Guadalcanal: The U.S. Marines in World War II: A Pictorial Tribute

On August 7, 1942, a scant nine months after Pearl Harbor, the Marine Corps struck back against Japan on a small island half a world away: Guadalcanal, in the Solomon Islands. The stakes were high. The Japanese had been running roughshod across Asia and the Pacific and even into the Indian Ocean. If the Marines failed in the Solomons, New Guinea would almost certainly fall, mortally threatening Australia.

The victory of the 1st Marine Division at Guadalcanal, told here in pictures for the first time, ranks with the most heroic, dramatic, and enduring of military history. The six-month long Guadalcanal campaign was by far the longest and most complicated operation the Marines faced in the Pacific War. It began with the weapons and tactics of the Marine Corps 1918 combat in France and ended with the revised weapons and tactics that would sweep aside the Japanese defenders of numerous formidable bases all across the wide Pacific--bringing the United States armed forces to total victory in the Pacific in World War II.

This book is a fitting tribute to the men who sacrificed so much in winning this first stepping stone on the path to Tokyo Bay and victory over Japan.

“This book can be described as the best collection of photos ever published about Marines in Guadalcanal … no one has ever assembled a more complete set and put it into print … In total, they paint a fuller visual portrait of the Marine experience on that island than any compilation previously available.”
Naval History, August, 2007

“Following his earlier achievements with Iwo Jima and Pacific Warriors, Hammel thrusts the readers into the hell and stench of battle on this Solomon island with both words and photographs, many of the most gruesome kind. Obsessed with Guadalcanal, Hammel pays tribute to the Marines’ spirit in his fourth book on the subject...Guadalcanal is truly an outstanding effort to document the sacrifice and struggle in America’s first stepping-stone on the path to victory over Japan.” 
WWII History

Leatherneck, August 2007

WWII History, November 2007 
“From Zenith Press and Eric Hammel comes another handsome, profusely illustrated tribute to the United States Marine Corps, this time focusing on the first major land battle involving American troops in the Pacific. Following his earlier achievements with Iwo Jima and Pacific Warriors, Hammel thrusts the readers into the hell and stench of battle on this Solomon island with both words and photographs, many of the most gruesome kind. Obsessed with Guadalcanal, Hammel pays tribute to the Marines’ spirit in his fourth book on the subject ... Guadalcanal is truly an outstanding effort to document the sacrifice and struggle in America’s first stepping-stone on the path to victory over Japan.”
 

Time Out For Entertainment, November 2007

“A richly illustrated tribute to the first U.S. land offensive in the Pacific in World War II. Told with an amazing attention to detail that makes you feel the muck on your feet and smell the rot of the jungle, author Eric Hammel succeeds in adding a new wrinkle to the story of the battle through rare photos and first-hand accounts.”

The six-month long Guadalcanal campaign was by far the longest and most complicated operation the Marines faced in the Pacific War. It started on the fly when the Japanese were discovered building a bomber base on the island, a threat that could not be ignored. The 1st Marine Division was the only force available to take up this challenge. Although the airfield was seized without a fight when the Marines landed on August 7, 1942, the Japanese were quick to respond. A naval attack on the night of August 8 drove off the supporting U.S. Navy forces; the transports had not even finished unloading. The Marines were on their own, without naval or air support.

The Guadalcanal campaign began on less than a shoestring with the weapons and tactics of the Marine Corps’1918 combat in France and ended with the revised weapons and tactics that would sweep aside the Japanese defenders of numerous formidable island bases all across the wide Pacific. Guadalcanal served as a test bed for the leaders, weapons, and techniques that brought the United States armed forces to total victory in the Pacific in World War II. This volume of captivating photographs is a tribute to the men who sacrificed so much in winning this first stepping stone on the path to Tokyo Bay and victory over Japan.

On August 7, 1942, a scant nine months after Pearl Harbor, the Marine Corps struck back against Japan on an island half a world away: Guadalcanal, in the Solomon Islands. The stakes were high. The Japanese had been running roughshod across Asia, the Pacific, and the Indian Ocean. If the Marines failed in the Solomons, Samoa and Fiji would almost certainly fall, mortally threatening America’s lifeline to Australia. The 1st Marine Division’s stand at Guadalcanal ranks with the most heroic, dramatic, and enduring of military history.