Slideshow: Guadalcanal

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Guadalcanal

Guadalcanal 1

Joint Forces beat off a heavy Japanese air attack on Guadalcanal. In this photo United States fighting men aboard a destroyer in the harbor watch two Japanese planes burning on the water against the horizon in June, 1943.

Guadalcanal 2

Scout stands atop Edson Ridge. Edson Ridge, while protecting the vital airport held by U.S. Marines on Guadalcanal, was assaulted repeatedly by Japanese troops, 600 of whom were killed in a futile attempt to force their way toward the airfield.

Guadalcanal 3

Beached Japanese transports burned at Guadalcanal, as an SBD Bomber (foreground) flew by.

Guadalcanal 4

Slogging through mud, U.S. Army troops marched toward the Guadalcanal front line in May 1943.

Guadalcanal 5

Flames from the Navy transport USS John Penn lit up the horizon off Lunga Beach, Guadalcanal, after a Japanese torpedo plane scored a direct hit amidships.

Guadalcanal 6

At Henderson field, Marines work to salvage a fighter damaged during a Japanese bombing.

Guadalcanal 7

Fighting Leathernecks start their trek on a mission at sunset on Guadalcanal.

Guadalcanal 8

The bodies of Japanese soldiers killed in the Battle of the Tenaru litter the beach near the mouth of Alligator Creek. Although small by later standards, the fight left an indelible impression on the Marines that their enemy would fight to the death.

Guadalcanal 9

Henderson Field (shown here during WWII) is now an international airport and Fighter One, the airstrip, is now overgrown.

Guadalcanal 10

During rainy season on Guadalcanal, camp areas often flooded. An example is this Marine camp situated in a coconut grove.

Guadalcanal 11

U.S. Coast Guardsmen and Marines unload supplies in the shadow of a Japanese ship, the Kinugawa Maru, beached after a battle with the Americans in the Solomons.

Guadalcanal 12

Prevented from reaching its destination by devastating fire from Marine half-tracks, this Japanese landing barge came to rest in a peaceful idyllic setting on Guadalcanal.

Guadalcanal 13

Holding their sharp spears, two natives were silhouetted against the sky as they stood by a beached canoe on Guadalcanal.

Guadalcanal 14

Marines, battling on Guadalcanal, line up for chow served cafeteria style. The picture was taken shortly after American forces had blasted the Japanese out of several of their positions in the strategic Solomons.

Guadalcanal 15

The sign says 42nd Street, but its a long way from Times Square, New York City. The sign was posted at a U.S. Marine Camp on Guadalcanal.

Guadalcanal 16

Japanese forces and disease were not the only enemies encountered on Guadalcanal. weather at times hampered operations. An example is this stranded threesome awaiting help to get their jeep moving again.

Guadalcanal 17

Members of a Marine military police company displayed a Japanese flag captured at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands

Guadalcanal 18

Striking near this camera, a Japanese bomb killed all the soldiers in the vicinity, including the crew of the gun at the right, but passed up the camera crew. The instrument itself was damaged by shrapnel.

Guadalcanal 19

This Air Raid warning gong was photographed on Guadalcanal in November 1943. It was made from the nose cap of a Japanese 14" shell which fell on Henderson Field during a 1942 bombardment

Guadalcanal 20

While the Japanese Army nicknamed Guadalcanal "Starvation Island", the U.S. Navy was able to adequately resupply its land forces there. Nevertheless, for Marines and Soldiers, unloading food and material was slow, backbreaking work.

Guadalcanal 21

Victory at Guadalcanal depended on being able to fly fighters and bombers from Henderson Field, which was named in honor of Marine Major Lofton Henderson, killed in action at Midway.