The Daily Alaska empire., 1942-10-15
GRAPHIC TALE. OF MARINES .IN5oL0h0NS

fTbe fouoUing account ot the
 Marines captmehot SolomonS
 Island stronghold aoas 'eritten
 bu Second Lieutenant II. L.
 MertHat. U. s. Marine Corps
 Public Relations Officer ct the
 battle Scene)
 GUADALCANAL ugust l4 (delayed) On August ', 1922, the largest force of Marines ever to en- gage in landing operations assau- lted Guadalcanal, Tulagi and Ga- vutu, important bases in the Sol omon Islands. The attack marked the first time in this war that Am erican land forces have taken the offensive against the enemy. Mar ines avenged their comrades on Wake Island by destroying Jap gar- risons on Tulagi and Gavutu and driving shattered Jap forces on Guadalcanal into the hills.
 These islands, with their inlets that once sheltered Jap seaplaneS and big airdrome that the Japs had hastily built as a base for further adventures in the Pacific, now will serve as bases for United Nations air, sea and land power. The process of rolling back the Japs has begun in earnest.
 Long before dawn on the 7th things were humming aboard the ships of the armada slipping silent ly into the passage between Guadal- canal and Florida Islands. Between 020O and 0300 all hands turned out and wolfed a sumptous breakfast. Who knew how long it would be before any of us had another real meal? Field rations would soon take the place for steaks and fried po- tatoeS and scrambled eggs. Then we made our final preparations to- go over the side and stood by, wait ing for the eastern sky to brighten.
 About dawn I went on the top deck of my transport. The weather had been on our side. Low clouds and mist had concealed our progress toward the Solomons all day the 9th. They had cleared during the night and the stars guided us on our way. At 0500 we could make out the dim outline of Guadalcanal to starboard. There was no sign of activity on the shore. At 0525 gen. eral quarters sounded and the ships crew took battle stations. At 0605- Stand by to lower boats" Then came what all of us had been wait ing to hear and see; at 0617 cruis- CTS guns boomed and a salvo of shells landed in the laps of the Japs on Guadalcanal. e's.-~ go @e.
 Hell Broken Loose
 To the Japs on Guadalcanal and Tulgai it must have seemed that hell had broken loose. One laborer later taken as a prisoner said he thought he was dead. Salvo after salvo ripped into their mist. Navy planes unloaded high explosive and strafed the ground. The red trails of tracer bullets and shells cut the black coast of Guadalcanal. Fifteen miles to the north of us naval ships and aircraft were dealing out the same punishing bombardment toI Tulagi
 At 0700 came the order to lower boats Methodically they were swung out on their davits and lowered into the water The ships bearing Mar ines who were to land in the first wave had already lowered away and soon the water about the transports was swarrning with hun dreds of speedy landing boats. New ramp landing and tank lighters were getting their first test in combat tractors, carrying en- supplies, began their churning progress toward the beach, to be on hand when the speedier landing boats first hit the shore line
 0800 was "H-hour" (Attack hour)