Random Interesting Bits of History

Speaking of Guadalcanal, the Coast Guard's only Medal of Honor recipient earned the award for his actions there.

Signalman 1st Class Douglas Munro gave his life while using his Higgins boat to shield Marines during their extraction at Guadalcanal on Sept 27, 1942. His final words were, “Did they get off?”

Chesty Puller, a Lt. Colonel at the time, nominated him for the award. His citation reads:

"For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry in action above and beyond the call of duty as Officer-in-Charge of a group of Higgins boats, engaged in the evacuation of a Battalion of Marines trapped by enemy Japanese forces at Point Cruz, Guadalcanal, on September 27, 1942.

After making preliminary plans for the evacuation of nearly 500 beleaguered Marines, Munro, under constant risk of his life, daringly led five of his small craft toward the shore. As he closed the beach, he signaled the others to land, and then in order to draw the enemy's fire and protect the heavily loaded boats, he valiantly placed his craft with its two small guns as a shield between the beachhead and the Japanese. When the perilous task of evacuation was nearly completed, Munro was killed by enemy fire, but his crew, two of whom were wounded, carried on until the last boat had loaded and cleared the beach.

By his outstanding leadership, expert planning, and dauntless devotion to duty, he and his courageous comrades undoubtedly saved the lives of many who otherwise would have perished. He gallantly gave up his life in defense of his country."

 
@AWP , on Facebook there is a great site called Guadalcanal-Walking A Battlefield. All history, a lot looking at it currently in context to WW2. Awesome pics.

Interesting facts about that page you may already know. The guy who runs it is a former Marine 0331 from the 90's. He got out and then lived on Guadalcanal for years, splitting time between it and Australia. The dude has camped on Edson's Ridge, he's probably the foremost expert on the battlefield in the world.

Anyway, he is on the Unauthorized History of the Pacific War podcast* discussing Guadalcanal's land battles. Well worth listening to his hours and hours of stories and history on the island. You have have seen it on Facebook, but he's found the "pigtails" used to hold up the barb wire and foxholes from Basilone's machine gun crews. The guy can point to the holes Basilone used in the fight.

* - I cannot recommend that podcast enough. I can't do it justice with the amount of knowledge involved. They are up to 522 episodes, just an amazing resource. Their Youtube channel of course shows their maps and visual aids I can't see on Spotify, but I listen to my podcasts while driving. Again, a fantastic podcast for anyone interested in the Pacific War.
 
@Devildoc something I'm going to put in a book review here in another week is the almost staggering amount of info coming out of Japan in the last 20 years. Japanese historians are finding/ translating works which are fundamentally altering some of the narratives in the Pacific War, particularly as they relate to carrier ops. One major revelation is how much of the Japanese perspective we've taken from Commander Fuchida and how much of a liar he's proven to be. Whole swaths of Pearl Harbor and Midway history are being rewritten as a result.
 
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