American Battle Monuments Commission

Guadalcanal American Memorial

GPS S9 26.554 E159 57.441

American Battle Monuments Commission

This agency of the United States government operates 

and maintains 25 American cemeteries and 26 memorials, 

monuments and markers in 16 countries. The Commission 

works to fulfill the vision of its first chairman, General of 

the Armies John J. Pershing. Pershing, commander of the 

American Expeditionary Forces during World War I, promised 

that “time will not dim the glory of their deeds.”

Guadalcanal

American Memorial

The Guadalcanal American Memorial stands on Skyline Ridge 

overlooking the town of Honiara and the Matanikau River. 

For more information on this site and other 

ABMC commemorative sites, please visit:

www.abmc.gov

American Battle Monuments Commission

2300 Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 500

Arlington, VA 22201 USA

Manila American Cemetery 

McKinley Road

Global City, Taguig

Republic of Philippines

tel 011-632-844-0212

email manila@abmc.gov

gps N14 32.483 E121 03.008

Guadalcanal American 

Memorial 

Skyline Ridge

P.O. Box 1194

Honiara, Solomon Islands

tel 011-677-23426

MA

ER

CI AN BATTLE MONUMENTS COM

M SI S OI N

UNITED STATES

OF AMERICA
Guadalcanal American Memorial

A 25th Infantry Division soldier holds 

a telephone struck by fragments from 

a Japanese mortar. He was unhurt, 

and the phone worked. Guadalcanal, 

January 10, 1943.

Amphibious tractors 

unloaded from Navy 

transports head to the 

beach at Guadalcanal, 

August 1942.

Photo: The National Archives Photo: The National Archives

The Guadalcanal American 

Memorial honors those 

American and Allied servicemen 

who lost their lives during the 

Guadalcanal campaign of World 

War II. The memorial consists of 

an inscribed central pylon four 

feet square rising 24 feet above 

its base. Four radiating directional walls point toward major battle 

sites. Descriptions of the battles are inscribed on the walls. The 

inscription on its central pylon reads:

The Japanese defeats in the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway 

caused them to expand their presence toward New Guinea 

and the Solomon Islands. That threatened the American lifeline 

to Australia and New Zealand. It led to the decision to assault 

Guadalcanal and nearby islands. 

August 7, 1942: The 1st Marine Division and the 2d Marine 

Regiment made an amphibious landing on the north coast 

of Guadalcanal. Initial Japanese resistance was light.

this memorial was constructed by the united 

states of america in humble tribute to the 

americans and their allies who lost their lives 

during the guadalcanal campaign

7 august 1942 – 9 february 1943

August 8: Marine units occupied the Japanese airdrome at 

Lunga. It was later named Henderson Field. 

August and September: Japanese air attacks and reinforcements 

slowed the advances by Marine units.

October 13: The Army’s 164th Infantry Regiment, part of the 

Americal Division, landed to join the fight.

October 23: The Japanese attacked near Henderson Field and 

the mouth of the Matanikau River. They were repulsed after 

heavy fighting.

November 12-15: American ships and aircraft turned back 

a major Japanese naval offensive.

January 2, 1943: More Marine and Army units had 

arrived throughout December. XIV Corps was activated, 

with the 2d Marine Division and the Army’s Americal 

and 25th Infantry Divisions. 

January 10: The XIV Corps offensive began. 

February 9: Organized Japanese resistance ended. 

The interservice cooperation that worked well on Guadalcanal 

continued throughout the war in the Pacific.

Photo: ABMC

Marine artillerymen

operate from a

Japanese field gun

emplacement captured

early in the Guadalcanal

campaign. Photo: The National Archives