MarineSidPhillips.com: The Battle for Guadalcanal

The sun was bright and American flags flapped proudly from the sterns of the landing craft that carried Sid and his comrades of Company H-2-1 toward the beaches of Guadalcanal on August 7, 1942. Sid shouldered the 46-pound bipod for his squad’s 81mm mortar. The ramp dropped and Sid hit the beach, expecting a fight. But, the Japanese had melted into the jungle. The Marines took the airfield and named it “Henderson Field.” The next night, from a hilltop, Sid and his buddies cheered at the flashes of gunfire as the

Sid (top right), relieves himself
on Guadalcanal.

Japanese and US Navy slugged it out just offshore only to learn the next morning that the Japanese had decimated the American task force, sinking the very ship that had carried Sid to the island. The ensuing days would test Sid and his stranded comrades. Japanese ships and subs would shell them with impunity, Japanese planes would rain bombs, they would run out of food and become sick, while digging in to go “eyeball to eyeball” with a daunting foe. NEXT>>