na l . . .“ st ill ha ve not ent irely dis-
a ppea r ed fr om t he Ma rin e r eper toir e.
G enera l Va ndegr ift summed it up in a
specia l int roduct ion t o T h e G u ad a.l ca n al
Campaign, t he hist orica l monogra ph
w hich cont a ins t he Ma rine C orps’ first
st ud y of t he oper a tion :We st ruck a t G ua da lca na l t o ha lt t h e a dva nce
of t h e J apa nese. We did n ot kn ow h ow st rong
h e w a s, n or did w e kn ow his pla ns. We knew
only t ha t h e w a s movin g dow n t he isla n d ch a in
a nd t ha t h e h a d t o be st opped.
We w ere a s w ell t ra ined a n d a s w ell a rm ed
a s t ime a nd our pea cet ime exper ien ce a llow ed
increa se t h e per imet er defense line a nd t o ga in
.I posit ion w hich w ould cont rol America n t ra ffic
t o Aust ra lia . E xpa nsion int o t he S olomon s from
R a ba ul w as t hen ca rr ied out . U nfor t un a tely , w e
a lso ca rr ied out t h e expa n sion a t t h e sa me t ime
in st ea d of con solida t in g our h oldings in t ha t
a rea . Aft er y ou ca pt ured G ua da lca n a l , w e st ill
t h ought t ha t w e w ould be a ble t o ret a ke it a n d
use it a s a n out post for t h e defen se of t he
empire. Th is effor t w a s very cost ly , bot h a t t he
t ime a n d in la t er opera t ion s, beca use w e w er e
n ever a ble t o recover fr om t h e ship a n d pilot
losses r eceived in t ha t a rea .”
~Tnfor tUnate ly for t he J apa n ese t h ere
w er e very few lesson s from G ua da lca na l
t ha t t hey could put t o effect ive use. I n a
sense t his w a s ph a se on e of t h eir fina l ex-
a min a t ion, t h e begin n in g of a ser ies of
test s for t h e milit a ry for ce w h ich h a d con -
q uered t h e Orient a l side of t h e P a cific,
a n d t h ey fa iled it . Aft er th is t h ere w a s
n eit h er t ime n or mea ns for a n ot h er semes-
t er of st udy a n d prepa ra t ion. Admira l
‘1’a na ka h a d t his t o sa y a bout t he oper a -
t ion a nd its sign ifica nce:
Opera tion s t o rein force G ua da lca na l ext en ded
over a per iod of mor e t h a n five mont hs. Th ey
a moun t ed t o a losing w a r of a t t r it ion in w h ich
J apa n suffered hea vily in a n d a r ound th a t is-
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U S to be. We n eeded comba t t o t ell us h ow effec-
t ive our t ra ining, oa r doct r ines, a nd our w ea p-
la nd . . . Th er e is n o quest ion t ha t J a pa n’s
doom w as sea led w it h t h e closin g of t h e st ruggle
NINAL P E RI OD , 3 D E(3E MB E R 1942 TO 9 FE B RU ARY 1943 373
it t ook on refinement s a nd pra ct ica l modi-
fica t ions, a s doct rines a nd t ech niq ues im-
proved. New models cont inued t o a rr ive
a nd w ere quickly put t o use in t he ha ndsof n ow -skilled figh tin g m en .
F or exa mple, la nding cra ft w hich w ent
int o ma ss product ion a ided t he t act ica l a s-
pect s of a mphibious a ssa ult s a nd a lso les-
sen ed t h e logist ica l pr oblems a t t he
beachhead. I mpr ov ed com mu nica t ion s
eq uipm en t m ade. it poss ible for t he Ma rin e
C orps t o improve a nd ma ke more effect ive
ma ny of t h e specia l orga niza tion s a nd op-er at ion al t ech niq ues w hich pr eviou sly h a d
been lit tle m or e t ha n ca refully -sket ch ed
t heory . Air a nd na va l gun fire lia ison pa r-
t ies experiment ed w it h on G ua da lca na l
la ter beca me t h e efficient t ools of in t e-
gra ted w arfa re t h a t Ma rines h a d been con -fiden t t hey could become. I mproved
eq uipment brough t improved t ech niq ue,
a nd t hus bega n a cont in uous cycle of in -crea sing efficiency w hich ma de t he fin a l
a mphibious a ssa ult s by coopera tin g L“. S .
forces a t Iw o ,J ima a n d Okina w a re-
ma rka ble m odels of m ilit a ry pr ecision .
Th is st ren gt h of n ew eq uipment a n d
a bilit y en a bled t he Allies t o t a ke com-
prove on e t h e .J a pa nese ha d built or w ere
building. This coincided w ell w it h t he
ba sic a mph ibious doct r in e lon g a greed
upon : never hit a defen ded bea ch if t h eobject ive ca n be rea ched over a n un de-
fended one. Toget her t hes e pr in ciples
som et imes ma de it possible for t he Allies
t o la n d on a n enemy isla n d a n d build a n
a ir field some dist a nce from t h e host ile
ga rr ison . This t h e Ma rines did in No-
vember 1943, a t B ouga invi]le. A perim-
et er w as est a blished a round t he a ir field,
a nd t h ere defen ders sa t w a it ing for t heJ a pa nese t o do t h e h a rd w ork of ma rch in g
ov er d ifficu lt t er ra in t o pr es en t t hem selv es
for a ba t t le if t h ey so desired. I t w a s a
premedit a ted repea t of t h e G ua da lca na l
t a ct ic, a nd w hen t he ,J a pa nese obliged by
so a ccept in g it , t hey w er e defea t ed .
All services, unit s a n d men in t h e P a-
cific, or sla ted t o go t h ere, w ere ea ger t o
lea rn t he va lua ble lesson s of ea rly comba ta nd t o put . t h em int o pra ct ice. F or t h e
Ma rin e C orps, a n import a nt fa ct or in t h e
con t inuing success of t he a dva nce a cross
t he P acific w a s t he delinea t ion of com-
ma nd responsibilit ies bet ween t he na va l
t a sk for ce com ma n der a n d t he a mph ibious
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ma nd of t h e st ra tegy in a con t est in w hich t r oop com m a n der .
374 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD AI J CAN.4L
level a s t he na va l t ask force comma nder .
B ot h of t hem w ould be respon sible t o a
common s u per ior .Wit h t his point clea red, a nd w it h t he
va lua ble lessons of C ka da lca na l comba t a
pa rt of his persona l experience a nd
know ledge, Va ndegrift a s a lieut ena nt
genera l beca me comma nder of t he I Ma -
r ine Amphibious C orps in t he fa ll of 1943
a nd w as a ble t o guide a n ever-expa nding
fight ing force a lrea dy involved in new a c-
t ions in t he S olomons. La t er , on 10 No-vem ber 1943, he left t he P a cific t o becom e
t he eight eent h C omma n da nt of t he Ma -
r in e C or ps .
Tile cost of G ua ckdca na l w a s not a s
grea t a s some la t er opera t ions. Total
Army a nd Ma rine ca sua lt ies w it hin t he
ground forces a mount ed t o 1,598 men a nd
officers killed a n d 4,709 w oun ded. Ma -
rines of t he ground forces killed or dea dfrom w ounds numbered 1,152; a nd 2,799
w ere w ounded a nd 55 list ed a s missing.
I n a ddit ion 55 individua ls from Ma rine
a via t ion unit s w ere killed or died of
w oun ds w hile 127 w ere w ounded a nd 85
missing.13 D efea t for t he J a pa nese w as
more cost ly . Alt hough some 13,000 en-
em y sold ier s w er e eva cua t ed fr om G ua da l-
ca na l for new defensive posit ions fa rt hernort h , more personnel t ha n t his h a d lost
t heir lives on t he isla nd. J a p a n es e
s ou rces list a ppr oxim a tely 14,800 killed or
missing in a ct ion w hile 9,oOO died of
w ounds a nd disea se. S om e 1,000 en em y
t roops w ere t a ken pr isoner. More t ha n
600 enemy pla n es a nd pilot s a lso w ere
lost.
C om ba t sh ippin g losses w er e a bout even
for t he t w o opponent s. The Allies a nd
t he J a pa nese ea ch lost 24 fight ing ships,
w it h t he loss a mount ing t o 126,240 t ons
for t he Allies a nd 134,839 t ons for t he
,J apanese.
There w ould be bigger ba t t les la t er .
There w ould be t iny a t olls for w hich t he
.J a pa nese w ould dema nd higher pr ices onshor t er t erms. An d fa r a w ay t o t he nor t h
a dea d volca no w ait ed t o be t he ba ckdrop
of a phot ogra ph w hich w ould become t he
symbol of t he ent ire isla nd w a r a hea d.
B ut not hing could t ake fr om G ua da lca na l
it s unique spot in hist ory . The first st ep,
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“ii t a bula t ion of Ma rin e ca sua lt ies a ppea rs inhow ever shor t a nd fa lt ering, is a lw ays t he
APPENDIX A
Bibliographical Notes
This hist ory is ba sed principa lly on officia l
Ma rine C orps records : t he repor t s, dia ries,
orders, et c., of t h e units or a ct ivit ies involved in
t he specific oper at ion s descr ibed. Records of
t h e ot her a rmed services ha ve been consult ed
w her e per tin en t. On ma t ters pert a ining t o
opera tions a t high st ra t egic level , t he a ut hors
ha ve dra w n on t he records of t he L’, S . J oint
C hiefs of S ta ff ( ,J G S ),
B eca use t his volume spa ns a considera ble
per iod of t ime a nd dea ls w ith a w ide va riet y of
a ct ivit ies, t he sa me records seldom over la p from
one pa r t of t he book t o a not her . These a re
fully cit ed in th e t ext a nd w ill be discussed
sepa ra tely a s a pplica ble to specific pa rt s. E x-
cept a s ot herw ise not ed such records a re on file
a t , or obt a ina ble t hrough, t h e Records a nd Re-
sea rch S ect ion, H ist orica l B ra nch. G –3, H ea d-
qua rt ers, U . S . Ma rine C orps.
Th ere a re, h ow ever , a number of published
w orks of genera l interest more w idely cit ed
t hroughout this volume. The more import a nt
of t hese a re list ed below .
Books
J et er A. I sely a nd P hilip A. C row l, l ’h e U . S .
Marina and Arnphibiou.s War. P rincet on :
Admira l Morison ( ~ S NR, Ret ired ) un der t ook
t he monument a l project on na va l order a nd ha s
ca rried it t hrough w it h a ll possible support of
t he Na vy . The a ut hor ra nks a s one of our lea d-
ing w rit ers a nd hist oria ns, a n d t he w hole ser ies
is highly rea da ble a nd relia ble. A few minor
errors of fa ct t ha t crept int o t he first edit ions
a re bein g cor rect ed in subseq uen t pr in tin gs.
R ober t S her rod, H’i8tory of M u r i%c Corps
Avi at i on i n Wor ld War 11. Wa sh ir rgt on : C om -
ba t Forces P ress, 1952. This is a not her un.
ot ficia l h ist ory un dert rrken a t t he request , r rud
w it h t he support , of t h e Ma rine Corps. The
t it le is self-expla n a t ory , but t he a ut hor gives
some a ccount of t he ea rlier da ys of Ma rine
C orps Avia t ion, I t is by fa r t he most compre-
hensive t rea t ment of t his subject n ow in ex.
istence.
E . B . P ot t er ( Edit or), The [’nited .qtate,s and
World Sea Power. h “ew Yor k : P r en tice-H a ll,
Inc., 1955. This la rge ( 963 pa ges) single-
volrrme hist ory is t h e w ork of t w elve fa cult y
members of t he I )epa rt ment of E nglish, H istory
a nd G overnment , U . S . Na va l Aca demy. I t iS
ext r em el y com pr eh en si ve in scope, covering
na va l hist ory from a ncient opera tions t o t oda y.
As a result compa ra t ively few of it s cha pters
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P rincet on Llniversit y P ress, 1951. This dea ls
w ith t he evolut ion of a mphibious doct rin es, t a c-
a re a pplica ble t o Ma rine Corps opera t ion s in
World Wa r I I . I t furnished th e a uthors of t his
376 P EARL H AR B OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
spon dent in Wa sh ingt on a t t h e t ime of P ea r l
H a rbor , w a s in t ern ed a n d t h en repa t r ia t ed in
t h e civilia n exch a n ge sh ip. H e un der st an ds
t h or ough ly bot h J apa n ese a nd U . S . point s of
view . H is “in side st ory” present s vividly po-
lit ica l, milit a ry, a nd civilia n con dit ion s in J a pa n
a s t h e w a r developed a nd sh eds much light on
w h y t h ey developed a s t h ey did on t he en emy’s
side.
U nit ed S t a t es S t ra tegic B ombin g S urvey , Z’h c
C“ampaign8 of tile Pacific Way. Washington:
U . S . G overn m en t P riut iug Office, 1946. This isa
r epor t of U S S B S (P acific) Na va l An a lysis D i-
vision . I t a ttempt s t o present t h e broa d pict ur e
of t h e w a r t h rough br ief descr ipt ion s of t h e
va rious ca mpa ign s, but unfor t un a t ely w as pr e-
pa red t oo soon a ft er t he even t t o ga in d eep
perspective. Th e t ext cont a ins ma ny fa ct ua l
in a ccura cies. This book is of grea t va lue, hm v-
ever , in present in g t ra nsla tions of ma ny en emy
document s th a t revea l .J a pa nese w ar t ime t hiuk-
ing.
unit ed S ta t es S t ra t egic B ombing S ur vey, I a -
terrogatians of Japanew Oflcials, 2v01s. Wash-
in gt on: U . S . G overn men t P rin t in g Office, 1946.This is a compa nion repor t t o Campnign8
(a bove) a nd simila r ly is of va lue in t ell ing t h e
J a pa nese side of t he st ory .
P ART I
ment B urea u of S hips a n d S ena t e R eport No.
10, P a rt 16, 78t h C ongress, 2d S ession, Ad-
ditio?wt Report of the Special Committee In-
vcstigatinfl the h-ationat Defen.w Program, form
t he ba sis for t h e discussion of t he developm en t
of la ndin g cra ft a n d a mphibious veh icles.
The repor t s of t he unit s a ssign ed t o t h e I ce-
la n d occupa t ion force, supplemen t ed by com -
ma nd corr espon den ce t iles. pro~ ided t he t h rea d
of t h e n a rra t ive. E specia lly va lua ble a re t h e
officia l let t ers w rit t en by G enera l Ma rst on t o
va r ious officer s a t H ea dqua r t ers Ma rine C orps
givin g h is per son al a nd pr ofession al com men ta ry
on t he oper at ion .
[-no ficial A’oarres
Let t ers of commen t on dra ft ma nuscr ipt s, in -
t erview s, a n d in t h e ea se of t h e I cela nd oper a -
t ion , t h e ext ensive not es, correspon den ce, a n d
dra ft n a rra t ives of L ieut en a n t C olonel J oh n
L. Zimmerma n, h a ve supplement ed officia l ma -
ter ia l . E specia lly useful in pr ovidin g ba ck-
gr oun d in forma tion on t h e a mphibious t ra ct or
was a n in terview w it h Lieut ena nt C olon el E rnest
E . Lin ser t , a pa r t icipa nt in most of t h e init ia ls ta ges of it s d ev elopm en t.
I t w a s permissible t o keep a dia ry in a n over -
sea s t hea t re for t h e first few mon t h s of t h e w a r ;
t h ere w as n o prohibit ion , na tura lly , a ga in st t he
keepin g of dia ries in pea cet ime. G en era l Oliver
P . S mit h , w ho served a s ba t t a lion comm a nder
of 1/6 t h roughout t he I cela n d occupa t ion , kept
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I NTROD ~ C TI ON TO TH E MAR I NE (’ORP S such a dia ry a n d ma de a C OP Y of it a ra ila ble t o
t he H ist or ica l B ra nch , G –3, H ea dqua rt ers Ma -
B IRLI OG RAI ’H I{”AL NOTE S 3-77
Corps Gazette, .J u n e-Oct ober 1948. Genera l
S mit h proba bly con t r ibut ed more t ha n a ny sin-
gle individua l t o t h e development s w hich h e dis-
cusses in t his a uth or it at ive five-pa rt a rt icle.
J oh n H . Russell, J r., “B ir th of t h e Fleet Ma -
r ine Force, ” U . S . Naval Inm%tute Proceed ing*s,
J a nua ry 1946. As Assista nt C omma nda nt , G en -
era l Russell con ceived t he FMF essent ia lly a s
it exist s t oda y; a s C omma nda nt , he guided it
t hrough its ea rly forma t ive yea rs.
H olla nd M. S mit h a n d P ercy Finch, Coral and
Brass. h “ew I ’ork: C ha rles S cr ibners S ons,
1949, I n t his a ut obiogra phica l volume, G en er a l
S mit h t ouch es a ga in on t h e ea rly st ruggles dea lt
w it h in his Gazettr series a nd ca rr ies t he st ory
t hrough t he P a cific w ar .
Ma jor G enera l J ohn A. Lejeun e, “Th e U nit ed
S ta tes Ma rine C orps,” Mar i ne ~oros Gazet t e,I )ecem ber 1923. I n t his a rt icle, G en er al L ejeu ne,
t hen C omm an da nt of t he Ma rine C orps, expresses
t he preva il ing Ma rine C orps t hough t on a dva nce
b a se op er a t ion s .
Rr iga dier G enera l D ion Willia ms, “B lue Ma -
r ine C orps E xpedit ion a ry Force,” Ma rine C orps
Gazrtte, S ept ember 1925. I n t his a r t icle, G en -
era l Willia ms discusses t he Arm y-Na vy a mphib.ious ma neuver h eld in H a wa iia n w at ers in 1925.
L ien tena nt C olonel Vict or .J . C roiza t , “The
M a ri nes ’ Am ph ib ia n ,” Ifarine Corps Gazette,
.Tun e 1953. Lieut en a nt C olon el C roiza t, in t his
a rt icle, rela tes t he st ory of t he a mphibia n t ra ct or .
S t et son C orm a n d B yron Fa irchild, “The
Fra mew ork of H emisphere D efense,” MS of a
for t hcom in g volume in t he series, United S’tates
ga rrison a ct ivit ies in S a moa a nd t he 14th Na va l
District . All Ma rin e records on G ua m w ere
eit her dest royed or ca pt ured a nd t he recon st ruc-
t ion of t he a ct ion on S -10 D ecember is la rgely
ta ken fr om t he post -ca pt ivit y repor t of t he
i sl an d’s g ov er nor .
Th e prima ry source of informa t ion on t he a c-
t ions of t he U n it ed S t a tes a nd J a pa n in t h e
per iod im media tely h efore, dur ing, a nd just a ft er
t he J a pa nese ra id on P ea rl is S ena t e D ocumen t
N o. 244, ‘79t h C on g res s, Report of the Joint Com-
mittee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor
Attack. I n a ddit ion t o t h e ba sic repor t of t he
findings of t he commit t ee, t here a re 39 volumes
of hea rings, t est imon y, a nd exh ibit s w hich t ouch
on every fa cet of t h e st ory. The r ecord of t he
hea r ings a nd t he a ppen ded documen t s con st i-
t ut e a un iq ue 10,000,000-w ord exa mina tion of a
m ilit a ry d is as ter .
Unoficiai DoctlmeTlt8
U nofficia l repor t s, persona l let t ers, not es a nd
in terview s of n um erous individua ls, a nd on occa -
sion unpublished ma nuscript s, h a ve been dra wn
upon t o supplem ent officia l ma teria l w here per t i-nen t . An especia lly va lua ble source of in forma -
t ion ha s been t he comment s of key pa rt icipa nts
in t he a ct ions descr ibed w h o r eview ed dra ft
ma n uscript s of t his h ist ory a s w ell a s dra ft s of
previous ca mpa ign m onogra phs. U nofficia l com -
ment of this t ype, a s cit ed in t h e t ext , ha s been
especia lly h elpful in developing a fuller st ory of
t he in it ia l a ct ion a t Midw a y.
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Army in Jt’orli War II, ha s been most useful in
378 P E.$RL H ARB OR TO G ~ AD AL C ANAI ,
H ea dq ua r t ers Ma rine C orps, 1954. While t his
mon ogra ph is pr ima r ily con cer ned w it h t h e op
era t ions on G ua m in t h e summer of 1944, it does
in clude a na rra t ive of t h e J apa n ese ca pt ure oft he isla nd w h ich is t h e ba sis for t his volume’s
story.
Thoma s Wilds, “Th e J apa n ese S eizure of
Gu a m, ” Ilarinr Corps Gazette, J uly 1955. This
a rt icle by a n a ccomplish ed J a pa nese tra nsla tor
is t h e on ly published na rra tive t a ken from en em y
sources of t h e ca pt ure of t he isla n d a nd is essen-
t ia l t o a clea r pict ure of t h e opera t ion .
P AB T I I I
D E FE NS E OF WAK E
Oficial Documents
Officia l records per t a in in g t o t h e defen se of
Wa ke cea sed t o exist w it h t h e a t oll’s ca pt ure
by t h e J a pa nese, sa ~-e for t h e dispa tches w hich
got t hr ough t o P ea r l H a rbor a n d t he repor t s
P arr ied out by Ma jor B ayler severa l da ys pr ior
t o t h e fin a l st ruggle, a s rela ted in t h e n a rra tive.U pon his ret urn a ft er relea se fr om J apa nese
pr ison ca mp, C olon el D evereux request ed ea ch
of his surviving officer s t o submit t o him a n
informa l repor t concern in g his pa rt in t he opera -
t ion . F rom st udy of t h e ma t er ia l t h us obt a ined
a nd t he prom pt in gs of his ow n m em ory , D evereux
t hen prepa red his officia l r epor t for submission
lit t le ha s been publish ed a bout t he deta ils of t h e
opera t ion it self. S in ce it w a s so n a rrow ly a
Ma rine a ct ion , t he ot h er services h a ve sh ow n
lit t le in t erest in st udyin g it , a n d w it h in t h eC orps few rema in w h o kn ow much a bout it . Th e
follow in g w orks, h ow ever , a re deemed w ort h y
of men t ion :
I ,ieut en a nt C olonel Rober t D . H einl, ,J r ., Z’l~ e
D efcn w of Wa ke. Wa sh ingt on : H ist or ica l S ec-
t ion, D ivision of P ublic I nforma tion, H ea dq ua r-
t ers Ma rine C orps, 1947. This is t h e officia l
Ma rin e C orps h ist or ica l mon ogra ph fr om w hich
t he version in t his book ha s h een a da pt ed.
J ames P . S . D ever eux, Th e Story of Wake
IsZa??d. P hila delphia : J . B . Lippin cot t C om pa ny,
1947. This w ork prepa r ed by t h e comma nder of
t he Wa ke d efen se w it h som e pr ofession al lit er ar y
a ssist a nce does n ot pret en d t o be a h ist ory ,
but it does con t a in a n umber of huma n int erest
sidelight s n ot foun d elsew her e.
I .ieut en a nt C olon el Wa lter L. J . B ay ler , Last
Man ofl Wakr Island. I ndia na polis : B obbs-
Merrill C ompa ny, 1943. This book w a s rush ed t o
publica tion t o sh ed t imely light on a n even t cur-
ren t ly befor e t h e public eye. Memories of t h e
event s dur ing his st a y on Wa ke w ere st ill fresh
in C olon el E Myler ’s min d a t t h e t ime of w rit in g;
but , of course, h e did n ot see t he fin a l ba t t le.
Lieut ena nt C olon el R ober t D . H einl, J r .,
“We’re H ea ded for Wa ke,” Marine Corps Ga-
zette, J une 1946. Lieut ena nt C olon el H einl, t h en
a first lien t ena nt , w as a member of t h e a bor t ive
relief expedit ion a n d h er e gives a full a ccoun t
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t o t h e C omma n da n t of t h e Ma rine C orps. C olo-
n el P aul A. P ut na m submit t ed a simila r repor tof t ha t lit t le un derst ood even t from t h e poin t
of view of t hose en ga ged in it .
I3I BL1OG RAP HIC AL NOTE S 379
few preyious a ccoun t s w h ich men t ion Ma rine
a ct ion in t he P hil ippines, t h ere a re a number of
direct cont ra dict ions t o t h e ent r ies in t hese
journa ls. NTon e of t hese errors a re pa rt icula rlyser ious, how ever , a nd w her e it w as possible t h ey
h a ye been correct ed in t his version of t he a ct ion.
A n um ber of t he officia l repor ts cit ed , in clu din g
tha t of t he 4t h Ma rines, w ere dra w n up lon g
a ft er t h e event s t h ey descr ibe by pa r t icipa nt s
w ho sur vived captivity. Th e det a ils of t h ese
repor t s a re somew ha t suspect since t he a ccount s
a re dist illa t ions of memory , ca refully h idden
n ot es, a nd t hose few officia l pa pers of t h e per iod
t ha t w ere a va ila ble w h en t h e repor t s w er e pr e-
pa red. I t is not difficult t o fin d minor errors int h ese repor t s, but on t he w h ole t h ey a re q uit e
valuable.
Th e cit ed na rra t ives compiled by Admira ls
H a rt a n d Rockw ell, t oget h er w it h t heir supple-
men t a ry post w ar commen t s on na va l a ct ivit ies
in Asia t ic w a t ers, ha ve been very helpful in
esta blishing t he ba ckground of t he Na vy a n d
Ma rine C orps cont r ibut ion t o t he defen se of t h e
Phil ippines.
~“noficial Docutafwt.9
A number of unda t ed in forma l repor t s sub-
mit t ed by survivors of t he 4th Ma rines, presum-
a bly w rit t en r igh t a ft er t he w ar , form t he la rgest
body of informa t ion a bout t h e Ma rine pa r t in t he
P hil ippines opera t ion . These repor t s a re fre-
q uent ly cit ed in t h e t ext . Of a lmost eq ua l im-
Jnpanese Sources
F ollow in g t h e close of t he w a r , t he U . S .
Army’s H ist or ica l S ect ion, G -2, G en era l H ea d-
qua r t ers, Fa r E a st C omma n d, spon sored a n d
direct ed t h e prepa ra t ion of a ser ies of mon o-
g ra ph s en t it led Japanese 8tt[die8 in World War
11. Th ese w er e prepa red by J a pa nese comma n-
ders a nd st a ff officers w h o h a d pa r t icipa t ed in
t he va rious P a cific ca mpa igns; a nd t hey w er e
compiled fr om report s, not es, a nd consult at ion
w it h key survivors. These t ra nsla ted st udies
ha ve been checked ca refully a ga inst a ll ot her
a va ila ble sources a nd foun d t o be rema rka bly
a ccura t e, I n t h e ca se of t h e ea r ly P hilippin esca mpa ign severa l of t hese m onogra ph s ha ve been
consult ed a nd t h e t w o-volume st udy of Four-
t een th Ar m y oper at ion s h as been u sed fr eq uen tly
t o give t he en emy view point , This pa r t icula r
monogra ph is ver y un even in qua lit y but it
includes a w ea lt h o f in for ma tion a va ila ble
n ow h er e el se.
Books and Periodicals
L ouis Mor ton , The Fall of the Philippines,Wa sh ingt on: Office of t h e C hief of Milit a ry
H ist ory , D epa r t ment of t h e Army, 1953. D r .
Mort on ’s book, is a not h er of t h e volumes of t h e
Uni ted State8 Army in World War II series.
I t present s w ha t is ea sily t he most compr ehen -
sive a n d t hor ough t rea tment of t his subject yet
t o a ppea r in pr in t.
Wesley F. C ra ven a nd J a mes L. C a t e (E di-
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port an ce a re t he let t ers of com men t received from t or s ), Plan8 and Earlg Operations, JanuarV
380
propa ga nda booklet . pr in ted in E nglish , cont ains
a number of second-ha n d a ccount s of en emy
exper iences in t he seizure of C orregidor . The
book h a s been used principa lly t o give person a l.it y t o t he en emy side of t h e a ct ion. A ph ot o-
st a t ic copy of this book is h eld by t h e (Mice of
t h e C h ief of Milit a ry H ist ory .
H a n son W. B a ldw in, “Th e 4th Ma rines a t
Corregidor,” }ffl~-i?tf) ~Orp,S tzc~tc, November
1946–F eb rn a ry 1947, On e of t oda y ’s lea ding
a na lyst s a nd w rit ers on milit a ry subject s ca re-
fully combed t h e 4t h Ma rines’ r epor t , t h e per -
sona l na rra tives of survivors men t ioned a bove,
a nd con sult ed n um er ous in dividua l pa rt icipa nt s
in compilin g his det a iled four-pa r t a r t icle on
t h e st a n d of t h e regimen t on C orr egidor . Th e
priln a ry fa ult of t he st udy is th a t it fa iled t o
ut ilize t h e exist in g 4t h Ma rin e journa ls a nd
t h erefore h a s perpet ua t ed a n umber of minor
er rors rega rdin g t h e comba t orga n iza t ion a nd
st ren gt h of t he r eg im en t.
First L ieut ena n t Willia m F. H oga boom,
‘“.ict ion R epor t-13 a ta a u, ” .lfarinc Corps Gaeettc,
April 1946. Lieut ena nt H oga boom died w hile h e
w as a pr ison er of w ar h ut his n a rra tive, secret ly
compiled dur in g ca pt ivit y , survived h im a nd w as
published un der t his t it le. H oga boom pa rt ici-
pa t ed in bot h of t h e ma jor Ma rine a ct ion s in
t h e P hilippin es, Lon goska w aya n P oint a nd C or-
r eg id or ’s d ef en s e.
L ieu ten an t C olon el Willia m F . P ricket t, “NTa va l
B a tt alion a t Ma riveles,” lf(zritie Corp,S Gazette,
,Tun e 1950. This a rt icle by a survivor of 3/4
P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
Uwoficial Documents
I n course of prepa ra tion of t he hist orica l m on o-
gra ph on w h ich t his a ccoun t is ma in ly ba sed,
Lieut en a nt C olonel Rober t D . H ein l, J r ., ca rr ied
on ext en sive correspon dence w it h individua ls
w h o h eld key posit ion s on Midw a y before a nd
durin g t he a tt ack. Ma nyof t hese r ein ter view ed
person a lly . S ome of this documen t a tion is cit ed
in t h e t ext ; much more, of incident a l in terest ,
is on file in Ma rin e C or ps Ar ch ives.
Books and Periodica.1.s
As w it h precedin g descript ion s of n ava l oper a-
t ion s, t h e previously cit ed sources h a ve been
relied on. I n a ddit ion, t h e follow in g w orks
ha ve been ext en sively consult ed a nd used for
t his pa rt :
L ieut ena nt C olonel Rober t D . H einl, J r., Ma -
r ines d MidwaV. Wa sh ingt on: H ist or ica l S ec-
t ion, D ivision of P ublic I nforma tion, H ea dqua r-
t ers Ma rine C orps, 1948. This is t h e hist or ica l
mon ogra ph w hich, much -edit ed a nd re-w orked,
forms t h e foun da t ion for t he presen t a ccoun t .
M. Fuchida a n d M. Okumiya , Midwug: The
Battle ttLat Doo?ned Japan. Anna polis: U . S .
N’a va l I n st it ut e, 1955. This is a n excellen t
a ccoun t of t he ba t t le from t h e J apa nese side
of t he a ct ion .
Yice Admira l C h uichi Na gumo, I J hT, “Act ion
Report by C -in-C of t h e First Air F leet ,” ONI
R mir w,Ma y1947. Th is a rt icle issim ply at ra ns-
la t ion of w ha t must st a nd a s on e of t h e most
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w ho ta lked t o ma ny pa r t icipa n t s in t he L ongos- revea lin g docum en ts obt ain ed fr om t he J a pa nese
381
sponden ce a n d pla nn ing a t t op level. The cor-
respon dence bet ween .4dmiYa l K ing a nd G en era l
Ma rsha ll w a s obt a in ed from t he Na va l H ist ory
D ivision ; ma ter ia l per t a in ing t o t he J oint C hiefsof S t a ff w as furnished by t he Office of t he C h ief
of Milit a ry H ist ory , D epa r t ment of t h e Army.
As in a ll opera tions discussed in t his hist ory,
t hose in P a rt VI a re ba sed on t he repor t s of t h e
unit s con cern ed. Th ese in clude a ct ion repor t s,
w ar dia r ies, etc., of t a ct ica l unit s, a nd t h e jour-
na ls of t he va rious st a ff sect ions. At t his st a ge
of t h e w a r, h ow ever , Ma rines w ere less exper i-
en ced in prepa r ing repor t s t ha n t hey beca me
later. C omma n d a nd st a ff person nel believed
fight ing t o be mor e import a nt t ha n w rit ing.Thus t he document a t ion on ma ny pha ses of
ea rly opera tions is fra gmen ta ry a nd incomplet e.
The 1st Ma rine D ivision’s “17ina l Report on t he
G ua da lca na l Opera tion ’+ w as not compiled unt il
severa l mon t hs a ft er t he ca mpa ign, a l t hough
much of t he ma t er ia l it con ta ins w a s prepa r ed
on t h e scene.
The .4rmy a nd N’a vy w ere lit t le bet t er t ha n
t h e Ma rine C orps in this respect ; t h eir officia l
document a t ion a lso lea ves much t o be desired.
G enera lly spea king, t he records of repor t in gunits a re in t h e cust ody of t he service t o w hich
t hey b elon g.
~:no~cial Documents
I n t he course of prepa r in g t he Ma rine C orps
prelim ina ry “m onogra ph on G ua da lca na l, Ma jor
.J oh n L. .Zimmerma n circula t ed copies of his
H ea dqua r t ers Ma rine C orps, 1949. This is t he
Ma rine C orps’ prelimin a ry st udy w hich serves a s
t h e groundw ork for t h e I mesent , complet ely re-
vised a nd much more complet e, a ccoun t of t hebattle.
J ohn Miller , J r ., Guadalcanal: The First Offen-
sive. Wa sh ingt on: H istorica l D ivision , D epa rt -
men t of t he k-my, 1949. This excellent volume
is one in t he ser ies l~ nitwl Stutc’s Army in World
War II, a nd it ha s been relied on for much of t he
int erpret a tion of ma teria l pert a in ing t o Army
comma nd a nd opera tions of Army unit s.
Wesley F. C ra ren a nd J a mes L. C at e (E dit ors),
The Pacific: GuUdalCU?Lal to 8aipan. . C hica go :
[University of C h ica go P ress, 1950. Volume I V
of t he ser ies Tlt e Artm J Air Forces in World War
11, t his dea ls in grea ter det a il w it h a via tion oper-
a t ions t ha n is pra ct ica l in a genera l hist ory of
t h e ca m pa i gn .
H erber t L. Merilla t , Th e I.slaad. Boston:
H ought on Mifflin C ompa ny, 1944. The a ut h or
pa rt icipa t ed in opera t ion s on G ua da lca na l a nd
w rites a t first ha nd, a nd w it h much huma n int er-
est , of w ha t h e a n d his fellow Ma rines exper-
i en ced t h er e.
E r ic A, Feldt , Tl( e Coast watcl cr8. New I“ork:
Oxford ~ niversit y P ress, 1946. Commander
Feldt , RAN, orga n ized a nd comma n ded t ha t
ha rdy ba nd of rugged individua list s w ho lurked
in t h e jun gle behind t h e J a pa nese lines a nd
ra dioed out in va lua ble in forma tion t o t he Allied
forces. H ere h e t ells for t he first t ime t he st ory
I vh ich w a s t op secret dur ing t h e w a r.
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prelimina ry dra ft a mon g ma ny individua ls w ho Ma ny a r t icles in periodica ls w ere likew ise
APPEN DI X B
Chronology
The follow in g list ing of event s is limit ed t o
t h ose comin g w it h in t h e scope of t his book, a n d
t h ose foreca st in g even t s t o be t rea t ed in t h e
v olu mes t o foll ow .
10h ’ovember 1775--- C on t inen t a l C on gress a u-
t h or izes ra ising of t w o
ba tt alion s of Ma rin es.11 J u ly 1798 -------- C on gress rea ct iva tes Ma-
r in e C or ps .
10 J un e 1898 . . . . . . . B at ta lion of Nla rines seizes
G ua nt a na rn o B ay ; pre-
limina ry t hinking on
Ad va nced B a se con cept
begins.
10 D ecember 1898. -. S pa in cedes P hilippines,
G ua m, a n d P uer t o R ico
t o [J. S.
13 J uly 1910 . . . . . . . . Ma rine S chool for Ad-va n ced B a se Tra inin g
established.
25 Apr il 1915 _______ F irst m od er n a mph ibiou s
a ssa ult : B rit ish la n d on
Gall ipoli .
27 April 1917 _______ First Ma rine a via tion unit
formed: ‘‘ h la r in e Aer o-
7 Ma y ------------- P a cific Fleet or der ed by
P residen t t o rema in in -
definit ely in H aw aiia n
waters .
5 J uly ------------- E xport C on t rol Act in -
voked a ga in st J apa n t oproh ibit expor t a tion of
st ra tegic ma ter ia ls a nd
equipment.
19 J uly_ ___________ P resident signs Na va l E x-
pa nsion Act con ta ining
provision s for “Two
Ocea n Na vy .”
29 S ept ember ------- Midw a y D et a chmen t ,
FMF a rr ives a t Mid-
w a y .
8 Oct ober . . . . . . . . . . U . S . a dvises it s cit izens t o
lea ve Fa r E ast .
1941
12 Ma y ------------ Amba ssa dor Nomura of
J a pa n present s S ecre-
t a ry of S t a t e C ordell
H ull w it h J a pa nese pro-
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na ut ic C ompa n y, Ad-
va nced B ase Force. ”
posa l for a “just pea ce
in t he P acific. ”
CHRONOLOGY 383
7 J uly . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1st Ma rin e B r iga de la nds
in I cela n d. 1st Ma rin e
Aircra ft Win g forms a t
Qua nt ico, Va .
10 J uly ------------ 2d Ma rine Aircra ft Wing
forms a t S a u D iego,
Cal i f .
15 August ----------- Na va l Air S t a t ion, P a l-
myra I sla nd, a nd Na va l
Air F a cilit y, J oh n st on
I s la n d , e st a b li sh ed .
11 S ept ember -------- P resident orders Na vy t o
a tta ck a ny vessel t hrea t-
en in g U . S . sh ippin g.
14 Novem ber . . . . . . . Ma r in es a re ordered t o
l ea ve S ha n gh a i, P ei pi ng ,
a nd Tient sin , C hina .
20 .Xovember -------- Amba ssa dor Nomura pre-
sen ts J a pa n’s “fin al pr o-
posa l” t o keep pea ce in
t h e P a ci fi c.
26 November ------- S ecr et ary of S ta te submit s
fin a l proposa ls for a d-
just ment of U . S .-J a-
p a n es e r el a t ion s .
27 November _______ Adm S t a rk, C NO, sen ds
w a r w a rn in g t o com -
ma n ders of t h e P acific
a nd Asia tic F leet s.
30 Novem ber ------- J a pa nese F oreign Minist er
Tojo reject s C T. S . pro-
posa ls for set t ling Fa r
10 D ecember __ _ ____ G ua m surrenders t o J a pa -
n es e l an din g f or ce.
11 D ecember- -. ._-. U . S . decla res w a r on G er -
ma n y a nd I t a ly , Wa ke
I sla n d d ef en der s r epu ls e
J a pa n ese la n ding a t -
t empt . J apa n ese ma ke
a ddit iona l la n dings in
Phil ippines.
20 D ecember __ . . ..-_ Adm E . J . K ing becomes
C omma n der in C h ief,
cl . s. F leet .
21 D ecem ber ___ .._-_ hTa va l defen se for ces in
P h il ippin e I sla nds m ov eh ea dq ua r t ers t o C or-
regidor.
22 D ecem ber ___ ____ J a pa nese la nd a t Lin ga yen
G ulf, P . I .
23 D ecember _ __ ---- Wa ke I sla nd surrenders t Q
J apanese .
25 D ecember _ _ . ____ B rit ish surren der Hong
Kong.
26 D ecember _ _ _ ____ Ma n ila , P . I ., decla red a n
open cit y.
31 D ecem ber- ------ Adm C . W. Nimit z a s-
sumes com ma n d of P a -
cifi c F leet a t P ea rl H a r-
bor.
1942
2 J an ua ry ---------- Ma nila a n d C a vit e, P . I .,
fa ll t o J a pa nese.
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E a st cr isis .
11 J an ua ry . . . . . . . . . J apa n ese begin in va sion of
384 I ’E ARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
6 Februa ry . . . . . . . . .
81?ebrua ry . ..--... _
9 Februa ry . . . . . . . . .
1 5 F e br u a r y --------
27 Februa ry .-. . . . . .
1 March -----------
8 Ma rch . . . . .-- . . . .
9Ma rci~ - . . ..-- . . . .
10 Mar ch ----------
11 Ma rch)-----------
12 Ma rch]. . . . . . . . . .
26 Ma rch)----------
29 March ----------
30 Ma rch ____-- . . . .
1 April -------------
[T. S. a nd B rit a in est a b-
lish C ombin ed C hiefs of
S ta ff (C CS ).
J a p a n e s e la nd a t G a s-ma t a , New B rita in.
.J a pa nese la nd a t S inga -
S i ng a por e s ur r en d er s.
B a t t le of J ava S ea .
B at t le of S unda S t ra it .
J apa n ese la nd a t La e a nd
Sa la ma ua , New G uinea .
J ava surrenders t o J apa -
n ese, en din g con quest of
N et ber la ud s E a st I nd ies .J a pa nese in va de F in sch -
h afen , New G uin ea .
G en Ma cArt hur lea ves
P h ilippin es for Au s-
t ra l i a ,
[J. S. forces a rr ive in New
Caledonia.
Adm K in g relieves Adm
S t a rk a s C h ief of Na va l
Operations.
Ma rines a rr ive a t E fa te,N ew H eb ri des .
P acific Ocea n divided int o
P a cific Ocea n Ar ea s
under Adm h’imit z, a nd
S out hw est P acific Area
under G en Ma cArthur.
J a pa nese occupy B uka
I s la n d , S ol om on s .
28 Ma y. ..-. -.... .-
3 J une . . . . . . . . . .._.
4–6 J une -----------
14 J une ------------
19 J une ------------
25 J une ------------
18 J uly --------- --
21 J uly ------------
7 August -----------
U . S . forces a rr ive a t E s-
pir it u S a nt e, New
Hebrides.
t J a pa nese bom b D ut chH a rbor; la n don K iska
n nd At tll, Wes ter n
Aleutians.
B at tle of Midw ay.
First ech elon of 1st Ma r-
D iv a rr ives a t Welling-
t on, New Zea la nd,
VAdm G horm ley a ssumes
comma nd of S out h
P acific Area a nd S out h
P a c if ic F or ce s.P resident Roosevelt a n d
P rim e Min ist er C hur ch -
ill con clu de con fer en ce
in Wa shin@m; decision
r ea ch ed for com bin ed ef-
for t s t o develop a tomic
bomb.
Amph ibious Force, S out h
P acific Area , is esta b-
lished under comma nd
of RAdm Turner .J apa nese la n d a t B una ,
New G uin ea .
1st Ma rD iv la n dson Flor-
ida , Tulagi, Ga v u t u ,
Ta n a mbogo, a nd G ua -
da lca na l in S out h ern
S olomons t o la unch t h e
first U . S . offen sive of
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5 April ------------- Ma nuslsla nd, Adm ira l-t he w ar.
CHRONOLOGY
20 August ---------- First figh t er a ircra ft a r-
r ive on H en der son F ield,
Gu a d a l c a n a l .
21 August ---------- Ma rines t urn ba ck first
ma jor J a pa n ese a t ta ck
on G ua da lca na l in B r it -
t le of t he Ten aru,
24–25 August ------- Na va l B a t t le of E a st ern
Solomons.
13 S ept ember _______ Ma rines repulse secon d
ma jor J a pa nese groun d
a t ta ck a t G ua da lca na l
in t he B a t t le of t h e
Ridge.
18 S ept ember ------- 7t h Ma rines a rr ive on
11–12 O ct o be r ____
13 October _______
14 October _______
1 8 O ct o be r -------
20–250ct ober - ___
Gu a d a l c a n a l .
Na va l B a t t le of C a pe E s-
pera nce. U . S . forces
un der Adm S prua nce
en ga ge J a pa n ese ships
of t h e “Tokyo E xpress. ”
164t h I nfa nt ry Regim en t
of Am erica l D ivision a r-
r ives t o reinforce 1st
MarDiv.
J a pa nese ba t t leships a ndcruisers bomba rd H en -
d er son F iel d.
VAdm H a lsey relieves
VAdm G hor mley a s
C omma n der S out h P a -
cific Area a n d S out h
P a ci fi c F or ce,
Ma rines a nd .4rmy t roops
13 N ov em b er ____
14 N ov em ber ____
15 N ov em ber -----
16 N ov em b er ----
9 D ecember . . . . .
17 D ecember - . . .
385
RAdm C a lla gha n ’s ta sk
group of cruisers a nd de-
st royers enga ges J a pa -
n ese ra idin g group in -
cl ud in g t w o b at tlesh ips,
in second n ight of B a t -
t le of C ,ua da lca na l. U .
S . force h ea vily da m-
a ged, l)ut J a pa n ese r-c-
tire.
J a pa nese cruisers a n d de-
st royers bomba rd H en -
d er son F iel d.
RAdm L ee w it h t w o ba t -
t leships a nd four de-st roy er s t ur ns ba ck la rge
J a pa nese n a va l gr oup t o
en d n a va l B a t t le of
Gu a d a l c a n a l .
U . S . Army forces la nd
sout h of B un a , New
Gu i n e a .
Ma j G en A. A. Va n de-
gr ift , C G 1st Ma rD iv,
is relieved by Ma j G en
A. M. P at ch, C G Amer -ica l D ivision , a s com-
ma ndin g gener a l of
G ua da lca na l. 1st Ma r-
D iv m a kes pr epa r at ion s
t o ret ire from comba t
zon e t o reh a bilit a te a nd
re t ra in.
U . S . Army forces begin
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fight off h ea vy groun d a t ta cks a ga inst . J apa -
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APPEN DI X C
Marine Task Organization
and Command List 1
A. WAK E ATOLL (7–23 D ecember 1941) ~
M AR I NE D E TAC H M E NT, WAK E
C O-------------- Ma j J ames P , S . D ever eux
Ist Defense Battalion Detachment
CO-------------- Ma j J ames P . S . D evereux
5-Inch Artillery Group
CO . . . . . . . . . . ---- Ma j G eor ge H . P ot t er
B try A----------- lst Lt C la ren ce A. B arniuger
B tr y B ___________ lst Lt Wood row - W. K essler
B tr y L ___________ 2d Lt J oh n A, McAlist er
3-I nch A nt iai r cr aft G rou p
CO-------------- C a pt B rygh t e D , G odbold
B try D __________ C a pt B rygh t e D . G odbold
B t ry E ----------- lstLt Willia m W. Lew is
13t ry F (P rov) ---- MG C la ren ce B . McK in st ry
&’eparate Batt er ies
B . P HI L IP PI NE I S L AND S (7 D ecember 1941–6
Ma y 1942) 3
4TH M AR I NE S (R E I N FO R CE D )
co
E xO _____________R-l -------------
R-2-------------
R -3-------------
R-4-------------
Hq Co ------------
S ervo---- . . . . . . . .
C ol S amuel L. H ow ard
C ol D on ald C urt isC a pt Rober t B . Moore
lstLt Rober t F . R uge (To
24Dec)
Lt C ol G eorge D . H a milt on
(F rom 25D ec)
Ma j Fra nk P , P yzick
Ma j R egin a ld H . R idgely ,
J r . (To3J a n )
Ma j C a r l W. Meigs (Fr om
4 J a n )
C a pt R ober t C ha mbers, J r.(WI A 6M ay )
M aj Ma x W. S ch a ef fer (WI A
6-May)
l.st B at tal i on , J th M ar in es
coE xO -------------
Lt C ol C ult ist . B eech er
Lt C ol S a muel W. F reen y
(WIA29Apr)
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B try G ___________ C a pt Wesley McC , P la tt Bll-l ------------ C a pt G olI a n d L. C la rk, J r.
388 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
B OO ------------ C a pt P a ul A. B row n (WI A
4May)
lstLt Alla n S . Ma nn ing
(Act g From 5Ma y)D C O ------------ C a pt Noel O. C a st le (K I A
6May)
B nR esC o --------- lstLt R ober t F . J enkins, J r.
f?nd B at tal ion, i th Marines
coE xO -------------
B n–l ------------
B n –2 ------------
B n -3 ---- --------
B n –4--------- --
Hq Co ------------
E co------------
F Co ------------
H C o-------------
Lt C ol H erma n R. Ander son
Ma j J ohn J . H eil
lst Lt H ugh R. Nut t er (To
28Dec)
C a pt Lloyd E . Wa gn er
(F rom 29D ec)lst Lt H ugh R , Nut t er (To
28Dec)
C a pt Lloyd E , Wa gn er
(29 Dec-6Ja n)
lst Lt S idney F. J enkin s
(F rom 7J a n)
Ma j J oh n J . H eil
C a pt Aust in C . S hofn er
lstLt Aust in C . S h ofn er
(t o 4J a n)
C a pt L loyd E . Wa gner
(From 5J a n)
Ma j J ames V. B ra dley , J r.
C a pt Lloyd E . Wa gn er (To
28Dec) s co-------
C a pt C lyde R. H uddleson
(F rom 29D ec)
C a pt B en ja min L, McMa kin
(WI A 26Ma r)TCo ------
I C O------------- Ma j Ma x C la rk (WI A
24Apr,29Apr)
K C O------------ C a pt J oh n W. C la rk (To
31Dec)Ma j G eorge R. Weeks (From
1 J a n )
L C O------------ 2dLt Willa rd D . H oldredge
(To23Dec)
lst Lt H ow a rd L. D a vis
(24-31Dec)
C a pt Willis T. G eisma n
(F rom lJ a n , WI A20Apr )
M C o ------------ C a pt Ted E . P ulos
B n ResC o -------- lstLt C la ren ce E . Va n Ra y
ith B at tal i on (Pr ovi si on al ), i th M ar i nes
CO-------------- M aj Fra n cis H . Willia ms
(WI A29Apr, 6Ma y)
B n–l ------------ C a pt C a lvin E . C h unn , U S A
(~ IA 6Ma y)
B n–2____________ C a pt C a lvin E . C h unn , U SA
(WI A 6Ma y)
B n –3------------ lstLt Ot is E . S a a lma n , U S A
B n -4------------ E ns J ohn McC lure, U S iYR
(WI A 6Ma y)Q C O------------ C a pt P a ul E . Moore, U S A
R C O ------------ C a pt H a rold E . D a lness,---U S A
Lt E dw a rd N. Lit t le, U S N
(WI A 6Ma y)
lstLt Ot is E . S a a lma n, U S A
(F rom 6Ma y)
-,1.t B et h el B . Ot t er , U S N
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BnRes Co________ C apt Aust in C . S h ofn er (K IA 6Ma y)
MARI ATE TAS K ORG .4NI ZATI ON AND C OMMAND LI S T 389
22d P rov Ma rC o ---
2 3d P r o v Ma r C o _. .
6-Inch
co_H & S B t r y --------
Bt ry A-----------
Bt ry B-----------
Bt ry C-----------
7“ Bury ----------
7 “ B t r y ----------
3“/50Btry -------
3“ /50 B t r y -------
lst Lt G eorge E . Met zent hin
C a pt B oyd O. Whit ney
A rt i ll er y G rou p
Lt C ol Lew is A. H oh n
Lt C olLew isA. H oh n
Ma j L oren S . Fra ser
C a pt R odn ey M. H a ndley
C a pt D ona ld N. Ot is
C a pt Ra lph A. C oll ins, J r.
C a pt H a rold R. Wa rner , J r.
C a pt J a y H . August in
C a pt Willia mR. D orr , J r.
S-I n ch . A nt ia ir cr af t G rou p
CO_-- . . . . . . . . ---- M aj C ha rles T. Tin gle
H &S B ury -------- MG Ma urice C . P ullia m
B t ry D ---------- C a pt J ea n H , B uckner
B t ry E ----------- Ma j H oyt McMilla n
B t ry F----------- C a pt D a vid }1’. S ilvey
B t ry G (S /L) ----- C a pt Alfred L. B oot h
.l I ach i ne-G un G rou p
coH&S Bury --------
. 50 C a l B t r y--_. ..
.30 C a l B t ry ------
3-Znch Antiairc@
co_H &S B t r y --------
Ma j R ober t E . H ommel
2dLt G eorge K . Acker
Ma j Willia m E . B oles
C a pt E dw in A. La w
Group, $d Defense Bat ta l ion
Ma j C h a ndler W. J ohn son
Ma j C h a ndler W. J oh nson
VMS B -241------- Ma j L oft on R. H en derson
(MI A 4J un )
Ma j B en ja min W. Norr is
(MI A 4J un )C a pt Ma rsha ll A. Tyler
(From 4J u n)
D . G U AD ALC Ah’AL (7 August 1942-t 3 F ebrua ry
1943) 4
F I RS T M AR I NE D I VI S I ON (R E I NF OR C ED )
Division Headquarters
(7Aug42-8Dec42)
C G -------------- Ma j G en .klexa nder A. Va n-
degrift
AD C ------------ B riG en Willia m H . Rupert us
C obs . . . . . . . . . . . . . C ol Willia m C . J a mes (To
21Sep)
C ol G er a ld C . Thoma s
(F rom 21S ep )
D –l. . . . . . . . . . . . . C ol Rober t C . K ilma r t in , J r .
(To 2 1S ep )
Ma j J a mes C . Murra y , J r .
(F rom 22 S ep)
D –2------------- Lt C ol F ra nk B . G oet t ge
(MI A 12Au g)
Lt C ol E dmund J . B uckley
(F rom 14Au g)
D –3. . . . . . . . . . . . . Lt C ol G era ld C . Th oma s
(To 2 0S ep )
Lt C ol Merrill B . Tw in ing
(F rom 21S ep)
D –4------------- Lt C ol Ra n dolph McC . P a te
(To 2 10 ct )
Lt C ol Ra ymon d P . C offma n
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Bt ry D---------- Ma j Willia m S . McC orm ick
390
1s1 E n gi n eer B at t al i on
(7Aug42-22Dec42)
CO -------------- Ma j J a mes G . Fra zer (TrI
240ct)
Ma j H en ry H . C rocket t
(F rom 250ct )
I st M edical Bat ta l ion
(7 Aug42-22Dec42)
C O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C dr D on S . K n ow lt on , MC
(To 1 4D e c)
LC dr E veret t B . K eck, MC
(F rom 15D ec)
1st P ar a ch u te B at t al i on
(7 Aug42-18Sep42)
C O . . . ..-. ._ . . . .- Ma i Rober t H . Willia ms
co
(WIA 7~ug)
Ma j C ha rles A. Miller
(8Aug-5Sep)
C apt H arry L. Torger son
(6-8Sep)
Ma j C ha rles A. Miller
(9-17Sep)
C a pt H a rry L, Torger son(F rom 18S ep)
Ist Pioneer Bat ta l ion
(7Aug42-22Dec42)
C ol G eorge R. R ow a n (To
19Sep)
Ma j Rober t G . B alla nce
(F rom 20S ep)
P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
Forward E ch el on , I st Tank Bat ta l ion
(7 Aug42-22Dec42)
C O-------------- Ma j H a rvey S , Wa lset h
Ist Marines
(7Aug4Z22Dec42)
C O -------------- C ol C lift on B . C a t es
1st B n ___________ Lt Col Len ard B . C ressw ell
2d B n____________ Lt Col E dw in .4. P ollock (To
22Sep)
Lt C ol Willia m W, S t ickney
(F r om 24S ep)
3d B n------------ Lt C ol Willia m N. iMcK elvey ,
J r.
5th Mar ines
(7Aug4Z9Dec42)
co
lst Bn -----------
C ol L eroy P . H unt (To
19Sep)
C ol Merrit t A. E dson (From
21Sep)
Lt C ol Willia m E . Ma xw ell
(To 2 8Au g )
Ma j D ona ld W. F uller (30
Au g-ll Oct )
Ma j Willia m P . Thyson, J r.
(120ct)
Ma j Willia m K . E nrigh t
(13-230ct)
Ma j Willia m P . Thyson, J r.
(24-3ooct)
Ma j Willia m K . E nrigh t
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MAR INE TAS K OR GANI ZATI ON
7th Mar ines
(18Sep42-5J an 43)
C O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C ol J a mes C .
19Sep)C ol Amor LeR.
20Sep)
AND C OMMAXD LI S T 391
5t h B n ----------- Lt C ol E ugen e H . P r ice (To
3ooct)
Webb (ToMa j Noa h P . Wood, J r .
(F rom 1 Nov)
S im s (F rom ,l?d R ai d er B at t al i on
1st B II - ---------- Lt C ol L ew is B . P uller (WI A
8NOV)
hfa j J ohn E . Weber (9–
17Nov)
Lt C ol Lew is B . P uller (F rom
18NOV)
2d B n------------ Lt C ol H erma n H . H a n n eken
(To 1 7N ov )
Ma j Odell M. C on oley (18-28Nov)
Lt C ol H erma n H . H an n eken
(F rom 29N ov )
3d B n ------------ Lt C ol E dw in J . Fa rrell (To
21Sep)
Lt C ol Willia m R. Willia ms
(F r om 24S ep )
(4 Nov42-17Dec42)
C O -------------- Lt C ol E va ns F. C a r lson
.9d B a r r a g e B a l loon S qu ad r on
(8Sep42-8Feb43)
C O-------------- C a pt Rober t C . McD ermon d
3d D ef en se B at t al i on
(7 Aug42-8Feb43)
C O-------------- C ol Rober t H . P epper (To
28Nov)
Lt C ol H a rold C . Rober t s
(29 Nov-l l Ja n)
Lt C ol S a muel G , Ta xis
(F rom 12J a n )
D et ach m en t A , 6t h D ef en se B at ta li on11 th M a r i nes
(7Aug42-22Dec42)R ed esi gn at ed 14 th D ef en se”B at ta l i on , 1 5J a n&
(8S e~ 42-8Feb43)
colst B n . . . . . . . . . . .
C O-------------- Lt C ol Willia m F. P arks (To
5Dec)
C ol G alen M. S t urgis (F rom
5Dec)
B r iG eu P edro A. del Va n e
Lt C ol J oseph R. K n ow la n
(To 18 0ct )
Lt Col Ma nly 1,. C urry (18
Ott–27hTov)
Lt C ol D on ova n D . S uit
(28 Nov-20Dec)
ila j Lew is J . F ields (F rom
21Dec)
9th D ef en se B a t ta l i on
(30 Nov42-8Feb43)
C O_ . . . . . . . . . . . . . C ol D a vid R. Nimmer (To
2Feb)
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2d B l~ ____________ Lt C ol E dw a rd J , H a gen
392
Zd Special Weapons Bat ta l ion
(7Aug 42-8Feb43)
C O-------------- Lt C ol P a ul D .S herm an (To co..
8 J a n )
Ma j G uy E . Ta n nyhill
(9-12J an )
Lt C ol P a ul D . S h erma n
(F rom 13J a n )
2d M a ri n es
(7Aug42-31J an 43)
C O -------------- C ol J oh n M. Art hur co--
I st B n ----------- L tC ol Rober t E . H ill (WI A11Nov)
Ma j Wood B . K yle (From
P EARL H AR B OR TO G UAD .4LC ANAL
3d B at ta li on , 10t h Marines
(7 Aug42-8Feb43)
Lt C ol Ma nly L. C ur ry (To
170ct)
Lt C ol D on ova n D . S uit
(180ct-27Nov)
Lt C ol Ma nly L. Curry
(F rom 28N ov )
2d A vi at ion E ngi n eer B at tal i on
(30J an 43-8Feb43)
Ma j C ha rles O. C la rk
1 l th D ef en se B at ta li on
(17 J an43–8Feb43)
11Nov)–,
2d B n ------------ L tC ol Orin K . P ressley (To C O-------------- C ol C ha rles N. Muldrow
14Dec)
Ma j E w a r t S . La ue (Fr om M AR IN E AI R U NI TS
14Dec)
3d B n ------------ L tC ol Rober t G . H unt H ea dqu ar ter s D et ach men t, l st M ar i ne A i rcr af t W in g
6t h Marines
(4Ja n43-8Feb43)
C O-------------- C ol G ilder D . J ackson, J r.
1st B n ----------- Lt C ol Russell Lloyd
2d B n ------------ Ma j R a ymon d L. Murra y
3d B n ------------ Ma j Willia m A. K en gla
8th Mar ines
(2 Nov42-8Feb43)
(3Sep42-8Feb43)
C G --------------Cof s -------------
w-l -------------
w -2_____________
W-3. .-. . . . . . . . . .
Ma j G en Roy S . G eigerB riG en Louis B . Woods
Lt C ol P erry O. P a rmelee
(To 2 0N ov )
C a pt J a mes G . H opper
(21 N ov -20 D ee)
Lt C ol Thoma s G , E nnis
(F rom 21D ec)
L t C ol J oh n C . Munn
C ol La w son H . M. S a n der-
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393ARI NE TAS K ORG ANI ZATI ON AND COMMAND LI ST
W–3------------- Lt Col J oe A. S moa k Marine Fighter Squadron 1.21
(To 29J a n ) (20ct42-28Ja n43)
Lt Col Willia m C . Lemly
(From 30J a n) C O-------------- Ma j Leona rd K . D a visW–4_____________ L tC ol F ra nklin G . C ow ie (WI A ll~ ov, To 16D ec)H qS q –2---------- Ma j Willia m K . S nyder
Marine Aircraft Group 14
(160ct42-8Feb43)
C O-____ . . . . . . . . . LtC ol Alber t D . C ooley
(To 17 D ec)
C ol Willia m O. B rice
(F rom 19D ec)
H qS q–14_________ C apt C la ude J . C arlson ,(To 1 7N ov )
Ca pt S t a n ley M. Ada ms
(F rom 18N ov )
S MS -14__________ Ma j Ar th ur R. S ta cey
Marine Ai rcr aj t Gr ou p 23
(20Aug42-4Nov42)
CO_. -.-. . . . . . . . . C ol Willia m J . Wa lla ce
H qS q-23_-. ..__ . . MG H a rla nd W. B ond
(To 2 40 ct )Lt C ol C ha rles L. Fike
(F r om 250 ct )
S MS -23---------- 2dLt J oseph A. P aw loski
MG Willia m F. Wilson (17:
31Dec)
Ma j D on a ld K . Yost (From
1 J a n )
Marine F igh ter S qu ad ron 122
(12Nov42-8Feb43)
C O-------------- C a pt Na t ha n T. P ost , J r ,
J r. (To 21 ~ OV)C a pt J a mes R. Anderson
(22 Nov-10Dec)
2dLt J oh n F. Tenvole (1 l–
23Dec)
Ma j E lmer E . B ra cket t , J r.
(24-29Dec)
C a pt Na t ha n T. P ost , J r .
(30 Dec-l l Ja n)
Ma j E lmer E , B ra cket t , J r.
(F rom 12J a n)
F li gh t E ch el on , M ar in e F igh ter Squ ad ron 1%3
(3 Feb43-8Feb43)
A dvan ce D et ach men ts, M ar i ne A ir cr aft G roup %5C O-------------- Ma j E dw a rd W. J ohn st on
(3Sep42-8Feb43) F li gh t E ch el on , M ar in e F igh ter Squ ad ron 124
coH qS q-25---------
LtC ol P erry K . S mit h (3 Feb43-8Feb43)
Ma j Leona rd W. Ash w ell
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394 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
M ar in e Scou t-l ?om ber Squ ad ron 141
(23 Sep42-17Ja n43)
C O-------------- Ma j G ordon A. B ell (K I A140ct)
lst Lt Wort h a m S . Ash croft
(F rom 140ct , K IA8N ov)
lst Lt Rober t M. P at t erson
(%lNov)
2dLt J 1’a lter R. B art osh (12-
17XOV)
F l i g ht E ch el on , Marine Scout-Bomber
S qu ad r on 2 31
(30Aug42-14Nov42)
C O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ma j L eo R. S mit h (To
18Sep)
C a pt R uben I den (From
19S ep, K IA 20S ep)
C a pt E lmer G . G lidden, J r.
(F r om 20S ep)
Ma j G eor ge A. S a r les Marine Scout -B om ber Squ ad ron 232
(18 Nov-16Dec)
C a pt C la ude A. C a r lson , J r.(20Aug42-2Nov42)
(F rom 17D ec) C O-------------- Lt C ol Richa rd C . Ma n grum
Marine Scout-Bomber S qua dr on 142 Marine Scou t-B om ber Squ ad ron ,233
(12 Nov42-8Feb43)(25Dec428Feb43)
C O-------------- Ma j Rober t H . ’Richa rdC O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ma j C lyde T. Ma t t ison (To
F l igh t E ch el on , M a ri n e Scou t-B om ber Squ ad r on 14419Jan)
(5F eb43-8Feb43)Capt E lmer L. G ilber t
(F rom 20J a n )
C O-------------- C a pt Roscoe h’. N“elson
Flight Echelon, Marine Scout-Bomber
Flight Echelon, Marine Utility Squadron 162 Squadron 234(210ct42-8Feb43)
(28J an 43-8Feb43)
C O-------------- Ma j E lmore W. S eedsC O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ma j Willia m D . R oberson
F li gh t E ch el on, M ar ine Ph otogr aph ic
Squadron 154
(10iYov42-8Feb43)
.V ar i ne O bser c* at i on S qu ad ron 2’51
(19Aug42-8Feb43)
C O-------------- Lt C ol E lliot E . B a rdC O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I .t C ol J ohn N. H a r t (To
290ct)
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APPEN DI X D
Marine Casualties’
L o c a t i o n a n d d a t e
— ——_ —.-- M a r i ne s
—————_
G ua m ------------------(7-10 D ec 41)
Wake Atoll _____________(7-23 D ec 41)
K I A
: ‘ I T
D OW WI A
offi- E n l is t ed of fi - E r d is t ed O ff i. E n l is t efcer cer cer
—— — . - ——
. —. .= —— ____
4 ____ 1 -... 1;
. —. — ___ 4
— — — — . — — .P hilippines -------------- 43 267 ---- 5 33 324
(7 D ec 41-6 Ma y 42)— . — — . _ _
M id w a y I s la n d s _________ 2 8 1 ------ 14 25(7 D ec41-6J un 42)
.— ——l—-l———— l—-l— I—l—_
Ma kin . . . . . ..--- . . . . . . . 1 17 ____ . . . . . . 2 14
(1 7-1 8 Au g 42 )——— — —— — —
Guadalcanal ----------
(7 Aug42-8F eb 43)——.=
Na va l Med ica l P er son nelOrga nic t o Ma rineU n i t s
——_—
P hilippines --------------(7 D ec 41-6 Ma y 42)
~———_——.--..1
. ——— .
MI AP D I K D P OW
offi- E n l is t ed of fi - E n li st eccer cer
. — —— —
. .—— —— __——.
5
— ——— . .
6 . . . . 13
—— — ——
16 14 225
—— ———
23 14 ---- . . . . .
. —— —
12 ---- ______
—— — —— __
52 246 . . . . . . . . . .
. ——— . ————
.— .— __ __— __
3 25
— ——
TOTAL
offl- Errlistedcer
. -
. ——23
— —
10 103
—— —
90 837
. —
40 47
. —
3 43
. —.
{57 4,063
_ —__
— ——.
5 25
— —
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APPEN DI X E
First Marine Division
Operation Order—Guadalcanal
F I RS T M AR I NE D I VI S I ON
F L E E T M AR I NE F OR C E
Wellingt on, N. Z.
[2 0 J u ls ’ 19 42] ‘
OPERATION ORDER
No. 7-42
Maps: H . O. C H ART 2896 ( S olomon I sla nds) r eproduced by D –2 S ect ion.
D –2 S eet ion Ma p ATort h Coa st G ua da lca na l I sla nd—L ungs P oint t o Aola , 9 S ect ions, 15
J u l y, 1942, R F 1/24, 000.
D –2 S ect ion Ma p Tula gi a nd a dja cen t isla nds, 7/14/42, (4 sheet s) c RF 1/12,000.
D -2 S ect ion —S pecia l m ap Tula gi—1/ 2,000, 15 J u ly , 1942.
TASK ORGANIZATIO&”
a) COMBAT GROUP A [5t h Ma r, Reinf ]
(less C omba t Tea m 2 (less B t ry E llt h Ma rin es) )
(b) COMBAT GROUP B [lst Ma r, R ein f]
(c) TULAGI GROUP
1st Ra ider B n
C omba t Tea m 2 (less B t ry E llt h Ma rines)
(d) GAVUTU GROUP
First P a ra chut e B at ta lion
(e) SUPPORT GROUP
1st E ng B n (less C os A, B , & C)
C ol. L eRoy P . H unt , U SMC .
C ol. C lift on B . C a tes, U SMC .
LtC ol. Merr it t A. E dson , U SMC .
Itfaj.Robert H . Willia ms, U SMC.
C ol. P edro A. del Va ne, U S MC .
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FI RS T M.4R1NE D IVI SI Oh ’ OR DE R—G U AD AL CANAL 397
2. Th is D iv is ion w ill a t t a ck a n d d es tr oy t he h os tile g a rr is on s of TU L AG I , G U AD AL CAN AL ,G AVU TU , a n d M AK A~ I B O b y s im u lt a n e ou s l a n di ng s on D d a y . I t w ill t h en or ga n iz e a n d d ef en d
t h ose i sl an d s .F or Tr a n spor t Ar ea , L in e of D epa r t ur e, b ea ch es , ob ject iv es , B o un da r ies s ee O per a t ion Ov er la y
An n ex D .
3. (a) La nd on B ea ch RE D a t Zero H our w it h 2 CTS in a ssa ult on a front of 1600 ya rds seize bea ch-
hea d (see opera tion over la y ). When pa ssed t h rough by C omba t G roup B , C omba t G roup A (less
CTS 2 & 3) a t ta ck t ow a rd LU NG A w it h it s r igh t rest in g on t h e shore line. S eize t he line of t he
TE NARU RI VE R. C omba t Tea m 3 a t t a ck a nd seize line of w oods runn ing sout hea st from
TE NAVATU [ea st ern fla nk of R ed B ea ch] (see opera t ion over la y). H old t ha t line unt il relieved
by S upport G roup. Then opera te a s direct ed by Ta sk Orga niza t ion C omma nder .
(b) L an d on B ea ch R ED a t Zer o H our plu s 50 m in ut es (s ee oper at ion over la y) pa ss t hr oughr ig ht of C om ba t G r ou p A a n d a t t a ck on m a gn et ic a z im ut h 2 60” . S e ize g r assy k n ol l 4 m il es sou t h of
L U ~ G A P O I NT. B e pr ep a red f or f ur t her a d va n ce.F or m at i on —C olu m n of b a t t a l i on s e ch e lon e d t o t h e l ef t r e ar . M a in t a in con t a ct w i t h C om ba t G r o upA on r ig h t.
(c) La nd on ~ ron t of 500 ya rds on B ea ch B LU E a t H h our , a n d seize t ha t por t ion of TU LAG I
I S LAND lying nor th w est of lin e A ( see D –2 S ect ion S pecia l Ma p TU LAG I 1/12,000, 15 J uly 1942).
Fire G RE E N S T.4R C LU S TE R t o ca ll for five minutes a ir a n d na va l bomba rdment of TU LAG I
sout hea st of line A, a ft er H plus 1 hour . U pon complet ion of bombing a nd lift ing of na va l gun fire,
a tt a ck a nd seize t h e rema inder of TU LAG I I S LAND . U pon complet ion seizure of TU LAG I IS LANTD
Ist Ra ider B n reemba rk a t B ea ch B lue a n d repor t complet ion of reemba rka t ion t o D ivision H ea d-
q ua rt ers, prepa red for fur t her la ndings. upon seizure of TU LAG I, cont rol pa sses t o C omma nder
Comba t Tea m 2. C omba t Tea m 2 t hen reemba rk sufficient t roops a n d seize MAK AMB O
IS L.4ND , t hen orga nize a nd defend t h ose isla nds, Follow in g seizure of TIJ LAG I a nd .MAK AMB O,
a nd of G AVU TU a nd TANAMB OG O by 1st pa ra ch ut e B a t ta lion, relieve 1st pa ra ch ut e B a t ta lion
w it h on e r ifle com pa ny plus on e ma chine gun pla toon.
(d) La nd on ea st coa st of G AVU TU I S LAND a t H plus 4 hours, a nd seize t ha t isla nd, t hen seize
TANAMB OG O. Fire G RE E N STAR C LU S TE R t o ca ll for five minut es na va l gunfire on TANAM-
B OG O I S LAA’D . Reemba rk upon relief prepa red for employmen t elsew here.
(e) La nd on B ea ch RE D on order , a ssume cont rol of 2d a nd 3d B a t t a lions llth Ma rines, pr ovide
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398 P EARL H .4RB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
(x) (1) L a nd ta nks w it h comba t gr oups a n d move t o cover n ea r ea st boun da ry of bea ch hea d.
Ta nks n ot t o be com mit ted except on division order .
(2) La n d 1st a n d 3d pla t oons B a t t ery A S pecia l Wea pon s B a t t a lion on fla nks of bea ch a n d
furnish AA defense bea ch a rea , 1st P la t oon t o r ight 3d pla t oon t o left . These rever t t o ba t t a lion
con t rol upon la nding of H ea dqua rt ers 1st S pecia l Wea pons B at t a lion.
(3) S cout ca rs w illn ot l a n d.
(4) All a rt illery of comba t t roops w ill be la nded w it h t hose groups a ndpa ss t ocont rolllt h
Ma rines upon la ndin g llt h Ma rines H ea dqua rt ers.
(5) Assistant D iv is ion C om ma n der w il l com ma n d oper a tion s in TU L AG I -G AVU TU -F LOR ID A
Area.
4. See Administrative Order.
5. (a ) S ee An nex E , S igna l C om munica tion .
(b) C omma nd P osts a floa t:
1st Ma r D iv
C omba t G roup A
C omba t G r oup B
TU LAG I G roup
G AVU TU G roup
S uppor t G r ou pD iv is ion R es er ve
FLORI D A G roup
3d D efen se B n
MC CAWLE Y (AP 1O)
AME RI C AN LE GI ON (AP 35)
B .4R NE TT (AP 1l)
AP D
H E YWOOD ( AP 12 )
H U NTE R L IG GE TT (AP 27)C RE S C E NT CI TY (AP 40)
P RE S I D E NT J AC K S ON ( AP 37 )
ZE ILI N (AP 9)
(c) Axis of S igna l C ommun ica tion a ll unit s:
C P a floa t-loca tions a shore t o be repor t ed.
(d) U se loca l t ime, zon e minus eleven ( zon e suffix let t er Love), in a ll communica t ion s w it h
Division.
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APPEN l)I X F
Military Map Symbols
SIZE SYMBOLS UNIT SYMBOLS
Squadn P Pioneer
0 Sectionm Rdr Raider
* PlatoonD
Tank
1 Company or Battery MISCELLANEOUS SYMBOLS
II Bottolion or Squodron Commond Post
Ill Regiment or Air Group
AObservation Post
x Brigode
~/xx Division or Wing
/
Boundory ( battolion)
UNIT SYMBOLS + Aid Station (bottalion)
0 Bosic Unit
B
EXAMPLESAir
nLVT Amphibion Troctorc1
L “.O ID E Ist S ee, LBtry, Ist OefEn
Antioircroft
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APPEN DI X G
Guide to Abbreviations
AA ------------ An tia ir cr aft
ALA . . . . . . . . . . . An t ia ircra ft Art il lery
OAF----------- Army Air Force
ABC ___________ American-Br i t i sh-Cana dian
AD A . . . . . . . . . Am erica n-B rit ish -D ut ch -Aus-
t ra l i an
Acct . - . . . . . ---- Accoun t in g
Ac t ____________ Ac t io n
AD C. - . _______ Assista nt D ivision C om ma nderAd m___________ Ad mi r a l
Adv ----------- Adva nce
AF ------------ Asia tic Fleet
Air ------------ Aircra ft
ALA __________ At ta ck C ar go S hip
Am er ---------- Am erica n
Amt ra ck-- . . . . . Amphibia n Tra ct or
An ------------ An nua l
An za c __________ Au st ra lia -N ew Zea la n d Ar ea
AP ____________ N a vy Tr a ns por t
AP A___________ At t a ck Tr a ns por tAP E ----------- S ma ll C oa st a l Tra nspor t
AP D ---------- D est royer Tra nsport
AR ____________ . 4ct i on R ep or t
Arca dia ________ U . S .-B rit ish C on feren ce (D e-
cem ber 1941–J a nua ry 1942)
As Fl t __________ . &s ia t i c F l ee t
ATI S __________ Allied Tr an sla tor a nd I nt er ro-
g a tor S ect ion
C . . . . . . . . ----- Combat
CA._. . . . . . . . . . Coast Artillery
Cactus --------- C ode Na me for G ua da lca na l
C al------------ C a liber
C AM---------- C ombin ed Army & Ma rine
C a pt ----------- C a pta in
“C a t a lina ’’ ----- P B Y pa t rol bomber ma de by
Consolidated-Vultee
C C S ----------- C ombin ed C hiefs of S t a ffC ar-. --_.. ._. _.. C om ma nder
C G ------------ C omma nding G en era l
C h ------------ C h ief
C h a p ---------- C ha pt er
C h in ---------- C ha irma n
C in C ---------- C omma nder in C h ief
C h ic ---------- C omma n da n t of t he Ma rine
Corps
C OO ---------- C h ief of Na va l Opera t ions
C O_- . . . ..-_... C omma nding Officer
C o---- . . . . . . . . C ompa n yC ofS ----------- C h ief of S t a ff
C ofS A-- . . . . . . . C h ief of S t a ff, U . S . Army
C ol------------ C olon el
C en t ----------- C on tin uin g
C om----------- C omma nder ; C omma nda nt
C om b ---------- C om bined
C oma -._ . . . ._. C ommunica tion
CP ------------ C omma n d P ost
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G U ID E TO AB B RE VI ATI ONS
D ef ____________
D ept . . . . . . . . . .
D es ___________
D ev ___________
“Devastator’’___
D ir ____________
I)is p -----------
D iv ____________
D oc . . . . . . . . . . .
D OW----------
DUK W --------
E ncl . . . . . . . . . . .
Egg - ----------
E n l____________E ns . . . . .. . . . . . . .
E G O-----------
E xt . . . . . . . . . . . .
F4F - ________
FAdm _________
FEAF ---------
F ED . . . . -------
Fl ex ___________
F la t . __-. . __. .. _
Flt ------------F MF ----------
FO-----------
For ____________
F ou r te en . . .--_.
G -2-----------
G a r------------
G en -----------
G H Q----------
Defense
Depar tment
Destroyer
DevelopmentTB D– , t orpedo-bom ber ma de
b y D ou gla s
Director
Dispatch
Division
Document
D ied of Woun ds
Am ph ib iou s Tr uck
Enclosure
Engineer
EnlistedEnsign
E xecu t iv e O fl icer
Extension
“Wildcat” fight er ma de by
f . l rumman
F leet Ad mi ra l
Fa r E a st Air F orce
Fa r E ast C omma nd
F leet L an din g E xer cise
Flotilla
FleetF leet Ma rin e F or ce
F or wa r d Ob ser ver
Force
14t h Na va l D ist rict
I nt elli gen ce Of fi ce(r ), D iv is ion
or a bov e
Garr i son
Genera l
G e ner a l H ea d qu a rt er s
J -------------
J AG -. . . . . . . . . .
J ASCO --------
J C S -----------
J I C ------------
J G ------------
J n l------------
“Ka te’’ --------
.KDPOW _______
Lr rn ____________
La nd ___________
LC dr __________
L C M----------
LCVP ---------
LS T___________
L t _____________
L t r____________
LE T . . . . . . . . . . .
LVT(A)--------
MAG ----------
Ma j -----------
Ma r. -_. . ______
MarCor --------MAW---------
Mb r ___________
MC ___________
MCEC ________
MOO__________
MC S ----------
MD -----------
Me d___________
Joint
J udge Advoca te G enera l
J oin t Assa ult S igna l C om pa ny
J oin t C hiefs of S t a ff
J oin t I nt elligen ce C en ter
J un ior G ra de
J o u r n a l
J a p a n es e t o rp ed o-b omb er
K illed or D ied While a P ris-
on er of Wa r
Landing
At la n ti c (F leet )
L ieu ten a nt C om ma n der
Mecha nized La nding C ra ft
Veh icle a nd P er son nel L an din gCra f t
Ta nk L a nding S hip
Lieutenant
Letter
L a nd in g Veh icle Tr acked
La ndin g Vehicle Tra cked (Ar-
mored)
Ma rine Aircra ft G roup
Major
Marine(s)
Ma rin e C or psMa rin e Aircr aft Win g
Member
Ma rine C orps; Medica l C orps
(Navy)
M ar in eC or ps E d uca t ion a l C en t er
Ma rine C orps Or der
Ma rin e C or ps S ch ools
M ar in e D et a ch m en t
Medical
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402 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD AL C ANAL
S AC ___________ N -a v a l Ai r S t a ti on
h’a v ----------- N’a vy ; I ia va l
N D ____________ N a vy D ep ar t men t
N -H A__________ N av al H is tor y D iv is ionN7G F . . -------- N’a va l G un fire
N OB __________ N’a va l Oper at in g B a se
NR IJ I C ________ Na va l R ecords Xfa na gem ellt
C en ter (Alexa ndr ia , Vs. )
NOD . . . . . . . . . . l ia va l S upply D epot
OC MH -------- Office of t h e C hief of Milit a ry
H ist ory, L1. S . Arm y
Off ------------ officer (s)
Ofl ------------ Officia l
ONI ----------- Office of Na va l I n t elligence
OP ------------ Observa tion P ostOP la n --------- Opera tion P la n
OpOrd --------- Oper a tion Or der
Ops------------ Oper at ion s
P &P ----------- P la ns a n d P olicies D ivision ,
H ea dq ua rt ers Ma rine C orps
P AA___________ P a n Am er ica n Air wa ys
P a c . . . . . . . . . . . . P acific (F leet )
P ara __.. . ----- P ara chut e
P a t ------------ P at rol
P A ------------ P at rol B oa t
P a l------------ ‘(C a t a lin a ” pa t rol bomber
m a d e b y C on s ol id a t ed -V ul t ee
P C ------------ P at rol C ra ft
P a rs ----------- P erson nel
P h i b ___________ Amp h ib i ou s
P hil ----------- P hilippin e
P ion ----------- P ion eer
P i------------- P la toon
P roj . . . -------- P roject
R ho . . . . . . . . . . . Roya l Ma rine(s)
RM....-- R oya l Ma rine Art il lery
R N------------ Roya l Na vy
S B D– --------- “D a un t less’’scou Gbom berma de by D ougla s
S B 2U – _ . . . . . . . “Vin dica t or” scout -bomber
m a d e b y Vou gh t -S ik or sk y
S C AP ---------- S upreme C omma n der Allied
Powers
S ch . . . . . . . . . . . . S chool
S ec . . . . . . . . . . . . S ect ion
S ea . ----------- S en ior
S a p_ . . . . . . ----- S epa ra t e
S er ------------ S er vice
S FC P . . . . . . . . . . S hor e F ire C ont rol P a r t yS gt . . . . . . . . . . . . S ergea n t
S ixt een . . . . . . . . . 16t h Na va l D ist r ict
S /L ------------ S ea rch ligh t
S M. ----------- S pecia l Ma nua l
S MS -- . . . . . . .-. Ma r ine S ervice S q ua dron
S NLF --------- J apa nese S pecia l Na va l La n d-
in g F or ce
so--- . . . . . . . . . . sout h
S ol------------ S pecia l
S in ------------ S qua dron
S S------------- S pecia l S t a ff
S S gt -- . . . . . . . . . S t a ff S ergea n t
S WP A --------- S out hw est P acific Area
TAC O . . . . ----- Th e Adjut a n t G en era l’s Office
TB D– -------- “D eva st a tor” t or pedo-bomber
ma de by D ougla s
TB F– --------- “Aven ger” t orpedo-bom ber
ma de by G rum ma n
TF ------------ Ta sk For ce
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G U I D E TO ABBREVIATIONS 403
U SN I . ..___ . .._ U nit ed S t a tes h “a va l I nst i tute
U S E R . . . ..-. _. L~ nit ed S t a t es Na va l Reserve
U P S . . . . . . . . . . . LTnit ed S t a tes S hip
U SS B S --------- U nit ed S t a tes S t ra tegic B omb-
in g S ur vey
VAdm. . . . . . . . . Vice Admira l
I F-__ . . . . . . . . . Na vy Fight er S qua dron
“Vin dica tor” --- S B 2U – , scout -bomber ma de
b y V ou g h t -S i k or s ky
VMF . . . . . . . . . . Ma r ine Fight er S q ua dron
VMJ . --------- Ma rine U tilit y S qua dron
VMS B --------- Ma rine S cout -B omber S q ua d-
ro n
VP ------------ Na vy P at rol S q ua dron
VS . . . . . . . . . . . . Na vy S cout ing S q ua dron
W-l ----------- Win g P erson nel Office(r)
W–2----------- Win g I nt elligen ce Office (r)
W–3----------- Wing Opera tions Office(r)
W-4- _--__ . . . . . Wing Logist ics Office(r)
Wa t ch t ow er . . . . C ode na me for t he G ua da l-
ca n a l-Tu la g i O per a t ion
WD ----------- Wa r D epa r t ment
WD C---------- Wa r D ocumen t s C ent er
Wa s ----------- West
“Wildca t’’ ______ F4F– , figh ter ma de by G rum -
ma n
WE ----------- Wa rra nt Officer
WP L ---------- Wa r P la n
Wins . . . . . . . . . . Wea pon s
Wt l~ ----------- World Wa r
YP __. . . . . . . . . . S ma ll P a t rol C ra ft,(~rol? --------- J a p an ese fig ht er
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APPEN DI X H
Unit Commendations
TH E WH ITE H OU SE
WASHINGTON
C it a tion by
TH E P RE S ID E NT OF TH E U NI TE D S TATE S
of
Th e Wa ke det a ch ment of t h e 1st D efen se B a t ta lion, C . S . Ma rine C orps, un der comma nd of
Ma jor J a mes P . S , D evereux, U . S . Ma rines
a n d
Ma rine Fight ing S qua dron 211 of Ma rine Aircra ft G roup 21, un der comma nd of
Ma jor P aul A. P ut na m, U . S . Ma rines
a n d
Army a nd Na vy per sonn el presen t
“Th e coura geous conduct of t h e officers a n d m en w ho d efen ded Wa ke I sla nd a ga inst
a n overw h elmin g super ior it y of en emy a ir , sea , a n d la nd a t t a cks from D ecember 8 t o 22,
1941, h a s been not ed w it h a dmira tion by t heir fellow coun t r ymen a n d t h e civil ized w orld,
a nd w ill not be for got t en so long a s ga lla nt ry a nd heroism a r e respect ed a nd h on ored. They
a re commen ded for t heir devot ion t o dut y a n d splen did con duct a t t heir ba t t le st a t ions
un der m ost a dverse con dit ion s. Wit h limit ed defensive mea ns a ga inst a t t a cks in grea t
force, t h ey ma nned t h eir sh ore insta lla t ions a nd flew t h eir a ircra ft so w ell t ha t five en emy
w a rships w er e eit her sunk or severely da ma ged, ma ny h ost ile P I a nes shot dow n , a n d a n
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406 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
GEIVEItALORDERS
}
WAR D E P AR TME NT
No. 22 WASH ING TON, Apr i l .90 ,19 .j2
C it a t ion of u ni ts of b ot h m ilit a r y a n d n a va l f or ces of t h e U n it ed S t a t es a n d P h ilippin e G ov er n-m en t s. —As a u t hor iz ed b y E xecu tiv e O rd er 9075 (s ec. I I , B u ll. 11, W. D ., 1942), a cit a t ion in t h en a m e o f t h e P r es id en t of t h e U n it ed S t a t es a s pu blic ev id en ce of d es er ve d h on or a n d d is ti nct ion ,is a w a r d ed t o a ll u nit s of b ot h m ilit a r y a n d n a va l f or ce s of t h e U n i t ed S t a t es a n d P h ilippin e Govern-
ment s en ga ged in t h e defen se of t h e P hilippines sin ce D ecember 7, 1941 t o 10 Ma y 1942.
A. G . 210. 54 (4-12-42). (C losin g da t e a ut h. by W. D . G .O. 460f 1948)
B Y OR D ER OF TH E S E CB E TAR Y OF WAR :
OFFICIAL:
J . A. U L I O
Ma jor G en era l
The Adjutant General
G . C . MARS H ALL
Chie f of Naff
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U N I T C OM ME N DATI ON S 407
TH E S E C I t E TAS YOF THE NAVY
Washington.
Th e P resident of t he U n it ed S ta t es ta kes plea sure in presen t ing t he P RE S I D E NTI AL U NI T
C I TATI ON t o
MAR I NE AI RC RAFT G ROU P TWE NTY-TWO
for service a s set for t h in t he follow in g
C I TATI ON :
“For con spicuous coura ge a nd heroism in comba t a t Midw ay I sla nd during J un e, 1942.
Out n umbered five t o on e, MARI NE AI RC RAFT G ROU P TWE NTY-TWO boldly int er cept ed
a h ea vily escor t ed en em y bombing force, disrupt in g t heir a t t a ck a nd preven t in g ser ious
da ma ge t o isla nd inst a lla tions. Opera ting w it h ha lf of t heir dive-bombers obsolet e a nd inpoor mech a nica l condit ion w hich n ecessit a ted vulnera ble glide bombin g t a ct ics, t hey suc-
ceeded in inflict in g h ea vy da ma ge on J apa n ese sur fa ce un its of a la rge en emy ta sk force.
Th e skill a nd ga lla nt persevera nce of flight a nd gr oun d person n el of MARI NE AI RC RAFT
G ROU P TWE NTY-TWO, fight ing un der t remen dously a dverse a nd da ngerous condit ion s,
w er e essent ia l fa ct ors in t he un yieldin g defen se of Midw ay .”
For t he P resident .
F R AN K K N OX ,
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408 P EARL H AR B OR TO G UAD ALC .4NAL
THE SECRETARYOF THE NAVY
Washington,
Th e S ecret ary of t he Na vy t akes plea sure in com men din gt he
S I XTH D E FE NS E B ATTALI ON, FLE E T MARI NE FORC E , RE I NFORC E D ,
for service a s follow s :
“For out st a n din g h eroism in support of milit a ry opera t ions pr ior t o a n d durin g t he
B at t le of Midw ay, J un e 1942. Assuming a tremen dous opera tion a l a nd service loa d inpre-
pa rin g defenses of Midw ay a ga inst a nt icipa t ed J a pa n ese a tt a ck, t he officers a n d men of t h e
SI XTH D efen se B at ta lion ca rr ied on in tensive nigh t ba tt le t ra in ing, complet ed a nd inst alled
underw at er obst a cles, un loa ded a nd dist r ibuted supplies, empla ced gun s a nd const ruct ed
fa cilit ies forst ow ing a nl~ nunit ion a nd for prot ect in g per son n el. Aler t a ndr ea dy for comba t
w hen en emy pla nes ca me in t o la un ch high a nd dive-bombin g a tta cks a nd low ..level st ra fin g
a t t a cks on J une 4, t h ey prompt ly open ed a n d ma in t a in ed fire a ga inst t h e host i le t a rget s,
dow ning 10 pla nes dur in g t h e fur ious 17-min ut e a ct ion w hich result ed in t h e dest ruct ion of
t hella rin e ga lley a nd mess-ha ll, eq uipmen t , supplies a ndcommun ica tion fa cilit ies. Work-
in g a s a n effect ive t ea m for lon g per iods w it hout relief, this B a t t a lion clea red t h e debr is
fr om t he bom b-w recked ga lley , r eest ablish ed disr upt ed com mu nica tion s, a nd ser viced pla nes,
t h ereby cont r ibut ing grea t ly t o t h e success of opera t ions conduct ed fr om t his ba se. Th e
h igh sta nda rds of coura ge a nd service ma int a in ed by t h e S IXTH D efen se B at t a lion reflect
t heh igh est cr ed it u pon t he L Tn it ed S ta tes Na va l S er vice.”
All person nel a t t a ched t o a nd serving w it h t he S IXTH D efen se B a t t a lion, Fleet Ma rin e Force,
Rein forced, consist ing of t he S IXTH D efen se B at t a lion , a tt a ch ed person nel of t h e Third D efen se
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U N IT C OM ME N D ATI ON S 409
THE SECRETARYOF THE NAVY
Washington.
4 F E B RU AR Y 1943.
C it ed in t he Na me of
Th e P resident of t he U nit ed S t a t es
TH E FI RS T MARI NE D I VI S 1ON, RE I NFORC E D
U nder comma nd of
Ma jor G enera l Alexa n der A. Va n degr ift , U . S . M. C .
C I TATI ON :
“The officers a nd en list ed m en of t he First Ma rine D ivision, R ein forced, on August 7 t o 9, 1942,
demon st ra ted out st a ndin g ga lla nt ry a nd det ermin a tion in successfully execut in g for ced la ndin g
a ssa ults a ga inst a n umber of st ron gly defen ded J a pa nese posit ions on Tula gi, G avut u, Ta na mbogo,
Flor ida a nd G ua da lca na l, B r it ish S olomon I sla n ds, complet ely rout ing a ll t h e en em y forces a n d
seizing a most va lua ble ba se a n d a ir field w it h in t h e en emy zon e of opera t ion s in t h e S out h P acific
Ocean. F rom t h e a bove per iod unt il 9 D ecem ber , 1942, t his R ein for ced D ivision n ot on ly held t h eir
import a nt st ra tegic posit ions despit e det ermin ed a nd repea ted J a pa nese na va l, a ir a nd la nd a tt a cks,
but by a ser ies of ofl%n sive opera tion s a ga inst st rong en em y resist a nce droire t h e J a pa nese from t h e
proximit y of t h e a ir field a n d inflict ed grea t losses cm t h em by la nd a nd a ir a t t a cks. Th e cour a ge
a nd det erm in at ion displa yed in t hese opera tion s w ere of a n in spir ing order .”
FRANK KNOX
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410 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
THE SECRETARYo ? THE h’AvY
Wa811iwgton.
The S ecret a ry of t he Na vy ta kes plea sure in commen ding t he
NINTH MARI NE D E FE NS E B ATTALI ONfor service a s follow s :
“For out st a nding heroism in a ct ion a ga inst en emy ,Ta pa nese forces a t G ua da lca na l,
November 30, 1942, t o h fa y 20, 1943; Ren dova -Xew G eorgia Area , J un e 30 t o November 7,
1943; a nd a t G ua m, Ma ria na s, J uly 21 t o August 20. 1944. On e of t he first units of it s
kin d t o opera te in t h e S out h P acific Area , t h e NI NTH D efen se B at t a lion est a blished st rong
sea coa st a nd bea ch posit ions w hich dest royed 12 host ile pla nes a tt empt ing t o bomb G ua da l-
ca na l, a nd fur th er en ga ged in ext en sive pa tr oll in g a ct ivit ies. I n a 21-d ay -a nd -n ig ht t ra in in g
per iod pr ior t o t he Ren dova -New G eorgia a ssa ult , this group ca libra t ed a n d lea rned t o
ha n dle n ew w ea pons a nd rea dily effect ed t he con version from a sea coa st unit t o a unitca pa ble of execut in g field a rt iller y m ission s. J oinin g Army Art il lery unit s, specia l groups
of t his ba t ta lion a ided in la unchin g a n a t t a ck w hich drove t he en emy from t he bea ches,
dow ned 130f a 16-bomber pla ne forma tion during t he first nigh t a sh ore a nd den ied t he use
of t h e Munda a irfield t o t he J a pa nese. The NI NTH D efen se B at t a lion a ided in spea rhea d-
ing t h e a t t a ck of t he Army Corps opera t ing on New G eorgia a nd, despit e h ea vy losses,
rema in ed in a ct ion unt il t he en emy w a s rout ed from t he isla nd. E lement s of t he B at ta lion
la nded a t G ua m under in tense fire, esta blished bea ch defen ses, inst a lled a nt ia ircra ft gun s
a nd la ter cont r ibut ed t o t h e rescue of civilia ns a nd t o t h e ca pt ure or dest ruct ion of t hou-
sa nds of J a pa nese. B y t heir skill, coura ge a nd a ggressive figh t ing spir it , t he officers a nd
men of t h e NI NTH D efense B a t t a lion uph eld t he high est t ra dit ions of t he U n it ed S ta t es
Na va l S er vice. ”
All personn el a t t a ched t o a nd servin g w it h t he NI NTH D efense B a t t a lion during t h e a bove
ment ioned per iods a re a ut hor ized t o w ea r t he .NAVY U NI T C OMME ND ATI ON Ribbon.
J OH N L. S UL LI VAN,
Secretary of the IVavy.
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U N I T C O MM E ND ATI ON S 411
TH E S E C E E TAR YO F TH E N AVY ,
Washington.
The S ecret a ry of t he A’a vy t a kes plea sure in commen ding t h e
FI RS T S E P ARATE E NG INE E R B ATTALI ON
for service a s follow s:
“For except ion ally m er it oriou s ser vice in suppor t of m ilit ar y oper at ion s on G ua da lca na l,
D ecember I O, 1942, t o Febrna ry 27, 1943; Tinia n from August 20, 1944, t o Ma rch 24, 1945;
a nd Okina w a from April 14t o S ept ember , 1945. F aced w it h n ur ner ou s an d d ift icu lt pr ob-
lems in engineer in g t hrough out t wo m ajor ca mpa igns, t he First S epa ra te E ngineer B at t alion
init ia ted new t echn iques a nd proceduresin const ruct ion, repa ir a nd ma in ten ance, execnt in g
it s missions un der a dverse condit ions of w ea t her a n d t erra in a nd in spit e of J apa neseshellings, a rt illery fire, bombing ra ids, sickness a nd t ropica l st orms. Tech nica lly skilled,
a ggressive a n d un mindful of grea t persona l da n ger , t he officers a n d men of this ga lla nt
B at ta lion const ruct ed, developed a nd ma in t a ined vit a l rout es of communica tion, a irfields
a nd ca mp fa cilit ies; t hey served a s comba t engineer unit s in per forming demolit ion s, min e
det ect ion a nd disposa l a n d bomb disposa l t a sks in support of va r ious nnit s of t h e Fleet
Ma rine Force; a n d t h ey built br idges a nd repa ired a ir-bombed a ir st r ips t ow ard t h e unin-
t errupt ed opera tions of Allied gron nd a nd a eria l forces. U ndet erred by bot h mecha nica l
a nd na tnra l limit a tions, t he First S epa ra te E ngineer B at t a lion complet ed w ith dispa tch a nd
effect iven ess a ssigned a n d una nt icipa ted dut ies w hich con t r ibut ed immea sura bly t o t h e
ult ima t e defea t of J apa n a nd upheld t h e highest t ra dit ions of t h e U nit ed S ta t es Na va l
Service.”
All personn el a t t a ched t o t he First S epa ra t e E ngineer B at t a lion durin g a ny of t he a bove ment ioned
per iods a re hereby a ut h or ized t o w ea r t he NAVY U NI T C OMME ND ATI ON Ribbon.
J A M E S F O RR E S TAL ,
~ecretar t i of the~a~.
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IndexA ar on W ar d , 35 3
Abbot t , C a pt R. A., 327
Abe, RAdm H ., 227
Abe, R Ad m K ., 129-130
AB C–1, 85
AB DA ( America n-B rit ish-D ut ch -Aust ra lia n )
C omma nd, 86
Ad ak, 215
Ada ms, Lt C ol J . P ., 162, 164, 168, 171
Adva nced. ba se a ct ivit ies, 8-10, 64
Afr ica , 59, 85
Aga na , 76, 78
Air a tt acks. S ee Aircra ft .
.kircraft
Allied
a erodyna mics sa fet y, 18
a ir-groun d coordina tion , 18. S ee also Com-
munications.
a ir-gr oun d “a rmored pa cket s,” 1Sa eria l ph ot ogra ph s; 126, 147, 243, 245
a er ia l sea rches, 79
cl os e s uppor t, 297, 299, 319
fir e pow er , 17
lia ison , 18
n aviga tion , 18
ob ser va t ion , 19, 254, 298, 320
oxy gen sy st em , 280
Aircraft—Continued
Allied—Continued
types-Continued
fi gh ter s, 81, 87, 163, 217, 219,226, 259, 263,
294, 354,365
F 2A-3s, 216, 225
F 4F s, 66, 101–102, 107–108, 110, 120, 128,
2 07, 21 9, 2 23, 2 25 --22 6, 2 41, 27 9, 291 –292 ,
296295, 302-303, 326, 336, 343m , 362
l ia is on , 254, 373
L ockh eed H udson s, 363
ob ser va t ion , 254, 325, 339
0S 2U S, 363
P -38s, 362
P – 39s , 328, 336, 343n , 344, 362
P 40S , 180
P 400s, 280, 297, 299, 308, 323, 328, 343n,
362
pa trol , 36, 66, 70–71, 81–83, 98, 211, 292,204, 352
P B Ys, 78, 80-81, 89, 102, 104, 123, 126-127,
161, 163, 165, 216, 221, 277, 328, 363
ph ot ogr aph ic pla nes, 241
R 4D s, 280, 328n
S B D S, 207, 219, 224-229, 267,269, 279, 292,
29*295, 305, 311, 316-317, 323, 327+ 2 8,
336, 339, 343n , 344, 362
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414 P EARL H ARB OR TO G LMD ALC ANAL
Aircraft—Continued
J apanese—Cont inued
types—Continued
ca rr ier pla n es , 119, 128, 230
dive bombers, 7k71, 73, 128, 143, 147,1 52 , 1 63 , 1 70 ,2 21 , 2 23 ,2 27 ,2 58
figh t er pla nes, 7*71, 73, 127–128, 151,
163, 165, 170, 218, 227–228, 292, 294,
326
f l oa t p l a n es , 2 27 ,2 60 ,2 91
f ly in g b oa t s, 121, 123–124, 221
K a t es , 22 1, 2 2 8 , %39
K a wa nish i 97s, 115, 121, 123, 218, 224,
228
ob ser va t ion pla n es , 275, 327
s ea pl an es , 263
t orpedo bombers, 71, 221, 228, 259, 352
V a ls , 2 21 ,2 23
Zer os, 128, 221, 223–225, 227–228, 292,
29 4, 29 7, 302, 328 , 3 35 -336
Air support . S ee Aircra ft .
Airfields
Allied, 36, 64, 68, 99, 102, 106, 10%109, 115-
116, 123, 130, 133–134, 136-137, 139, 141,
148–149, 162, 210, 212, 238-239, 241, 255-256,
274-277, 280, 283, 294, 299, 327–328, 336,
3 46 , 3 52 –3 54 , 3 60
J apanese , 163-165,238,258,347
Air unit s, Allied. iS ’ee a lso Ma rine unit s, Air.
C hinese Air F orce, 60
P hilippin e Army Air C orps, 180, 188, 191
Roya l New Zea la nd Air Force, 241
Roya l .kust ra lia n Air Force, 237
U . S . Army Air C orps, 100, 156, 163n, 191, 241,
Ai r u n it s , Al li ed -C on t i nu ed
Fl ight 300,292,323
3d P ursuit S qua dron, 177
3d R econ na issa nce S q ua dron (R NZAF ), 363
VP – 12, 363VP – 21, 7S 79, 81, 216
VS -1 –D 1 4, 80 -00
VS + 3 , 305
VT-8, 3 05
Ah?agi, 215,223,227
.4kebono, 79-80
. 4k iz uk i, 325
Al am ed a, 50n
Al am o, 155
Ala ska , 214
Alchiba, 253
Aleu tia n s, 214215, 218
Alhena, 250, 253
Am er ica n-B rit ish st aff con ver sa tion s, 36, 63
American Legion, 253
America n S a moa . Nee S a moa .
Am munit ion . B ee a lso Wea pons.
Allied, 21, 68, 71, 79, 104, 107, 112, 144, 157,
163-164, 167-168, 172, 188, 217, 257, 260, 270,
27*277, 295, 31*311, 316, 321, 348
d u mps , 1 64 ,2 97
m aga zines, 66, 99, 112, 217
types
a r mor -pier ci ng , 16
bom ba rdm en t, 16
bombs, 108, 120, 122, 126, 181, 183, 209,
212, 269, 276, 293, 297, 328, 355
. 50 ca l ib er , 120, 133
5 -i n ch , 11 2, 11 4, 119 , 26 8
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I N D E X 415
Ammunition-Continued
J apanes&Cont inued
types—Continued
8-i nch , 32 7
m or ta r , 141, 330
6 -i n ch , 1 17
t or ped oes, 71, 212, 221, 224, 227, 311, 339,
353
240m m , 160
Am ph ib ia n v eh icl es
a mphibia n t ra ct or , 32–33, 2.56, 270, 276, 320,
329
C hr is tie a m ph ibi an , 23,32
D U KW, 34
L VT, 3 2-3 4
L VT (A), 33-34
Amph ibious doct r in e a n d t echn iq ues, 7–8, 11,
14-15, 23, 51, 254, 372~ 373. 6’ee also Logistics;
P l a n n i n g .
Amph iNlous eq uipment , 23-24, 30. S ee a lso Am-
ph ibia n veh icles; S hips.
Am ph ib iou s exer ci ses , 22, 52
An ch or a nd ch rysa nt hem um d evice, 285
Anderson , Lt Col H . R., 171
An oph el es m os qu it o, 239
An tia ircra ft fire, 42, 68, 71, 73, 95, 140, 162, 241,25%259, 352,357
An ti-Axis pow er s, 155
An tib oa t obs ta cles, 113, 190
An tig ua , 54
An t il les , 54
An t is ub ma r in e m is si on s, 89, 363
An za c a r ea , 84, 84n , 205, 209,235, 238
.40ba , 129,325
Arm y gr oun d units (Allied ) —C ont in ued
P h ilippin e Ar my, 155-157, 164-167, 172, 190n ,
191,200
P h ilippin e C on st a bu la ry , 156, 172, 160n , 191
P hilippin e S cout s, 156, 156n, 179–180, 190n,
191, 194
U nit ed S t a t es Army, 5, 7, 11, 14, 21, 30, 31, 33,
34, 37, 39, 43-46, 42, 54-55, 63, 71, 74, 8W38,
156, 166, 187–188, 190a , 236, 242n , 295, 297,
321, 323, 326, 329, 336+ 337, 349, 358, 360,
369, 372
U nit ed S t a t es Ar my F orces in t he Fa r E a st
( US AF FE ) , 156-157, 161–164, 165n , 16&
167, 173, 17i%176, 178-179, 182
U nit ed S ta tes Forces in t h e P h ilippines( US FI P) , 182, 184, 189-160, 19%200
H ea dq ua rt ers S a moa n Area D efense F orce, 90
I cela nd B ase C omma nd, 44
L uzon F or ce, 182
S ervice C omma nd ( Ba ta an ), 175, 177
I P h il ippin e C or ps , 172, 176, 179-180
I I P h ilippi ne C or ps , 172, 176,180
XI V C or ps , 362, 362n , 366-369
Nort h Luzon F orce, 167
S ou th L uz on F or ce, 166-167
1st I n fa nt ry D ivision , 52, 542d C onst abula ry D ivision , 175
25t h I nfa nt ry D ivision, 342, 351, 360, 362, 366-
369, 371
31st P h il ippin e D ivision , 167
71st P hil ippin e D ivision , 175, 177
Ar nerica l D ivision , 238, 324, 328, 342, 348, 362,
362n, 365-368
C AM ( Composit e Army-Ma rin e) Division,
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416 J ? ~ ~ R L H AR B OR TO G U AD MM AN AL
Arm y groun d units (Allied )—C on tinued
10lst Qua rt erm ast er R egim en t, 360n
Am erica l D ivision Reconn aissa nce S qua dron ,
360n, 36<>366
244t h C oa st Art illery B at ta lion , 342n, 35757th E ngin eer C omba t B at t a lion , 360n
F ield Ar tiller y B a tt a lion s
221s t , 36 0n
24 5t h , 36 0n
246t h, 347, 363
2 47 th , 360 , 3 60 n.
I nfa nt ry B a tt alion s
1 /1 32 , 3 60
l y147, 342
1/164, 33+ 3 45, 348, 358
11182, 358
2/132, 366, 371
2/164, 334–336, 34%350
2)1 82, 3 58
3/1 64 , 336 ,34 $, 35 8
3 /1 82 , 3 66
B rit ish S olom on I sla nds D efen se F orce, 285
G ua ma n ia n I nsula r F orce G ua rd, 76, 76n
G ua ma nia n I nsula r P a t rol, 76
301st C hem ica l C om pa ny, 177
3st h R econ na issa nce Tr oop, 366
26t h S ign al C om pa ny , 360r I
Army Air C orps D et achmen t , Wa ke, 103n, 104,
106
Arndt , S gt C . C ., 281
Arn old, Lt Gen H . H ., 85,342
.kr t hur , C ol J . M. 250, 261, 26% 345, 350
Art h ur , S Sgt R. O., 10ln, 108
Artillery
. i t l an ta, 353
At la n t ic, 5, 24, 37, 40, 53-54, 63, 342
At la nt ic C on feren ce, 42
At la n t ic F leet . S ee Na va l un it s (Allied ).
A t og a , 35&K i6At tu, 215
Au ckla nd, 242
Aust ra lia , 61, 84, 8&-8+ 3 , 155, 205, 209, 230, 235-
23 9, 243 ,247 ,35 1, 360, 372
Aust ra lia n a n d New Zea la nd .4rmy C orps, 8%
Aust ra lia n Ma nda ted Terr it ory of New G uin ea ,
243
Axis P ow er s, 47, 53, 59, 61, 63, 85
Ayararni, 356
Azor es, 3*31, 38, 5S 56
B a ga c, 173, 17&177, 180
B a gga ge, 250
llagley, 260
B a ha ma s, 3, 54
B ah m, LC dr G . H ., 27n
B ailey , Ma j K . W., 263, 315
B aker I sla nd, 115
B aldin us, Lt L., 293
B aldw in, H . W., 191n
B ales, Lt C ol W. L., 89, 89n
B alesun a R iver , 245
Ballard, 316
B a na na w a rs. 199
Banzai ch a rg es , 329, 334. 339
B arbed w ire &TeeD efen ses.
B arber ’s P oint , 73
B arn es, B Mlst C l J . E ,, 132n, 137
Barnett, 253
B a r ninger , Lt C . A., 117–118, 128, 148; C a pt ,
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I N D E X 417
B ea ches. S ee a lso D efenses; S h ore P art y .
B ea ch B lu e 266, 269–270
B ea chm ast er , 20
B ea ch pa rt y, 20-21
B ea ch R ed, 254, 258, 269
du mps, 260, 276
m arking, 20
B ea rn , 54
B ea ufor t B ay , 367
B eecher , Lt C ol C . T,, 171, 189, 194: B riG en, 18%
B ell, Ma j G . A., 327
1 3e ll a t ri x, 253
Benham, 356
B en son , Ma j W. I f’. , 223
B er i-b er i, 187
B ermuda , 54
B erry , C a pt G . J ., 189n
Betelgeuse, 252–253, 352
B iebush , L tC ol F . C ., 256
B in u, 350
B is ma rck Ar ch ipel ag o, 62, 78n , 205, 237–238, 275,
302,310,369
B ivoua c a rea s, 20
B l ack sm it h s hop , 111, 125
Blitzkrieg, 47
B loch , RAdm C . C ., 75, 79; Adm, 65n
B locka de r un , 276
B lock F ou r R iver , 29k291
B loody R idge, 305+ 06, 3(N+ 31O, 313, 315-316,
3 29 -3 30 ,3 33 ,3 36 -3 37 , 3 47 ,3 60
Blue, 260
Blue Goose, 328
B oa t Rig A, 29
B oa tsw a in s’ pipes, 71
Boi8e, 324-325
B r id get , C dr F . J . , 175, 175n ., 177–180
B riggs, P IS gt R., J r ., 334
B r is ba n e, 258
B rit ish C hiefs of S ta ff, 86
B rit ish C om mon wea lt h, 61, 84n
B rit ish E mpire, 5
B rit ish G uia na , 54
B rit ish S olomon I sla n ds P rot ect ora te, 237, 243
B rook, C a pt C . B ., C S N, 185n
B row n, Ma j L . .4.,160
B row n, C apt P . A., 190, 192
B rush , C a pt C , H ., J r., 285, 288; Ma j, 285n
B ry an , B ., 134n
B rya n, LC dr J ., I I I , 371n
B ubblin g Well-Na nkin g R oa ds, 159
Buchanan, 263, 26/+269, 324,352
B uckley, Lt Col E . J ., 281n
B uckn er ,C apt J . H ., 80,217
B ugles. 71, 73
B uka , 243
B un s, 238
B unkers. S ee D efenses.
B uoys, 19
B urea u of C onst ruct ion a n d Repa ir , 24, 26-27,
29, 32
B urea u of E ngin eer in g, 24B urea u of Or dn an ce, 68
B ur ea u of S hips, 28,31, 33–34
B urm a, 62, 86
Burrou~8, 82
B urt on, C a pt C ., J r., 216 ; Lt C ol, 216n
Bushido s pi r it , 3 22 ,3 35
B ut ler , J . R. M., 35n
B uzza rd P a trol, 357
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418 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
C a pe C od, 10
C a pe E sper an ce, 253–254. 260, 325, 343, 351, 353,
356, 365, 367, 369, 371
C a pe Ma y, 24
C ape of G ood H ope, 342
C ape York, 327
C ara ba o I sla nd, 169, 181
C ar der ock, 50
C a rey , lstLt J . F., 217: Ca pt , 223
C a rgo net s, 19
C a ribbea n, 5, 8-9, 14, 38, 52–54
C a rl, Ca pt M., 292
C a r lson, LtC ol E . F.. 262, 285, 342, 348, 350
C arolin e I sla nds, 10, 63, 96
C ar pen ter’s Wh ar f, 26+ G 265
C arr, MessS gt G ., 137
Carriers. S ee S hips .
C a$t or , 100
Ca st le, C apt N. O., 192, 197
Casualties
Allied , 73–74, 78, 80, 88, 109, 111, 122, 125, 152,
164-16 5, 171, 180, 189-190 , 194, 197, 200>207,
230, 267, 26%270, 279, 283, 285, 291–292, 299,
308, 310-311, 31= 316, 32*322, 327, 337, 339,
349-350, 353, 359, 374
J a pa nese, 74, 120, 137, 146, 149, 152, 180, 196,
200, 247, 266, 26%270, 283, 285, 29(L 291, 299,
308, 317, 320-321, 332, 337, 345-346, 350, 374
C at e, J . L ., 163n, 235n
C ates, C ol C . B ., 248, 25S 257, 290
C ausew a ys, 267
C a va lr y P oin ~ , 185, 192–193, 198
C a vi te, 157, 162–164, 168-170, 181, 184, 189
C eb u, 301
C en tra l P acific, 64, 75, 83-84, 96, 214, 253. &’ee
a180 Pacific.
C hin wa ngt ao, 158, 160
Chito.se, 291-292 , 325
C hois eu l, 243, 259
Chokai, 327, 354
C hrist ma s I sla nd, 87
C hun n, Ca pt C . E ., 188?4 198
C hurchill , P rime Minist er W. S., 35, 35n, 36-37,
40, 4243, 86
Civilia n const ruct ion con tra ct ors, .52, 65+ 6, 81–
82, 95, 9&99, 104, 122
Civil Wa r , 16
C la rk, Ma j C., 362
Cla rk, C apt G . L., J r ., 195, 199
C la rk F ield, 100
C la ss ii3ed d ocu men t s, 124
C lea rw a ter , 32+ 3
C lemens, U apt W. F. M., 285, 285n
C lem en t, L tC ol W. T., 160n , 161; C ol, 179
Clothing , 38-39,170,277
C oa st defen se. S ee D efen ses; Wea pon s.
Coa st G ua rd. see Na va l unit s (Allied).
C oa s t w a t c h er s , 3 20 ,3 26 ,3 53
C ocon ut p la n ta t ion s, 243, 297
C ollin s, Ma jG en J . L ., 360,366
C ol or s, n a ti on a l, 149, 199
Comba t loa ding, 19-20, 38, 248-249. 8ee a 180
Logistics.C ombin ed Ch iefs of S ta ff ( CC S ), 85-87
Comma n da n t of t he Ma rine C orps, 10-11, 13,
29-30, 32–33, 44, 262
C omma nder in C hief, Asia t ic Fleet ( C inC AF ),
158-161, 165n
C omma nder in C hief, P acific Fleet ( C inCP ac ),
84,114,131,143,218,236
C omma n der in C h ief, P a cific Ocea n Area
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I N D E X 419
Communications—Continued
Allied—Continued
w ire, 68, 103, 105, 108, 110, 132, 137, 152,
189–190, 192,256,290,306,334
J a p a n e sefla res , 76, 8 2, 136, 1%3, 195, 198, 305–306, 3%
r a di o, 258, 264, 286, 332
s h ip -t o-s h or e, 285
t el ep ho ne , 33 3
C om ma nd post s, 18,66, 79
C om mun ist C om in for m, 59
C on cret e ba tt lesh ip, 169. S ee a lso Fort D rum.
C on derm an , 2dLt R. J ., 100, 100n, 102, 108
C on dit , K . W’., 92n
C on dit ion R ed, 335
C on gr es s, 52–52, 75
C or m, S ,, 35n
C on oley , Ma j O. M., 337
C on st it ut ion , 3-4
Construction. S ee E n gi neer op er a ti on s,
C on tin en ta l C on gr ess, 3
C on tin en ta l Ma rin es, 3
C on voy s, 39-40,43, 46. S ee a lso S hips.
C ooley , C ol A. D ., 362
C op ra , 243
C or al for ma tion s. S ee Ter ra in .
C ora l S ea , 205, 20$210, 212, 21+ 215, 218, 227,
2 30 , 2 35 , 2 37 –2 38 , 2 86
C or pu s C hr is ti, 50n
C orregidor , 84, 87, 155, 1~ 7, 167–171, 173, 175,
179, 181, lW-185, 1S 8-190, 192-193, 196, 198,
20&202
C orregidor Ma rin es, 202, S ee a lso llfa rin e unit s.
C ory , Lt R., 281
C uba , 38
C ulebr a, gl O, 14, 18n , 23,26, 2%30
C unn in gha m, C dr W. S ., 99, 102–103, 106, 106n,
107, l 17n , 124-126, 134, 14W141, 143–148; C a pt ,
9 9n , 1 26 nC un nin gh am F ield , 52
Cnracao , 54n
C urry , Lt Col M. L,, 271n
C ur tis, Ma jG en I -I . O ., 42
G u sh in g, 353
C ust er , lstS gt S . A., 281
D agget t, LC dr R. B ., 27, 27n
D aln ess, C apt H . E ., 197–198; Ma j, 185n
D am age con trol t ea ms, 71
D an ish K ing, 35D avidson , 2dLt C . R., 10W, 107n, 121, 128
D avid Ta ylor Model B asin, 50
D avis, Lt Col H . L., 162n
D avis, Ma j L. K ., 326
D a vi ts , 24, 28
D e C a rre, B riG en A., 360
Defenses
Allied
a nt it an k obst acles, 290
a rm or pla te, 279
ba rbed w ire, 114, 181, 190, 193, 220, 313, 334
b ea ch d efen ses , 17, 68, 121, 126-127, 167, 171,
179–181, 185,188,190,201,313
b un ker , 110
coa st a nd h arbor, 67, 157, 168
d um my gu ns , 112–113, 127
em pla cem en ts , 99, 103, 110, 112, 12&127, 181,
1%5, 190,192,310,337
f iel d f or t if ica t ion s, 288, 290, 330
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420 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD AL C ANAL
D en gu e fev er , 245
D en ver B a t ter y, 193-199
D essez, C a pt J , H . S ., U SN, 175
D essez, Lt Col L. A., 88
D est royers. S ee S hips.
D et on at or m aga zin es, 99
D ev er eu x, M aj J . P . S ., 99– 1O O, 102, 104–106, 108,
112–113, 117, l17n , 118, 121, 126, 132, 134, 136,
136a , 137–138, 138n , 139, 139n , 140-144, 147–
149, 151 ; C ol, 96n , 107n , 130n
D ew ey, Adm G . F., 7
D ia mon d, G ., 92n
D ierdor ff, C a pt R. D ., U SN, 95n
D iesel fuel . S ee F uel,
D il l, G en S ir J ., 42
D ixon , LC dr R. E .,211n
D ocks, 243
D ockside eq uipm en t, 249
D oma C ove, 371
D oolit t le, I ,t C ol J . H ., 207, 209, 218
D ow ning, S Sgt C . E .,197n
D ryd ocks, 74
D rysda le, Ma j D , B .,36n
D ugout S un da y, 335, 343
D uh am el, F at her A. C ., 283, 285n
D uke of York & Alba ny’s Ma rit ime Regimen t
of Foot , .% S ee a lso Roya l Ma rin es.D umps. S ee S upply .
D urwan, 324–325
D unedin , 33, 50
D un gca s B ea ch , 76, 78
D ut ch G uia na , 54n
D ut ch H a rbor , 214
D yn a mit e, 109-110, 112, 125, 220
D ysen ter y, 182
E llis, Ma j E . H ., 8-9, 9n, 10
E lrod, C apt H . T,, 10W, 107n, 109–110, 112, 119-
1 20, 141
E mper or ’s birt hda y, 189
E n gi neer op er a t ion s
build in g eq uipm en t, 277
con st ru ct ion , 45, 64, 66, 112
d ir t-m ovin g eq uipm en t, 250
h a nd t ool s, 66,89, 114, 27(L 277, 279
h ea vy eq uipmen t, 74, 88, 99, 104, 109, 125, 311
J a p an es e eq ui pm en t, 258, 274, 330
J a p a ne se u n it s , 3 86, 3 01– 302 , 323 ,329 ,354
pneum at ic t ampers, 294
pow er sh ovels, 274
sa fet y, 18,
un it s, 8, 20, 38, 48, 74, 274, 276-277, 279, 290,
294–295, 303, 311, 313, 343–344. S ee a tso
.Ya va ~ unit s ; Ma rine units.
E mpla cem en ts. flee D efen ses.
E ngla nd, 35, 42
E nright , Ma j W. K ., 344
Enterprise,5–66, 74, 101–102, 114, 205, 207, 209,
214, 218, 221, 226228, 242, 247}L , 252, 263n ,, 280,
2 92 -2 93 ,3 11 ,3 39 ,3 42 , 3 52 ,3 54
E quipm ent . flee S upply .
~ricsson, 249n
E rskine, Ma j J . C ., 2641E spir it u S an te, 239, 241–242, 261, 280, 293–294,
302, 305, 31*311, 322, 327–328, 343–344, 354,
3 57 , 3 &2 , 3 76
E t?p ri t d e cor ps, 46
Eur eka. See L a nd in g cr a ft .
E urope, 18. 38, 47, 53, 55–56, 59, 61, 63, 85, 342
E ver gla des, 32
E wa Mooring Ma st Field, 48, 68, 71, 73, 101, 279
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I N D E X 421
F ields of fir e, 305
F igh ter 1, 295,326-328, 33&336, 362. N ee a180
Airfields.
F igh ter 2, 362. S e e a 1 80 Ai r fi el d s.
Fiji I sla nds, 84, 87–88, 230, 237–238, 242, 247,25 0, 2 52– 253, 259, 279
Fike, Lt C ol C . L., 279
Fink, E ns C ., 293
F in seh ha fen , 237
Fire-cont rol eq uipment , 82, 103, 107, 110, 112-
114, 118, 127, 138, 148, 152, 190, 325, 355. S ee
also R ad ar ; Wea pon s.
Fit ch , RAdm A. W., 362
Fla g. S ee C olors, n a tiona l.
F leet la nding exercises ( Flex), 14-15, 2*21, 26
F lex 4.26
F lex 5, 27, 2%30
Flex 6, 27, 30
F leet Tr ain in g P ublica tion 167, 14, 17
F lem in g, C apt R . E ., 2 29, 229n
F let ch er , 353
Flet ch er , R .4dm F. J ., 115, 13@131, 143, 205,
207, 21@211, 218, 218n , 221,224, 226, 229, 22%
230, 237–238, 240 ;VAdm , 242, 250n , 252, 258-
259, 291–292
F lor ida , 32
F lor ida I sla nd , 237-238, 243, 247–248, 253–254,
2 60, 263 ,268, 27 0
Fomalhaut, 253
Font a na , Ma j P . J ., 343
F ood. flee S upply.
F ood Ma ch in er y C or por at ion , 33–34
Ford I sla nd, 71, 73, 101
F or mos a , 160, 162– 163, 165, 172
F rueler , C a pt H . C ., 10W., 104?v, 109, 119-120,
1 22 –1 23 , 1 28
fi’Ubuki, 325
F uch id a, M., 205n , 215n , 230, 238?2
F uel , 157, 250,259, 277, 327a via t ion , 108, 225, 277, 311, 326
bu lk , 107
d ies el , 117, 125, 277
drum s, 108
d um ps, 268
g as oli ne, 21, 99, 164, 277, 280
J a p an es e, 277, 286
t a nks , 82, 117, 223
F uel-dr um floa ts, 344
F uller , 253
Fuller , Ma jG en J . F . C ., 7
Funa fut i, 239
F un gus in fect ion s, 245
Fun da ment a ls of t ea mw ork, 92
F ur ur ni ya , C ol, 337
Farwtaka, 1 29 , 3 25
G aler , C a pt R. E ., 279; Ma j, 295
G a lley , 223
G a llipoli, 16
G a llopin g H orse, 36*367
G a om i, 269
G a ra ge, 111, 125
G as ma sks, 107
G asolin e. S ee F uel.
G ava ga C reek, 349
G a v ut u , 238, 243, 247–248, 263, 267–271
G ay , E ns G . H ., 227u
G ay , P ., 134n
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422 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD AL C ANAL
G lea son, S . E ., 35n
G lidden, C a pt E . G ., 224n
G odbold, C a pt B . D ., 138, 141–142, 142n , 151;
L tC ol, 121r 4 127n
G oet t ge, Lt C ol F . B ., 243, 247, 281, 281nG ot o, RAdm A., 210
G over nm en tR a vin e, 171, 188, 195
G overn men t Tra ck, 276
G ra gg, S gt R., 140
G ra ssy K noll, 25&257
G r aves, lst Lt G . A., 100w , 108-109
G ra ves, (2P 1 L., 13*139, 141
G rea t B rit a in, 35–37, 47.53, 61+ 3, 85
G rea t E a st Asia Wa r, 155
G reeley ,2dL t R . W., 142
G r een la nd , 36n
G reen port B asin a nd C onst ruct ion C ompa ny, 24
G reensla de, R Adm J . W., 55
G reey , L C dr E . B ., 99, 9% 127
G r egor y, 253
Gridlev, 270
G riffin , C ol R., 90
G riffit h, Lt Col S . B ., I I, 315, 315)1
G u ad a lca n al, 15–16, 19, 22, 237–239, 241–243, 245,
247– 248, 253– 254, 257–259, 261–271, 275– 277,
279–280, 283, 285–286, 288, 291–292, 294, 297–
298, 301-302, 310-311, 317, 322–324, 327, 330,
333, 336. 339, 341–343, 346, 35W357, 359–360,
36 0n , 36 2-3 67 , 36 9, 37 1– 374
G ua da lou pe, 5%
G ua m, 7. 7n , 9, 64, 75-76, 78, 78?/ 84, 95, 106,
115 , 286
G ua ma nia ns 76, 78
G ua nt a na mo B ay, 5, 8, 10, 16.38
H an d pum ps, 102
H a nn a , 2dLt R. M., 134, 13*137, 139–141, 148,
152 ; lst Lt , 134n
H ann eken, Lt C ol H . H ., 320-321, 333, 336-337,
3 47 , 3 47 t L, 3 48 + 4 9Hara-kiri , 293,308
H a rm on , Ma jG en M. F ., 240, 275–276, 280, 324, 362
H ar ris, lst Lt W. F ., 192, 194-195
H art , L t C ol J . N., 241
H art , Adm T. C ., 155w , 157, 157r4 158, 158n , 159,
1 61 , 1 61 n , 1 64 -1 65 , 1 65 n , 1 6&1 67
Haruna, 225,326
H askin, QMS gt J . E ., 196
H ast ie, C a pt D . H ., 219
Hatst[@ii, 325
H auck, C a pt H . H ., 198
H ava nna h H arbor , 239
H a w a iia n I sla n ds, 5, 7, 7r~ , 9, 11, 62, 6*66, 68,
78, 83-84, 87–88, 95–96, 101, 123, 143, 215,
218–219, 238, 249, 253, 351, 360
Hava.shio, 3 51 , 3 56
H ay at e, 118, 120
H ayes, Ma j C . H ., 276
H ayes, C dr T. H ., 170n
H ayn es, C a pt R. M., 218
H azelw ood, C pl H . R., 79H eel P oin t, 98, 141, 147
H ein l, lst Lt R. D ., J r., 115; Lt C ol, 4n , 5n, 04n,
l13t?,, 130)~, 216?1.,265n, 342n
Helena, 324–325, 344,348,353
Helm, 260
H elm et s, 107
Henderson, 158
H en der son F ield , 27%280, 292–295, 298, 302–303,
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424 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
J a p a n es e U n i t s-C on t in u ed
Army-Continued
S even t eent h Army, 286, 301, 322, 329, 332,
3 37 , 3 ’4 9, 3 64
2d D ivision , 314, 323, 327, 333, 338, 364
4t h D ivis ion , I &J , l&1857t h D ivision, 286
16th D ivision, 165–166, 172, 176, 182, 184
18t h D ivision , 301
21st D ivision , 182
38t h D ivision, 323, 329, 346, 347n, 35W351,
358 , 36 4
48t h D iv is ion , 164, 166,172
55t h D ivision , 78n
5t h Air G roup, 163, 170, 172
35t h B riga de, 286, 288, 301
65t h B r iga d e, 172–173, 176, 182K a wa guehi Force, 299, 301, 308, 310-311,
314, 317, 322
S out h S ea s D et ach ed Force, 78
2d Formosa Regimen t, 164
4t h I nfa n t ry Regiment , 301, 308, 314, 319.
321 -3 22, 3 29, 332, 3 64
16th I n fa nt ry Regimen t , 32S 329, 334, 336-
337, 364
20t h I nfa nt ry R egim en t, 176-177
28th I nfa nt ry Regimen t, 286, 301
29t h I nfa nt ry Regiment , 329, 334337, 364
61st I nfa nt ry Regim en t, 185, 193–194, 196
124t h I n fa nt ry Regimen t , 301, 323, 329, 364
144t h I nfa n tr y R eg im en t, 78n
228t h I nfa nt ry R egim en t, 350, 364
229t h I nfa nt ry R egim en t, 354.364
230t h I nfa nt ry Regim ent , 328-329, 347, 354,
364
I chiki Force, 286, 288n, 290, 291, 294, 299,
J a p a n es e U n i ts -C on t in u ed
Navy
Na va l G enera l S ta ff, 62, 369
C om bined Fleet , 62, 96, 1 29, 228n, 230, 235,
346
S econ d F leet , 228, 339, 355-356, 369Th ir d F leet , 339
F ou rt h F leet , 75, 96,11~ &l16, 129
E ight h Fleet , 238, 260, 286, 291, 301, 325,
350, 356
E leven t h Air Fleet , 162, 165, 170, 325
S ou th ea st er n F leet , 346
Adva nce E xpedit ion ary Force, 215
Aleut ia n S cr een in g F or ce, 215
C a rr ier S t r iking F orce, 210, 215, 221, 226-
227
Mid wa y C over in g F or ce, 21(F 211Midw ay I nva sion Force, 228
Midw ay Ma in B ody , 215, 229
Midw ay h’eut ra liza tion U nit , 78
Midw a y Occupa t ion Force, 215, 221
Out er S ea s Forces, 325
S econ d Mob ile F or ce, 214–215
S ubm ar in e F or ce, 228
Aleut ia n S cr een in g G r oup, 228
P ort Moresby I nva sion G roup, 210-212
C arr ier D ivision 2, 127, 129
C ruiser D ivision 6, 114-115, 129–130, 142
C ruiser D ivision 7, 228
C ru iser D iv is ion 8, 129-130
C ru iser D ivision 18, 129
C omba t D ivision 3, 326
D est royer D ivision 15, 326, 350, 355
D est roy er D ivision 24, 301
D est royer D ivision 29, 118
D est roy erD ivision 30, 119
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I N D E X
J a p a n e se U n i t s-C on t i nu ed
Navy—Continued
S pecia l na va l la n ding force t roops, 96, 116,
133, 136, 143, 149, 293
Jai+s, 259
J a va , 62, 86, 167, 172, 369
J e llicoe, E a rl, 238w
J enkins, lstLt R. F., J r., 187, 192: Lt C ol, 170n,
192n
J eschke, C ol R. H .,342
J et ties, 243
Jint.su, 291, 293, 299
J ohn son, Ma j C . W., 219
J oh nst on I sla nd, 64-66, 68, 75,81–84, 114
Joint Action of the Armgand Navg, 11J oint B oa rd of t he&m y a nd~ a vy, ll,14, 55J o in t C hiefs of S t a ff, 85, 85n , 86, 86n , 87–8$,
23%236, 342
J oi n t P l a n n i ng C ommi t t ee ,5 4J on a s s on ,P r i me ~ i in i st er H . , 3 9n .J on es, l st Lt L . A. , 216J ol o Is la n ds ,1 72J o ss ely n, L t H . E . , 264nJuneau, 353
Junyo, 339
J une, MS gt R. M., 138n
Kaga, 215,223,227
Kagero, 293
K a hn , Lt ( jg) G . M.. 109n , 112
K ajioka , RAdm , 11*117, l18n, 119, 129-132
Ka.ko,129
K a lbf us, R Adm E . C ., 32
K a luf, Ma j J ., 32
425
K ing, Ma jG en E . P ., J r ., 182, 182n , 183
K in g, Ma j S . W., 171, 171n, 180
K inka id, RAdm T. C ., 339, 354
K in ney , 2dLt J . F ., 10ln, 10%110, 121–122, 122n,
123–124, 128 ; ls tL t, 102w , 107n , 121n
Kinryu Maru, 291, 293
Kinugawa itfaru, 355
Kinugasa , 129,299,325,327,354
Kiriskima, 225, 353, 355–356
K im, L C dr L. J ., 305
Kisaragi, 120
Kiska , 215
Kitty hawk, 219
Kiyokawa, 129, 133
K liew er , 2dLt ., D . D ., 10ln, 109, 111, 122, 124,136, 141, 142n ., 148; lst Lt , 149n
K obe, 209
K odia k, 50n
K okomt um bu I sla nd, 270
K okumbon a , 280, 283, 288, 298, 301, 308, 314-
315, 317-318, 326, 32%330, 333, 337, 344-345,
34%350 , 3 57, 36 3-36 4, 3 67 -369
K okumbon a River , 343
K oli P oin t, 285, 308, 345–350, 363
K on do, RAdm N., 215,356
Kon.go, 326
K on go Ma ru, 119–120
K on oy e C a binet , 60
K on oye, P rin ce, 60
Konr~u Maru, 119
K orea n Wa r, 4
228-229, 339; VAd m, 355–
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I N D E X 427
M ach in e s hop, 111, 123
Ma ginot L ine, 18
Ma ha n, RAdm A. T., 1.31
Ma ju ro, 115
Ma ka mbo I sla nd, 270Ma kin At oll, 115, 205,207, 285
Ma hiit a, 2+ 3 , 352
Ma la now ski, I ?lS gt A. P ., J r ., 317
Ma la r ia , 182, 184, 239, 245, 310, 323, 328, 332,
339 , 3 ’71
Ma la ya , 62, 84, 86, 155, 157, 162
Ma leol ap, 207
Ma lint a H ill, 169, 171, 183, 187, 192–l X, 199, 201
M alin ta Tu nn el, 19*193, 197–198
Ma lleck, S gt D ., 148
M aln ut rit ion , 173, 182,328, 356Ma nch uria , 59, 201
Ma neu ver s, 8-10, 52
Ma n grum, L t C ol R . C ., 279, 294, 323, 32%
Ma n ila , 7, 84, 159, 161-167, 172
Ma nila B ay , 7, 157, 159, 16..-164, 166, 168, 172,
184, 201
.Wanleg, 296
Ma nn ing, lst Lt A. S ., 192, 199
Ma a ua l for IVucal Ocrv-. was Operation, 14
Maps
Allied , 18, 243, 247
J a p an es e, 147, 185, 265
Ma rcus I sla nd, 207
Ma ria na s, 64, 95
Ma rine C orps E quipr iw ut B oa rd, 24, 28, 32-33
Ma rin e emblem, 4
Ma rin e un it s
Air
M a r in e u n it s —C on t in u ed
Air—Continued
VMP ’-221, 81, l14n, 121, 126, 130, 21*217,
223, 225
V 31 k1 -2 23 , 2 79 , 2 91 –2 92 , 3 23VMF -224, 279, 295
VMF -252, 68
VMO-151, 90
VM&231, 241, 276
VMS -3, 47
VM SB -132, 343
VMS B-141, 327
VMS B-231, 73–75, 79, $1, 100, 216, 279, 2%
VMS B-232, 68, 10W, 279, 292, 3T3
VM S B -241 , 2 17, 223 , 2 23 n, 224 –22 5
GroundMa rin e C orps H ea dq ua rt ers, 22, 28
Ma rin e C orps S chools, 14
Fleet Ma rine F orce, 11, 13, 14, 32, 4748,
51-52, 54
Fleet B ase D efen se Force, 13
I C orps (P rovisiona l), 38
I Ma rin e Amph ibious C orps, 341, 374
1st Ma rine D ivision, 38, 48, 52, 52n , 56, 90,
2 36, 239 –24 0, 243 , 24 7– 249, 252n, 261 , 2 93,
341, 351, 359–360, 362, 367?~ , 3712d Ma rin e D ivision, 38, 46, 48, 52, 56, 69, 88,
248, 360, 362, 366, 368, 368n
1st Ma rine B riga de, 18, 47
1st Ma rine B riga de ( P rovisiona l), 3940, 44,
54, 54n , 55
2d M a ri ne B r ig a de, 47, 88-90, 92, 205
3d Ma rin e B riga de, 30, 90n
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428
M a ri ne u n it s —C on t in u ed
Ground—Continued
llth Ma rines, 248, 261, 27.5, 281n, 283, 303,
306,313,329,332,343
Wh a li ng ’s G r ou p, 319-321, 343. \m l}h ibia n Tr act or B a tt a lion s
I st , 261, 275, 3(M , 313
2d, 261,270
Ar t il le ry B a t t a li on s
1 /1 0, M n , 3 42 ,3 48
1/11, 90, 261,310,313,319
2/10, 39, 88-89
2/11, 275, 283, 298,.319
3/10, 261
3/11, 275,283,290,319
4/11, 2615/11, 275, 283, 298. 305– 306, 308, 319
Av ia t ion E ng in eer B a tt alion s
lst , 362
2 d, 362
D ef en se B a t ta li on s
l st , 65–67, 73, 75, 79–80, 82, %3, 06, 98-100,
103–104, 10% 110, 113, 125–126, 128,
134,137,147,150
2 d, 56, 88– 89, 205
3d, 65–67, 73, 75, 113, 219, 230, 249, 252,
261, 294, 298, 313, 329, 333, 357, 359n
4t h, 66-67, 75. 81. 113–114, 126, 130, 21G
217,238-239
;t h, 3= 39, 41–42, 46, 298, 31(L311, 342,
342n
6t h , 63–67, 7%80, 21 R 217, 221, 223, 230
7 th , 6 7-6 8, 8 8-9 0
8t h, 90
P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC AI YAL
M a r in e u n it s —C on t i n ue d
Ground—Continued
I n fa n t r y B a t t a l ion s—C on t in u ed
2/5, 248, 256, 261, 266, 271, 298, 302, 305-
3 06, 31>317, 320, 344+ ?452 /6 , 4 5
2 /7 , 3 20 ,3 33 ,3 36 -3 37 ,3 39 , 3 47 –3 49
3/1, 256, 306, 308, 319, 329-330, 333
3/2, 268–269, 271, 311, 313, 318-319, 329,
333,343, 344?1,345,350
3/4, 170-171,175,199,201
3 /5 , 2 56 ,2 81 ,2 83 , 3 20 , 3 4* 34 5
3 /6 , 4 5
3/7, 90,329,333,336,343,348
4/4, 187, 187w, 188,191,197
Reserve B n, 4t h Ma rines, 171, 180, 191,195–196
M ed ica l B a t ta lion s
I st , &4n , 261
2d, 39, 361
1st P ara chut e B at ta lion, 248, 261, 267, 269,
27@271, 29~ 299, 311, 359n , 371
P i on eer B a t ta li on s
lst , 257, 261, 275, 303, 313, 329
2d , 261
R a id er B a t ta lion s
lst , 247–249, 252, 261, 264, 298, 315, 317,
320-321, 35 9n , 371
2d, 219, 262, 266, 285, 342, 348, 350
2d P rovisiona l, 262
R aid er -pa ra ch ut e ba tt alion , 303, 305–306
1st S amoa n B at ta lion, 67–68, 88
1st S epa ra t e Ma rine B a t t a lion, 161n, 162–
164, 164n , 16*169, 175
S er vi ce B a t ta li on s
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I N D E X 429
lvlarineunits—ContinuedGround—Continued
1st Scout Company,39,261Si gn a l Go mpa n i es
l st , 39, 261
2d,261J .4SC 0 , 367
Securi ty guard detachments ,WShips’detachments,13,50
~ lariveles, 157, 162, 167–168,170. 173, 175–180,182
h la r s ha l l, G e n G . C ., 43, 85, 87, 235– 236, 275~ larsha ll Island s, 10, 62, 81, 9.%96,110,129, 131,
207i ll a rst on , B r i Gen J . , 39, 4 1n , 42 42n, 43-44, 44n.
45-46; Ma jG en , 360, 360n
Ma rst on m at tin g, 276, 295, 362
Ma rt in iq ue, 38, 54, 54% 55
Ma rushige, R.kdm K., 129
Ma rnya ma , Lt G en M.. 327, 329–330, 332–333,
33 4n , 335– 337 , 33 7n , 364
Ma ru ya ma Tra il, 330, 333, 337
Ma son, P ilot Officer C . J ., 25%259
Ma t a nika u, 281, 298, 314, 316, 318, 320, 336,
363-364
Ma t an ika u R iv er , 245, 28@281, 308, 314-317, 319-
320, 323, 329–330, 333, 343, 347, 351–352, 358,
365
Ma tloff, M. E ,, 37n
Ma gu, 354
Ma xw ell, L tC ol W. E ., 256,298
Mba nga i I sla nd, 270
iMc.41ist er, lstLt J . A., 117, 132w 144, 146-147
McAn ally , C P 1 W. J . , 140-141
McB ra yer , C a @J . D ., J r ., 161}1
Mea d, Lt G . H ., J r., 283
. lfeade, 3.57
Xeda l of H on or , 80, 335
Medica l a ct ivit ies. S et ’ also H ospit als; C asua l-
ties.
a id sta tions, 66, 74, 112, 148
d is pen sa r ies , 223
eva cu at ion . 20, 270
m edicin es a nd eq uipm en t, 104, 111, 170, 172
medica l unit s, 20, 48, 239
na va l, 66, 75, 104, 161
Med it er ra nea n, 53
Mela nesia , 237
Mercur io, MG unS gt J ,, 192
Mer izo, 78
Merr illa t, C apt H . L., 23.5n
Mes sh a ll s, 12. 5-126, 223
Met apon a River , 347, 349
Met ca lf, L tC ol C . H .,9n
Met ze, C apt .4. F ,, 160n
Mexica n Wa r , 4, 16
Mexico, 9
Mia mi, 50n
Mic?Li8dio,354
Middle E a st , 85, 87
Midw ay, 48, 62, 64–66, 68, 73–75, 7%81, 84, 92,
95, 130, 143, 151, 214-219, 221, 223-231, 235-238, 27 9, 286, 291 -2 62
M id dle S ect or , 171, 194
M id dl es id e, 168, 171, 181, 190, 199
Midd leS ide B a rra cks, 170
Mika w a , VAdm G ., 238, 260, 291, 299, 301, 325,
350, 356
.Mikama, 229
Mili, 207
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430 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALG ANAL
Jfogami, 229-230
Monroe D oct rine, 5, 36
Monssen,263, 26S, 353
Moon, Lt A. L., 265n
110 O per a ti on , 210
M oor e, M ajG e n G . F ., 156/ ., 169–170, 198Moor e, C ol E ., 326
Moore, C a pt P . C., 197
Mor ison , C apt S . E ,, 114w , 126n ; R Ad m, 40n,62n,
2 05+ 1 , 214n , 215n , 225n, 227?1, 23. 5n , 337n , 342
Morr ison H ill, 171
Morr ison P oint , 185
M or t on , L ., 156n ,200n
Moser, Col R. D ., 1811
Moses, B riG en E . P ., 28, 28n., 33
Mt . Aust en , 245, 248, 256-258, 308, 314-315, 330,
333, 337, 358, 363, 366
M t. B a t a an ,173
Mt . N-a t ib, 173, 176
Mt . P u cot , 177–179
Mt . S ila nga na n, 173
.llugford, 258
Mulca hy , B r iG en F. P ,, 362
Munn, LtC ol J . C.,297
Munro, S MlstCl D . A., 317
Mura ka mi, Ca pt Y., 301
.Vurah-umo, 325, 32,3n
Murra y, RAdm G . D ., 324
.I l a .st suk i , 293
Xat8u ki , 118, 143
Xaganawbi, 365
A’a ga no, Adm O., 62
A’agara, 227, 353,355
A“agoya, 209
X av a l G u n fi re -C on t in u ed
J a pa nese, 129, 297, 318, 351, 353
~ ’a ~ -a l U nit s, Allied. S ee also S hips ; Ta sk
Organizations.
B rit ish H ome Fleet , 40n
U . S . C oa st G ua rd, 21, 24
C . S. Navy, 3–5, 7, 10, 11, 14, 17, 18, 21, 23,
24, 26-30, 32, 33, 40, 4* 46, 50, .33, 55, 64,
69n , 71, 74, 76, 76n , 86-87, 90, 99, 157, 175,
190n , 2W, 236, 241–242, 260, 295, 297, 303,
311, 372
As ia t ic F leet , 69, 76, 157, 164
At la nt ic F leet , 10, 21–22, 28, 85
P acific Fleet , 62–64, 69-71, 74, 81, 84, 87, 95-
96, 98, 113, 157, 205, 209, 214–215, 228
L T. S , F leet , 5, 10, 13, 32, 84, 214
Am ph ibiou s F or ce, S outh P acific, 252n, 2tH
S out h P acific Forces, 236
L1. S . Na va l Forces in E urope, 236
14th Na va l D ist rict , 64, 66, 70n, 75, 124
16th Na va l D ist rict , 157
At la nt ic S qu ad ron , 2730
C ub –1, 276
G ua ma nia n na va l milit ia 76, 76n
Na va l ba tt alion , Ma riveles, 175-176, 178-180
P hilippine I nsh ore P at rol, 180
6t h Na va l Const ruct ion B at t a lion, 295, 326,
362
18t h Na va l Const ruct ion B at t a lion, 363
NAD , B urns Cit y, 5W
N AD , C a v it e, 175, 178, 180
A-AD , L ua lu alei, 69, 74
XAS, C a pe Ma y, 50n
XAS, Ford I sla nd, 69, 71
N-AS, J acksonvi l le , W?
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I N D E X 431
Savy D epa rt men t, 13, 27, 31, 54, 89, 137–158, 166
Na vy D epa r t ment C on t in uing B oa rd for t h e D e-
~ relopmen t of L a nding B oa ts, 2s, 30
Na zis, 35, 47
A-d en i, 262, 261, :31H 11, ~ z ~ , 3z4, 342
Nea r E a st , 61
N cr hcs , 114, 131
X (w s h o, 21 (P 2 11
Net her la nd s. 54, 61–W, 84
iYet her la nd s E ast I ndies, 78, 155, 157
I Xeu se R iv er , 52
A’eut ra lit y P a tr ol, 37
Neu tr alit y Zon e, 63
A’e vi ll p, 253
h “ew B rit ain, 236
New C a ler lon ia , 86, 88, 209, 230, 237–238, 324,3 43 , 3 60 , 3 60 } , 3 71
N “ew f ou nd la r rd ; 54r r
An ew G eor gia G r ou p, 243, 301
New G uin ea , 86, 207, 209. 23&238, 301, 322, 342,
346, 368–369
sew H ebrides, 86, 88, 23*239, 241, 259, 262,
279-280, 293. 293, 311, 339, 353
S ew I rela nd, 236
An ew L on don , 8
New Orlea ns, 24, 28, 31
N t’I n O rleu rw, 352Xew port , 8
New Rirer, 14.21, 31, 38, 52, 60
New World, 54
N ew York, 45–46, 54
h ’ew Zea la nd, 36, 61, 84, 8+ 87, 89–90, 155, 205,~ 30, ~ 36, ~ ~ ~ , ~ 43, ~ 4~ 250, ~ ~ ~ , 360, 366, 37]
Nggela G roup, 243, 270
h’ia ga ra P enin sula , 16
Nort h P a cific, 214. S eeulso P a cific.
Xor th P oin t, 192–193
A’or wa y, 53
Xon mea , 240-242, 272, 260, 324, 341, 359
X“ oy es, R .k dm L ., 242, 259
Oa hu, 48, 66, 68-69, 69n, 70-71, 74-75, 81, 106,
1 13, 13W13 1, 2 79, 285
O’Bannon, 353
Oboro, 129
O’B rien , 311
observa tion post , 105
Ocea n I sla nd, 115
O’C on nell, Ma j M. V., 298
Odilia , S ist er, 285n
Oh rn ae, C apt T., I J N, 120n, 346, 346n, 3b7n, 363,
372
Oil. S ee Fuel.
oit c, 118, 120
Oka , C ol A., 301, 333?1, 337,336, 367
Okin aw a , 371, 373
O li in w h ir rm , 237
O km n iy a , M ., 205?1, 215n , 230
O lon ga p o, 157, 159, 161, 165, 167
Open D oor policy , .59
Oper at ion B oler o, 342
Oper a tion S hoes tr in g, 237, 257, 260Orga niza tiona l loa ding, 249. S ’cc a rso I .ogist irs.
Or ien t, 59, 65, 75
Or ion , 173, 176, 180
O rk ney I sl a nd s, 40n
Orn dorff, C ol C . A., 366
Or ot e P en in sula , 76
Osa ka . 209
ot ter, I .t B . B ., 197–198
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432 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD ALC ANAL
P ana ma Ca na l, 38,53
P an Am erica n World Airw ays, 65, 75, 80,106, 109
P arker , Ma jG en G , M., J r., 167, 172–173, 176
P a rker, L Cdr T. C ., 183w
P arks, Ma j F. B ., 223
P a rris I sla nd , 38, 46,51, 51n , 52
P a tch Ma jG en A. M., 23S 239, 360, 360n , 362,366-
3 67 , 3 69 ,3 71 , 3 71 n
P at e, Lt Col R. McC. 249
Pa trot Craft 5’2, 129, 130, 133–134, 136, 142
P at rOt C ra ft 33, 129, 130, 133-134, 136
P a t rols , 180, 275, 280-281, 283, 283, 288, 308, 315,
318, 328, 330, 333, 345, ?. 47, 349-350
Pattf’rson, 260
P at terson, Lt R. M., 328
P ea cock P oint , 98, 102-103, 108, 110-113, 117-118, 124, 130, 134, 13 6-137, 139-14 0, 143
P ea le I sla nd, 98–99, 103, 105, 111–112, 115, 119,
121, 123–124, 127–128, 132, 134, 138, 141_144,
147,131
P ea rl H a rbor , 5, 33, 43, 45, 48, 50, 56, 62, 64-70,
73–76, 78-79, 81–84, 86–89, 101, 107, I 13_I 14,
125, 127, 13@131, 143, 155, 157, 16*161, 205,
207, 209, 212, 214-216, 219, 236, 241, 252, 253,
~ 6 ~ , 286
P efley, Ma j A. R., 67; B riG en, 6511
P e ip in g , 15 7, 159– 160P en guin , 76
~c)t.sncola, 352
I ’eI J p er , C ol R . H ., 252,313
P esh ek, 2dL t M, E ., 176a
P ew , Lt (jg ) L. A., 177
I ?h ase L in e A, 264
P h ila delph ia , 8,51
P ]/i li pp in e C l iop er , 106-107, 109 , 127
P o ha R iv er , 343, 34 5, 357, 369, 371
P o in d ex t er , 2d Lt A. A. , 132, 134, 136-137, 141 ,147,
149, 151–152 ; L t Col , 126?q 132n
P oin t C ruz, 281, 316–320, 344-345, 347, 350, 354,
357%58, 363,366-367
P ola nd, 47
P ollock, Lt Col E , A., 28% 290
P ond, Lt Z. A., 292
P on ies , 41
P or ter , 339
P or t la nd , 353
P ort Moresby, 209, 237-238, 322, 346, 369
P ort Roya l, 51
P or t of emba rka tion , 20
P or tu ga l, X-56
P os t exch a n ge, 51, 223P ot t er, E . B ., %
P ot ter , Ma j G . H ., 134, 139, 141–142, 142?2, 143 ;
C ol , 132n
P ot ter ’s I .ine, 142, 148
P ound, Adm of t h e Flt S ir D ., 42
P ow er hou se, 7 3, 82, 223
P ra tt , LC dr M. L., 281
P r el im in a ry b om ba r dm en t
Al l ied, 150,192
J a p a nes e, 150, 1&5, 200, 202
P resident ia l U nit C it a tion, 360Pr e.Wen t A dam g, 250, 253, 268, 270
Prcs iden t Harrison, 158-160
President Haye8, 250, 253, 268
Pre~ident Jack80n, 250, 253
P residen t L in e’s dock, 159
President Madison, 158-159
P ressley, Ma j O. K., 270
Prrston, 356
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I N D E X 433
Qua rt erma st er st ocks. S ee S upplies.
Qu in ar mn P oin t, 177, 180
Q a in c~ , 2 54, 260
Q ui ni ne, 184, 239
Quon set P oin t, 50n
Rabaul , 78n, 205, 210, 212, 235-238, 241, 253, 257,
259, 264, 274, 280, 286, ~ 3–294, 301–302, 305,
308, 310, 316, 320, 322, 3MI -329, 334-336, 346,
3S 0+ 31, 355, 357, 363–364, 368+ 69, 372
R ada r, 70, 79, 98, 103, 105, 109, 114, 150, 152, 162–
163, 170, 217, 221, 275, 325-326, 353, 355–336
R ad io. S cc C om mu nica tion s.
Raiders. S cc Ma rine unit s.
R ailh ea d, 160
Ra inbow r–5, W-64, 75. S ee a lso P la nn ing.
RalplIalbot, 260
R a msey B at t ery, lW
Ra msey Ra vine, 169, 171
Ra pe of S a nking, Xl
Ra tions. S (’C supply.
R uysbrook, S gt R. D ., 316
R econn a issa nce, 17, 48, 63, 89, 241. S ee a lso
Aircraft .
Recruit deuot s, 51, W
R eefs, 133, 137
ROC/?(la/A9S
R eh ea rs als , 12 ). 1S 4, 242, 252
R eifsnider , C a pt L. F ., CS X, 253
R ei nf or cem en t s. 310. 339
Relia ta B ay, 260
R en dez~ on s a rea , 19
R en ne]l I sla nd, 3?2, 324
R epla cemen t s. W W Tbr. -,.-
R eser ves. Ma rin e. 4s. 53
R oosevelt , E ., 37n
Roosevelt , P resident F . D .. 23, 31, 37–39, 39n,
42, 47, 53, 55, 60, 85–86, 86rr , 113, 155, 342
R oper P oll, 47n .
R oscoe, T., 190n
Rose, Lt Col M,, 4n
Rosecra ns, Lt Col H . E ., 248, 266, 315
Rosenm an, S . I ., 40n
Row an , C ol G . R., 257
Roya l Ma rin es, 3, 4, 36
Roya l Na vy , 210
Rupertus, B r iG en W. H ., 247, 265, 268, 26W,
298, 333n., 348, 348tt, 349
R ussell I sla nd s, 243, 354, 356
Russell, B riG en J . H ., 13
Russell, W. H ., W
R ussia , 38, 40, 53, 56, 60
Rust , MG E . S .. 283
Rut ledge, R. R., 137
Ryl(jo, 292
Ryukyu I sla nds, 160, 166
Saalman, lstLt O. E., 185n, 198, 200n; l Iaj, 187n
Sackett, Capt E. L., LTSN, 175n
S’acramen to, 83
S’ad o M aw , 299, 301
S a iler , Ma j J ., J r ., 343
S t. G eor ge’s C ha nn el, 259
S ’$. L O f (i 8, 2 07 , 2 19
S a int Lucia , 54
S a int P ierre, 54n
S aipa n, 76, 129, 133
S ala ma ua , 207, 237
S’al t L ak e U i tv, 324–WS
S a lt t a blet s, 257
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434----- -- .-—-— —---- .— .-— -----
S a nta C ruz I sla nds, 236, 252, 310, 335, 339, 342-
243
S anta I sa bel, 243, 260
S a nt o D omin go, 9, 17
Saratoga, 81, 114–115, 130, 143, 216, 242, 252,
2 63 n, 29 2, 30 2– 303, 3 11, 3 23 nS a sa pi ,, 264
S at e, C ol G ., 185, 192–193, 196
S at e, C apt T., I J N, 350, 356, 365
S a va ii, 8%90
S a vo I sla nd, 238, 243, 253, 260, 298, 325, 327,
353–357
S ch a effer , C a pt M. W., 171n ; Ma j, 188, 1%198
S ch oon er pilot s, 257
S cot la nd , 40n
S cot t, R Ad m N., 324-326, 353
S cot t , G en W., 16
S ea bees , 276-277, 279, 295, 342, 362–363. S ’ee a 180
Na va l u nit s, Allied.
S ea d rom es , 64-65
S ea H orse com plex, 367
S ea la rk C h a nn el, 243, 247, 253, 25%260, 276-
277, 294-295, 303, 305, 311, 322%)23, 32= 326,
328, 330, 335, 339, 345, 347-348, 353-356
S ea pla ne ha nga rs, 80, 223
S ea pla ne ra mps, 73, 78, 99, 267
S ea rch ligh t s, 8, 65, 80, 103-104, 113, 144, 146,
169, 190, 193, 356
S ebree, B riG en E . B ., 348, 348n, 34%350, 357, 362
S ecret ary of S ta te, 36
S ecr et ar y of t he Na vy , 30-31
S ecret a ry of Wa r, 44
S eg il a u, 365
S el ect iv e S er vi ce, 37. 53
Sendai, 355
l’H AltL H AI WU K ‘lw G U Al) ALG AI N AL
Ships—Continued
Allied—Continued
ca rr iers, 54, 74, 87, 114, 13(L131, 209-212,
214-215, 218, 224, 228, 235, 240, 242, 250,
259, 291–292, 311, 339, 352, 354
C oa st G ua rd cr it ter s, 54ncom mer ci al, 24,26, 88, 164
con tr ol vess els , 19
cruisers, 24, 39, 74, 157, 207, 209, 218, 228,
241-242, 260, 263, 267, 291, 311, 322, 324,
339, 344, 348, 351–353, 357
dest royers, 36, 39, 53, 70, 74, 131, 157, 207,
20%210, 218, 228, 241–242, 250, 258-260,
263, 291, 311, 316, 322, 324, 339, 344, 348,
351 -35 4, 35 6-35 7, 367 , 36 8
dest royer t ra nspor ts, 38, 242, 252–253, 276,
2 99 , 3 35
d r ed ge s, 83 ,99
es cor t ca rr ier s, 27 3
g un b oa t s , 157– 158
L STS , 34
m in e la yer s, 74, 324
m in e s w eep er s, 76, 81, 164, 179, 242, 311
m ot or t orpedo boa ts, 116, 164, 167, 177, 181,
350,354,365
o il er s , 1 14 , 1 31 , 2 09 -2 10
pa d dl e-w h eel s tea m sh ips, 32p ick et b oa t s, 19, 31
s ea pla n e t en der , 81, 100, 114, 219
subma rines, 65, 131, 157, 164, 166, 168, 181,
189, 189n , 207, 217– 218, 227, 229, 285-286,
352
s ub ma rin e t en der s, 164, 175
SUPPIY, 66 , 82 , 27 7
t ar get , 74
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I N D E X 435
Ship+C ont inued
J apa nese-Continued
dest roy er s, 78-80, 82, 96, 116-120, 12%130,
143, 143n , 147, 149, 179, 214, 226, 22.+ 2 29,
275, 283, 288, 291-293, 301, 303, 305, 324-
325, 335-336, 339, 3.51-357, 3%364, 369
d es tr oy er -t ra ns por ts , 116-117, 120, 129, 133-
134, 136,291, 293,301,323
f loa t p la n e t en d er , 129, 133
gu nboa t s, 196, 211
mine la yers, 129, 207, 237
pa trol cra ft , 134
subma rin es, 16, 70, 74, 81–83, 96, 116, 122,
130, 205, 214, 25 2, 275, 294
t a nk er s, 78-79
t ra nspor ts, 116, 118-120, 221, 291–293, 299,
327%328, 352, 354358
t3hirayuki, 325
Sh ir i ga , 79
S hock, C a pt T. M., U SN, 207
S h oh o , 2 1W2 11
S hoji, C ol T., 334-335, 347, 347n , 349
Shokah%, 210, 212, 339
S hore fire cont rol. f3ee Na va l gun fire.
S hore pa rt y a ct ivit ies, 20-22, 240, 257–258. i3’ee
a ls o s upp ly .
S hort la nd Isla nds, 259, 301, 322, 346, 350-351,3 54-355, 369
S ign a ls . S ee C om mu nica t ion s.
S ima rd, C dr C . T., 79-80, 219; G a pt , 221, 224,
229
S impler , LC dr L. C., 302
Nims,210-211
S ims, C ol, 348
S ol om on I sla nd s, 92, 208--210, 236-239, 243, 252–
253, 257–259, 275, 280, 286, 29S 291, 294, 31@
311, 322-324, 326, 335, 341-342, 346, 348, 351,
353, 363, 368-369, 372
S olom on S ea , 235
S on gon an gon a I sla nd, 270
S or yu , 127–131, 143, 215, 227
S ound-fla sh eq uipmen t, 275, 317. S ee also Fire
con t rol eq ui pm en t .
S ou th Am er ica , 54n , 55-56
South Dakota, 339, 354-356
S out hea st Asia , 61, 86
S out h P acit ic, 83-84, 90, 155, 205, 218, 23*237,
240, 249, 275, 277, 279, 302, 311, 324, 340-342,
351, 353-354, 362, 364. S ee a lso P acific.
S ou th er n R es ou rces Ar ea , 61-62S out h S ea s I sla nds, 96
S out hw est P acific, 67, 83, 86-87, 236, 241–243.
S ee a 180 P a ci fi c.
S oviet in terven tion , 60
S pa in , 56
S pa nish America n Wa r, 5, 7, 7n
S pa ulding, C pl J ., 281
Spearf18h, 189-190
S pecia l na va l la n din g force. S ee J apa nese
u nit s, N av al.
S pen cer , Flt Lt , 268S perling, C apt W. E ., 264; Ma j, 264n
S prua nce, RAdm R. A., 207, 218, 218n, 221, 224,
226-230
S t a ging a rea , 92
S ta nding Opera ting P rocedure, 22
S t a rk, Adm H . R., 37, 39, 44, 85, 85n
S ta te D epa rt ment , 54
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436 P EARL H ARB OR TO G UAD AL C ANAL
S upply. S ee a lso S hore pa rt y a ct ivit ies.
a r tiller y, 217
a via t ion , 104, 217
con st ru ct ion , 125
d um ps a nd st ora ge, 20,45, 111,257, 27&277eq u ip men t , 23, 81, 276-277
food , 277, 357
.J a pa nese em er gen cy m ea sur es, 364
J a p a n es e s tock s, 276, 310, 327, 354
m ovem en t of supplies, 257
m un it ion s. S ee Am mu nit ion .
q ua rt er ma st er st ocks, 88
r a t ion s , 21, 104, 167, 1 70, 172– 173 , 1 82, 249, 261,
311, 313, 330, 364
spa re pa rt s, 276
st ow age, 11
S upreme C omma n der of t he S WP A ( C in C S W-
P A), 87
S ur f, 24, 26, 276
S urren der of C or regidor , 199
S urren der of Wa ke, 147
S uva , 279
%veen ey , Lt E . J ., 269
%veen ey , Ma j J . B ., 264n
S ween ey , S gt Ma j J . H ., 196
S ween ey , Lt Col W. C ., 225S yl via , S ist er , 285n
Ta ivu P oin t , 288
Ta ka gi, VAd m T., 21W212
Tahxzo, 355-356
Ta la fofo B ay, 78
Tambor, 229
Ta n a mb og o, 243, 247–248, 263, 267–271
Ta s k O r ga n i z a t i on s —C o n t in u ed
TF 61.1, 242
TF 61.2, 242
TF 62, 250, 253, 261
TF 63, 242, 276TF 65, 311
TG 62.2, 253
TG Yoke, 247, 253–254, 263
TG X -R a y, 247, 25%254
Ta s sa f a r on g a , 327– 328 , 35 0-3 51, 3 56, 364-3 65
Ta ssa fa ronga P oint , 371
l’at.suta, 117–120, 129
Ten a ru , 371
Tena ru River , 245, 256, 288, 292, 308, 313, 347
Tena va tu R iver , 256
Te nr g m, 11 7– 12 0, 129
Tentat iveLanding0~erat ion8Manual ,14-15,17,
19-20, 23Tenffo M a r u , 129
Te rr a in . S e e a i %oR ee fs ; R oa d s ; Ve ge ta t i on .caves , 179cli f fs , 177cora l formations, 9&99, 264,286hills, 176,193,305interior lagoon, 98
jungle, 170,177,181,243, 245,25~257, 275,298,302,308, 330,336mountains,41,173,243mu d, 27 6ridges, 173, 177,192,243, 302,305, 313,330rivers and streams,243s a n d du n es ,6 6, 2 90swamps,239,245tableland,283
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I N D E X 437
Toky o E xpr ess, 288, 322-325, 327-328, 343, 34%
346, 35 2, 355 , 363-364, 366
Tokyo ra id, 207
Tom on aga , Lt J ., 224
Tone, 129, 1 43n , 224, 227
Tonga Isla nds, 88Ton ga t abu , 88, 238, 241
Tongue P oint , 50n
Topside, 168,171,181,190,194
Tor ped oes , S ee Am mu nit ion .
Tr ad er s, 243
Tra ils. S ee Roa ds.
Training
Al li ed , 17, 45, 51–52, 156, 188, 218
J a p an es e, 184
Tr an spor t q ua rt er ma st er , 20,250
Tr en ton -P rin cet on ca mpa ign , 3
Tr ia ng ula t ion , 245
Trinida d, 54
Tripa rt it e Trea ty, 59
Triton, 104
Truk, ll&-116, 286, 288, 293, 299, 301-303, 322
Trun dle, 2dLt W. B ., 2%
T8u ga r u, 129
Tsu ji, N ., 108n
Tu la g i, 210, 235-238, 242–243, 245, 247–248, 253–
254, 261, 263, 266, 268-271, 277, 292, 295, 298,
302, 31@-311, 322, 323, 344, 348, 354, 357, 360,
362
Tula gi B ay, 248
Tumon B a y , 78
Tunn el st ern, 24
Turnbla dh , E . T,, 92n
Turn er , RAdm R. K ., 240, 242, 248n, 250, 250n,
253–254, 257, 25%262, 268, 274, 285, 310, 31OW,
U nloa ding, 20, 22, 100, 257. flee a ko S h ore pa rt y
activit ies.
U n o, K ., 191n
UPOIU,86-60
Uf-aka3e, 143n
U8hio, 79-80, 8Qn~’ZUki,293
Va ndergrift , B r iG en A. A., 44n; Ma jG en , 239-2 40 , 2 40 % 2 41 –2 43 , 2 45 ti , 2 47 _2 48 , 2 50 , 2 52 , 2 52 n,
254, 257–260, 262, 267–268, 274-275, 280, 288,
29W291, 294, 297–299, 303, 310, 310n , 311, 313,
315, 319-321, 323-324, 330, 333n , 341–343, 343n ,
34$351, 35%360, 360n , 363n , 369, 372-373
Va n Ness, C ol C . P ., 271n
Veg et a tion , 29, 41, 66, 140, 149, 173, 178, 187, 243,
245, 256-257, 266, 277, 260, 295, 297, 305, 313,
327,330
Vehicles
Allied. S ee a t 80 Amphibia n vehicles; Wea p-
ons.
b om b-h a nd lin g t ru cks , 279
b ul ld oz er s, 66, 99, 274, 295
ca rt s, 279
d um p t ru ck s, 274, 294
f la t bed l or ri es , 250
g a sol in e t ru ck s, 279–295
g ra der s, 66
m ot or cy cl es , 167
pr im e m ov er s, 256
r adio va ns, 106
scout ca rs, 38
s ea rch li gh t t ru cks, 146
t ra ct or s, 23
t rucks, 66, 71, 107, 112, 125, 151, 167, 250,
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438 P EAR L HAR BOR TO GUADALCAN.4 L
Virginia,51 1Vogel ,~la jGenC.B, ,341Vouza, Sgt J ~ aj,2t15n,288n
Wa de, LC dr E . M., 194nWa de, G un S gt T. Q., 137
Wa inw righ t , Ma jG en J . M., 167, 172-173, 176,
179–MO, 182, 189, 19%200; G en , 155n , 157n
l%”a it , C apt L. W., 264, 266; Ma j, 345
Wa ke At oll , 62, 64-66, 68, 75, 78-82, 84, 9%96,
98– 99 , 101 –10 4, 1 0~ 1 07, 109 –1 17 , 1 2W1 21, 123 -
127, 129, 131, 134, 139, 143, 147, 150, 207, .253
Wa ke I sla nd, 48, 98-99, 103, 105, 111, 116, 127,
13(L 131, 133-134, 136, 138, 14W144, 147–148,
1 51 –1 52 , 2 16
Wa U c e, 3 56Wa lker, Lt C ol T. J ., J r ., 90
Wa lla ce, L tC ol W. J . , 217, 217rL ; C ol, 295
Wa llis (U ea ) I sla nd,90
Ward, 70
Wa r D epa rt men t, 156,182
Wa r of 1812, 16
Wa r eh ou ses , 249
Wa sh in g-ma ch in e C h a rley , 305, 317, 323, 326.
S e e U Z .S OAi rcr a ft , J a p a n e se .
Washington, 324, 354-356
Wa shin gt on , D . C ., 35-36, 38, 60, 76, 85, 87, 89,
2 37 ,2 40 , 3 41 –3 42
Wa shin gt on , G en G ., 3
Wa sh in gt on Na va l D isa rma men t Trea t y , 59, 75
Wusp, 242, 250, 263, 263n, 267–268, 292, 303, 311
WATCHTOWER 237 23 9-240
Wa ter supply , 104
Wa t er t a nk , 105,297
Veapons—Continued
Allied-Continued
5-i nch g un s, 66-67, 79-80, 82X33, 98, 103–104,
114, 117-118, 121, 131, 134, 138, 140, 147-
148, 152, 217, 275, 294, 355, 357fla me t hrow ers, 367
1 4-i n ch g un s , 1 68 -16 9
gren a des , 114, 137, 141, 144, 148, 178, 195,
29 7, 33 2
m achin e gun s, 33, 42, 71, 73–74, 78, 83, 136-
137, 144, 146, 151, 16@161, 165, 171, 178-
179, 1 3 1-193, 195–196, 217, 291, 306, 320,
334, 337
m in es, 8, 114, 136, 157, 168, 220
m ol ot ov cock ta ils , %20
m or t a r s, 17 1, 1 79, 1 92 –19 3, 1 98, 266 ,30 6, 316,32 0-3 22, 334 ,33 6, 3 45
m oun ta in h ow it zers, 179
na va l gun s, 16, 180
155m m g un s, 23, 169, 342, 349, 352
155m m h ow it zer s, 275
1 05m m h ow i t ze rs , 256 ,27 5, 305
pis tols , 71
r ifles, 73, 78, 148, 178, 188, 196, 306, 320
7-i nch g un s, 67, 81, 21G 217
75m m g un s, 169,179, 191, 193
75m m h a lf -t r a ck s, 275, 332, 345
75mm pa ck how it zers, 256, 275, 290, 342,
349
6-in ch g un s, 68,169, 267
60m m m or t a rs , 264-265
subm ach in e gun s, 141, 160
ta nks, 29–31, 34, 38, 83, 151, 183, 219-220,
258, 269, 291, 308, 367
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I N D E X 439
Weapons-Continued
J apa nese-Continued
a nt it a nk gun s, 308
ba yon et s, 141, 291
fiel d pieces, 329, 345
5-in ch gun s, 129
fla me t hrow ers, 291
14-i nch g un s, 353
in fa nt ry ca nn on, 116
grenades , 141,144,291,320,334
g ren a de la un ch er s, 116,291
h ow it zer s, 178
ma ch in e guns, 116, 139–141, 146, 177–179,
193-195, 198, 268, 283, 291, 330, 334-336
mort a rs, 140, 178-179, 198, 290, 306, 315-
3 16 , 3 30 , 3 32 -3 33 , 3 37 -3 38
m oun ta in how it zers, 198
obser va tion ba lloon s, 187
150m m h ow it zer s, 317, 326, 329, 342
105m m gun s, 181
100m m gun s, 329
pist ols, 291
r if les , 177–178, 198, 268, 291, 334
75m m mount ain gun s, 184
70m m g un s, 290-291
6-in ch gu ns, 118
sma ll a rm s, 139, 141, 303, 316, 322, 334, 348
s w or d s, 14 7, 291
t a nks , 172, 199, 32%330, 332
37m m gun s, 330, 332, 345
240m m h ow i tz er s, 184, 189
Wea th er , 41,89,245, 249,252, 320,276,295, 330,
334335, 347
Webb, 2dLt H . (3., 10ln, 108
Weber , Ma j J . E ., 349
Whit e, 2dLt P . R., 217
WMlt eh ill, C dr W. M.,84n
Wilds, T., 75n
Wilkes I sla nd, 98, 103, 105, 110, 113, 115–116,
118, 121, 124-125, 127, 130, 133–134, 137, 139,
142 -144 , 147 -149 , 151
Willia ms, B riG en D ., lln
Willia ms, C a pt F . H ., 168; Ma j, 187–188, 194.
197–199,. 200n
Willia ms , Ma j R . H .,248,267
William Ward Burrow,8,295
Wi lson, 260
Wilson, C apt H . S ., 103n , 106
Wilson, P residen t W., 44
Wir e. f lee C om mu nica t ion s.
Woods, C ol L. E ., 297; B r iG en, 343, 362
Wor ki ng d et a ils, 20, 42,45
World Wa r I , 4, *9, 44, 50, 51, 54n, 59, 107,
137, 168, 199
World Wa r I I , 4, 9-10, 17, 19, 32, 46, 63, 80
Wort on, Ma j G en W. A., 44n
Wot je, 123, 207
Wright, 9 9-10 0, 1 02, 21 6
Wrigh t , RAdm C . H ., 351
Wrigh t , P IS gt J . E ., 127
Ya ma guchi, RAdm T., 227
Ya m ag um o, 325-
Ya ma mot o, Adm I ., 62, 214, 214n, 215-216, 228,
230, 235, 237, 346, 349, 351, 353
Ya ma mot o, C dr T., 346n
Yamai%uki Maru, 355
Yamaura .lfaru, 355
Ya ngt ze P a t rol, 158
Ya ngt ze River , 157
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8/7/2019 History of the U.S. Marine Corps in WWII Vol I - Pearl Harbor to Guadacanal
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/history-of-the-us-marine-corps-in-wwii-vol-i-pearl-harbor-to-guadacanal 453/454
8/7/2019 History of the U.S. Marine Corps in WWII Vol I - Pearl Harbor to Guadacanal
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/history-of-the-us-marine-corps-in-wwii-vol-i-pearl-harbor-to-guadacanal 454/454