Early December, 1942: a year after Pearl Harbor, U.S. Marine survivors of Guadalcanal swap hard-won war trophies after five brutal months of fighting. These teenagers-turned-veterans had endured savage bombardment by air and sea. They had weathered disease and near starvation. Ultimately, they had gone eyeball to eyeball with a seasoned foe and bested them in combat, giving America her first major land victory of WWII.
Now, as the 5th Marine Regiment departs, the Marines of the 1st Regiment await their chance to say goodbye to Guadalcanal. They would leave as victors, the Marines who gave a shaken nation new hope
By: Matt Hall
