Guadalcanal campaign
The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theater of World War II. It was the first major land offensive by Allied forces against the Empire of Japan.
On 7 August 1942, Allied forces, predominantly United States Marines, landed on Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Florida Island in the southern Solomon Islands, with the objective of using Guadalcanal and Tulagi as bases in supporting a campaign to eventually capture or neutralize the major Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain. The Japanese defenders, who had occupied those islands since May 1942, were outnumbered and overwhelmed by the Allies, who captured Tulagi and Florida, as well as the airfield—later named Henderson Field—that was under construction on Guadalcanal.
Surprised by the Allied offensive, the Japanese made several attempts between August and November to retake Henderson Field. Three major land battles, seven large naval battles (five nighttime surface actions and two carrier battles), and almost daily aerial battles culminated in the decisive Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in early November, with the defeat of the last Japanese attempt to bombard Henderson Field from the sea and to land enough troops to retake it. In December, the Japanese abandoned their efforts to retake Guadalcanal and evacuated their remaining forces by 7 February 1943, in the face of an offensive by the U.S. Army's XIV Corps, with the Battle of Rennell Island, the last major naval engagement, serving to secure protection for the Japanese troops to evacuate safely.
The campaign followed the successful Allied defensive actions at the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway in May and June 1942. Along with the battles at Milne Bay and Buna–Gona, the Guadalcanal campaign marked the Allies' transition from defensive operations to offensive ones and effectively allowed them to seize the strategic initiative in the Pacific theater from the Japanese. The campaign was followed by other Allied offensives in the Pacific, most notably: the Solomon Islands campaign, New Guinea campaign, the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, the Philippines campaign (1944–1945), and the Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign prior to the surrender of Japan in August, 1945.
Entrance of Vilu War Museum
Memorials in Vilu War Museum
Aircraft in Vilu War Museum
Aircraft in Vilu War Museum
The Vilu War Museum is on Guadalcanal, about 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands. The remains of military equipment and of several aircraft can be seen in the open-air museum. Several memorials for the American, Australian, Fijian, New Zealand and Japanese soldiers who died are erected there.[181]
To mark the 50th anniversary of the Red Beach landings, the Guadalcanal American Memorial was dedicated in Honiara on 7 August 1992.
Remaining ordnance[edit]
An unknown amount of unexploded bombs from the battle remain on the island, and residents of the island have been killed and severely injured by unexpected explosions from hidden explosives. The threat to people's lives from unexploded bombs remain high.[182] The Solomon Islands police force has disposed most of the discovered bombs; however, clearance work is expensive, and the island does not have sufficient resources to clear the remaining explosives. The Solomon Islands have urged both the U.S. and Japanese governments to clear the remaining bombs from the island.[182] In 2012, 18 years after the U.S. ended its aid program in the South Pacific, the U.S. provided funds to assist efforts to find and remove unexploded bombs. Australia and Norway also established programs to help the Solomon Islands remove unexploded bombs.[182]
News reporting[edit]
The Guadalcanal campaign was the subject of a large amount of high-quality reporting. News agencies sent some of their most talented writers, as it was the first major American offensive combat operation of the war.[183] Richard Tregaskis, who wrote for International News Service, gained fame with the publication of his bestselling Guadalcanal Diary in 1943.[184] Hanson Baldwin, a Navy correspondent, filed stories for The New York Times and won a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the early days of World War II.[183] Tom Yarbrough wrote for the Associated Press, Bob Miller for the United Press, John Hersey for Time and Life, Ira Wolfert for the North American Newspaper Alliance (his series of articles about the November 1942 Naval Battle of Guadalcanal won him a Pulitzer Prize), Sergeant James Hurlbut for the Marine Corps, and Mack Morriss for Yank magazine.[183] Commander Vandegrift placed few restrictions on the reporters who were generally allowed to go wherever they wanted and write what they wanted.[183]