"When he goes to heaven, St. Peter he will tell, Another Marine reporting Sir, I've served my time in Hell".
In 1942, Guadalcanal was a jungle outpost in the Pacific, due north of New Zealand, and four thousand miles west of America's stunning reminder that Japan's imperial designs were enhanced by success at Pearl Harbor. In early June, an American reconnaissance plane discovered the Japanese building an airstrip on Guadalcanal. American military strategists rightly envisioned that the first offensive land action of the War in the Pacific would involve seizing the airstrip on the island. As America prepared to rescue the world, the Japanese realized that Guadalcanal could be the decisive battle of the War. On August 7th, 1942, the U.S. took the war to the Japanese, replacing their hit and run strategy with one that called for hit and stay. As American forces took Guadalcanal and nearby Tulagi Island, engineers were forced to use captured enemy equipment to prepare the airstrip for landing forces. With soaring narration by Leonard Graves and equally supportive martial music, this episode of 'Victory at Sea' translates into one of the finer moments of the series up to this point.
In 1942, Guadalcanal was a jungle outpost in the Pacific, due north of New Zealand, and four thousand miles west of America's stunning reminder that Japan's imperial designs were enhanced by success at Pearl Harbor. In early June, an American reconnaissance plane discovered the Japanese building an airstrip on Guadalcanal. American military strategists rightly envisioned that the first offensive land action of the War in the Pacific would involve seizing the airstrip on the island. As America prepared to rescue the world, the Japanese realized that Guadalcanal could be the decisive battle of the War. On August 7th, 1942, the U.S. took the war to the Japanese, replacing their hit and run strategy with one that called for hit and stay. As American forces took Guadalcanal and nearby Tulagi Island, engineers were forced to use captured enemy equipment to prepare the airstrip for landing forces. With soaring narration by Leonard Graves and equally supportive martial music, this episode of 'Victory at Sea' translates into one of the finer moments of the series up to this point.
