The daily monitor leader. [volume] (Mount Clemens, Mich.) 1942-19??, 1942-08-29
Eyewitness
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with INT. Torgerson the only
casualty, escaped with light
wrist wound.
Lieut.. Col. Merritt A. Edison,
Chester, VI, a native of Rut-
land, told how the Marines had
landed on Tulagi undetected
and made the eastern part of
the island before the. Japanese
saw them and started to fight.
1--WE killed II Japanese in
one small limestone cave" he
said. "They manned their ma
chine guns until the last man
was dead. Shippers were every
where, in the trees, in caves, be-
hind rocks.
Many times the sn p er s
would let us 60 by and open up
on us from the rear. Some Of
their holes were natural caves.
Others they had blasted out of
the rock. The only way to get
them was by dynamite and hand
grenades. Many times we held
dynamite and hand grenades
until the last possible second
before we tossed them in the
dugouts, only to have the Jap
anese toss them back"
NO QUARTER
BY nightfall the first day the
Marines held most of Tulagi.
But at night the many Japanese
left in the caves at once count
er-attacked The fight ra G e d
throughout the night, hand to
hand, No .uarter was given and
none was asked Knives, bay
onets and even bare hands we're
the weapons.
The Marines held their gains,
and at dawn started to advance
again.
These islands were veritable
fortresses. Every japanese SOL
der fought to the death on Tu-
lagi and Gavutu. The only ones
who remained alive to be taken
prisoners on Tanambogo were a
handful of lesser troops, includ-
ing seven men of a labor batall-
ion.
On Guadalcanal and Florida,
the larger islands, little OPPOSE
ton was met.
Four platoon sergeants,
whose companies were held
up by a curtain of fire from
a honeycOmbed hill charged
up II with automatic rifles.
They fired until the rifles
were empty and then dubbed
and bayOnetted the Japanese.
They lost their bayOnetS and
fought with their bare fists
until they had accounted for
every man in the nests.
Marine casualties in these
two blazing days of fighting
were remarkably light and Jap
anese airplane bombing did rel
at'vely little damage.
So complete was the surprise
of the Japanese tina. many fled
to the hills half clad. Others left
unfinished bowls of breakfast
rice with the chopsticks still in
them on the mess hall tables at
many camps.
Torgerson used up 20 cases
of INT in all, blowing up the
Japanese in the caves. He would
work for hours preparing his
dynamite and then RUM ! n &
ahead under cover of the auto
matte rifle fire of his four scouts
to cram the explosives down
crevices. One premature explo-
sion blew off the seat of his
pants.
MANY BURIED ALIVE
Nobody will ever know how
many Japanese died in these
fights. Hundreds were buried,
many alive, in their caves.
1t is difficult to pick out he
roes among the Marines here
for they are all heroes.
Maj Kenneth D. Bailey's COM
pany was held up by the fire
from a Japanese machine gun
nest, dug deep in the ground, on
the second morning.
Bailey wormed his way around
B ey wormed his way
around the pit, jumped to the
top of the nest, and tried to kick
a hole through the roof so he
could drop a hand grenade in it
Failing, he tried to clear away
the rocks of the emplacement. A
Japanese rammed gun through
the roof and w oun d c d him
through the thigh. But Bailey's
single handed attack on a small
fortress had diverted the enemy
gunners long enough to enable
his men to ovcrwhelm it and
rescue him.
COLD RAGE
The work of Platoon Sergt
Harry M. Tully, Hastings, Neb.,
was described by Capt George
r. Stallings, Augusta, Ga, his
company commander:
SIEVE of Tully's best
friends were killed or wounded
in the landing operations. In
stead of becoming unnerved
Tully got into a cold rage. For
two days and nights he hunted