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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 30, 1942)
Th OEEGON STATESMAN. Salem Oregon. Sunday Mossing, August S3. IS 12 Marines9 Reporter Tells ' ITirMiiig Stay - JLL tags roumni MB Amphibians and Tanks ! Used; Japs Scurry To Cave Refuses Editors: Th navy department in 'WhlnrtOTT made public tonight th SaUowing account of th niariaca' capture of Solomon island atrongholda, . - aa ' written by Second- Lieutenant H. jl. Mcrittat, US marina corps public : rotations officer at the battle scene.) : ' . , By 2D LIEUT. H. L. MERILLAT GUADALCANAL, (August 14) (delayed) August 7, 1942, The largest force of marines ever to engage in landing operations assaulted Guadalcanal, Tulagi and Gavutu, important Japanese feases in the Solomon Islands. The attack marked the first time In this war that American land forces have taken the offensive sainst the enemy. Marines av - enged their' comrades on Wake Island by destroying Jap garris ons n Tulagi and Gavatu and driving shattered Jap forces on Guadalcanal into the hills. These Islands, with their In lets that once sheltered Jap emplanes and a Mr airdrome that the Japs had hastily built as a base for further adven tures In the Pacific, now will serve as bases for United Na tions air, sea and land power. The process of rolling back the Japs has begun in earnest Long before dawn on the sev- - enth, things - were humming - aboard the ships of the armada - slipping silently into the passage between Guadalcanal and Flor ; ida islands. Between 0200 and C300 all hands turned out and " wolfed a sumptuous breakfast Who knew how long it would be ' before any of us had another real meal? Field rations would soon take the place of steaks and fried potatoes and scrambled eggs. Then we made our final prepara 7 tions 1 to go over- the side and f afvut hv. waiting for the eastern sky to brighten. About dawn I went out on the top deck of my transport The weather had been on our side Low clouds and mist had con cealed our progress toward the Solomons all day the sixth. They bad 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 general quarters sounded and the ship's crew took battle stations. At 0605 "Stand by to lower boats." Then came what all of us had been waiting tensely to see and hear; at 0617 a cruiser's guns boomed and a salvo of shells landed in the laps of the Japs en Guadalcanal. (The hour designations used by Merillat conform to the 24-hour dock system, standard in the navy, 0525 is 5:25 a. m., for instance, and 1430 is 2:30 p. m. The 24 hour cycle runs from midnight to midnight) To the Japs on Guadalcanal and Tulagi 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 midst- Navy planes un loaded high explosive and straf ed the. ground. The red trails,, of tracer bullets and shells cat 'the black coast of Guadalcanal, fifteen miles to the north of us naval ships and aircraft were , dealing out the same punishing ; bombardment to Tulagi. . At 0700 came the order to lower beats. Methodically they were wung out on their davits and lowered into the water. The ships bearing marines who were to land in 'the first wave had already lowered away and soon the water about, the transports, was swarm ing with hundreds of speedy land ing boats. New ramp, landing and tank lighters were getting ,theirj first test in combat Amphibious tractors, carrying engineering map plies, began their churning pro gress toward the beach, to be on hand when the speedier landing boats first hit the shore line. ! 0800 was -H-hour" (attack hour) when the first Wave of marines landed on Tulagi. We could hear destroyers pumping ' high explosives into the beach. . Then the barrage lifted, the ma lines landed, and a tiny South Sea Island became the first bat ' Uefield in America's first of fensive In World War IL Meanwhile the landing boats were gathering for the assault on Guadalcanal. Proudly flying the stars and stripes, the boats took en their loads of marines and equipment and circled in the ren dezvous area between the trans ports and the line of departure marked by two destroyers. I went in, early so I was on the water when the first wave hit the beach. A our boat sped across the line of departure an amber flare from the shore announced that combat group under Colonel I. P. . Hunt had : landed. We hit the beach about 1000 and learned that CG-A had landed without resistance. The beach presented a busy scene. Al ready tank, lighters were pulling up with their iron monsters. Am phibian tractors, which the mar ines call "alligators," chugged ashore, equally at home on land or water. A steady stream of mar ines was pouring out of boats. By 1045 combat group B, under Col onel C. B. Cates, was landing and lining up for its advance to the southwest Scattered, rifle shots marked the advance of the mar ines as they fanned out through the tall grass and cocoanut grove. We counted on the Japs arriving to bomb us about noon, figuring it would take that long for them to organize a flight of bombers in Rabaul and fly them down to Guadalcanal. Our guess was only a few hours off; in mid-afternoon bursting bombs and a sky full of flak announced their arrival. Rising-Sun bombers attacked our ships in the roads, without hit ting any. Several were shot down. An hour and a half later the Japs attacked again, with dive bomb ers this time. They hit one of our destroyers. Two Japs more were shot down. That first day our advance was slow. There were no contacts with the enemy, for their whereabouts was unknown (we later learned they had scurried to the hills) and the thick tall grass and deep feed ers of the Ilu river made a cau tious advance imperative. At 1600 headquarters arrived on the shore and set up a command post in a palm grove south of the east branch of the Ilu. There we biv ouacked for the night. On the second day, August 8, the marines . on Guadalcanal pushed westward to take pos session of the big new airfield which the Japs had obligingly built for us and to occupy and defend the area around Lunga Point No resistance until one group reached Kukum. There, south of the area occupied by the marines, they ran into snip ers and machine-guns in dug outs manned by Japanese. The area was quickly mopped up, but nightly Jap patrols slip into our lines. It became apparent after the first day that the Jap forces in the Lunga area had run to the hills when the American on slaught began on August 7. As we moved into their camps we found evidence that they had left in a' hurry. Meals were still on the table, personal gear was tossed in all directions, valuable equip ment was left intact Ammunition dumps, pompoms, artillery, fuel, radio equipment trucks, cars,- re frigerating equipment road roll ers, electric power plant rail were found just as the Japs had set them up and used them, except for the damage done by naval gunfire and bombing. A fine air pert, with a, runway 1400 yards long already completed, waa, al most ready to receive planes. At noon on the eighth our vis itors in the sky returned, this time bent on a daring raid. As our transports dispersed .out to the open sea the Jap bombers came in. Almost skifuning the waves they lunged in among the transports and cargo ships. I was watching from the beach of Guad alcanal and saw the big bombers burst into flamse as they ran into murderous anti-aircraft fire from the ships. One, two,' three then I lost count in the confusion of the battle. Some ran the gaunt let of ack-ack and headed for the open sea, only to fall prey to our navy fighters darting at them from high above. We heard that 40 bombers had started on their mission; we heard that few re turned to their base. Certainly their losses were enormous. In their suicidal raid over the strait they hit one of our transports. The Japs' second attempt to dis rupt our operation had failed mis erably. ' ' The night of August 8 was one i ' f! CIVILIANS' NEW WAR INJURY : POLICY COSTS $5.00 $5,000.00 death benefits .' '. . 1500.00 hospital, sine, doctor and medical and surgical expenses Available for every man, woman or child. . CHUCK J Li U INSURANCE "Oregon9 s Largest Upstate Agency9 Salem and MarsIiSsId -123 II. . Commercial - Salem - Dial 4400 0 m CHCT 1 ? LJ f alarms and excitement We learned later that fighting was still 1 continuing across the straits In the Tulagi area. In Guadalcanal it was a sleepless night for ether reasons.' First, the rains . came, in ; a drizzle, then la torrents. .The command , post had moved west and wo were bivouacked , beneath the . trees without tents. Everyone . sad his aear .was . thoroughly drenched. Trying to get a eat nap In ear paddles ef water we were aroused by a- thunderous "bombardment Out at sea to the west the . big guns spoke. Flasher ef light told ma that a naval battle was' la progress. VVe do not know yet the full story of that battle bat we do know' that the Jap ships were turned back ships which un doubtedly had ; slipped ; toward Guadalcanal and Tulagi to blast -us by night to sink our trans ports and supply ships and bom bard ear forces on land before we were,fallz dag- hs sad squar ed away. The Japs third deter mined attempt to' knock, as oat had failed., . After the sound of battle re ceded and we were bedding down again In our puddles, rumors flew thick that the Japs were attempt ing to land on the beach 200 yards north of the mam command post Flares dropped by Jap planes to mark Lunga Point gave a ring of truth to the alarm and in the blackness and rain our own landing boats had been mistaken for the enemy. The truth was learned before any damage was done. - Since then we have been dig ging in, scouting out enemy de tachments, potting the i pesky snipers one by one,- getting ready for anything that may come. A few Jap planes make us a daily visit about noon, but are of more interest as chronometers than as raiders. Eqemy subs pop up in the strait now and then and lob a few shells into. GuadalcanaL' In any case, their , periodic popping has become part of the accustom ed music of Guadalcanal and we pay little attention m: v f The marines have what they want and they mean to hold it - ' Our comrades in the Tulagi area have had a tough fight TheJaps there cut, off from escaperwell dug in, and strongly armed - fought from their fortresses to the last man. Brigadier. General jfril llam H. Rupert us, assistant com mander of our forces who direct ed the operation in that area, de scribed : the ; battle as "the most wonderful work we have, had In history.". Hundreds of . marines became heroes and veterans in the bitter fighting. - . .- t The honor of being- the .first te land in ' America's Pacific offensive fell te a company u der the command of Capt K. J. Crane. They. landed .on the west side ef a Florida island promon tory which overlooks the island fortress of Tulagi which the Raider battalion was to assault ' half an hew later. They met no opposition at this point, bat late in the day were to see Hme Uvely. actios , : V The first wave of 4the raider battalion, .under wmmand of Col Merritt Edson, hit the ' beach in K northwest end of TuhUCt It is a -hilly wooded area and'the marJ ines expected tougn going, mt Japs apparently expected no land ing, however; and offered no op position on the, beach. One man was lost by t sniper's bullet, the rest landed safely. Avoiding the trails along the shore which were commanded by steep cliffs, the raiders made their way along both sides of the central ridge of the little island, , pushing v through dense brush and woods. In two hours and a half they covered a mile and a half, from the beach . V uMitftMiKt: Then the shnnf. ing started.: Tb marines came up against a .strongly, defended hill where a concentration of macM- ine gun nests held them, up for an hour. The battle was-joined If short range, witn marines sneak Ingjup- on the nests of Japs con cealed In caves and crawling down the jrtep cliffs to. drop hand gren ade Into the cliff: holes. A com pany on the north side of .:the island pushed through strong op position awf-took the ridge. above the playing ground. - ; - ;f D c Our entire stock of summer merchandise reduced! Discontinued lines, broken lots, slightly soiled mer chandise and some featured items to give this event a real bang! Check this ad carefully it's chock full of values! Be here first thing Monday morning to take advantage of these smash bargains! - REDUCED! C0TT0II SHEERS All cotton sheer yardage reduced! Dimities, voiles, etc. 36" wide, colorfast REDUCED! PLAIN PIQUES Solid color piques of good quality. 36" wide colorfast Just a few bolts. REDUCED' THICK 'II'TUIII BAYOUS Spun rayons in solid colors. Ideal for blouses. 39" wide. REDUCED! SLUB BROADCLOTHS Finely mercerized slub broadcloths in plain colors. 36" wide, colorfast. REDUCED! SHEEB IIAIIISOOE Just two bolts left of this super value in sheer white nainsook. REDUCED! DAISY BELL CLOTH Pastel shades in mercerized Daisy Bell. Re duced to sell fast! REDUCED! HOKE TAFFETA A grand selection of colors to choose from at real bargain price. 39" . wide. REDUCED! BEIlBEIiG SHEERS Our entire stock of bemberg sheers must go at this unheard of low price-. 39" wide. REDUCED! SLIPPED SATHI Beautiful slipper satin. 39" wide in an assort ment of colors. FEATURED! yd, yd. yd. yd. yd. yd. yd. yi yd. BEDSPDEADS for Washable cotton crinkle spreads in generous double bed size. FEATURED! SOGAB LHIEBS R Washed, bleached and mangled. Featured I on the mezzanine floor. FEATURED! WHITE SHEET BLANKETS 70x90 Jumbo size snow white sheet blankets. Softly napped. MEZZANINE - Featured! Men's Suede 4.98 Durable knit cuffs, collar and bottoms., Here Is a real -value! Sizes 36 to 44. MAIN FLOOR REDUCED! IIEII'S SUITS 5 Only Sixes SS-37-3S 9 Only Sixes S7-3S-St These most go! II we have m Rcdaeosti come higher prices. MAIN FLOOR REDUCED!) IIEII'S SUiniEB CAPS . . . . . FEATURED IIEII'S LT. WEIGHT T70BK PAIITS 139 FEATURED' 8-0Z. CAIIAVS GLOVES . 2 pr. for 25 c FEATURED' IIEII'S COTTOII T70BK SOX 2 pr. for 25 C FEATURED! IIEII'S POPLHI WORK SHIBTS . . 1.19 FEATURED! IIEII'S OXHIDE BIB OVERALLS . . 1.19 ' ' FEATURED! IIEII'S DnESS SLACKS ,. . . . . 2.98 REDUCED! HEaTS 1IECKTIES . . . 44c and 88c ' FEATURED! ' UOIIEirS DAYOII HOSE ... . . 25 c FEATURED! ffOIIEII'S COTTOII HOSE a . . 25c FEATURED' T70IIEII'S t HISSES' ANKLETS . . 10 c FEATURED! Uonen's Hew Fall Fabric Gloves v 59 C " ', '"""" ': FEATURED! ...... v ' - y T70IlB.ITnfiY0nOTl . v. 29c I7CIIEirS BGO ADCL0TI1: SUPS 39c 1 MAIN FLOOR REDUCED! Women's Sheer RAYOir BLOUSES The entire stock of summer sheers must go. Some sheer coitons included. ? REDUCED! Women's Sheer ., COTTOII DRESSES All cotton sheers reduced to this one low Penney price. Broken sizes. v Women's Novelty ? TEA APROIIS Novelty styles ia trimmed and plain types. Colorfast. REDUCED! Pastel Shades! nonEii's Tunmuis Our entire stock of summer turbans re duced to this price I REDUCED! Wnmon'o - . : II wuivm a ... v M I Women's slack suits grouped at these three value prices. Tan, rose, gold. REDUCED! REDUCED! LAI1P SHADES Washable acetate rayon shades. Xarge and medium sixes In pastel colors. DOWNSTAIRS u STORE T' Boiler Ore effea .I . . Better dresses reduced to clear. If we have your size you have a bargain. j SXCOND FLOOR .50 ; REpUCED -VCbtton Print " E3ousecoaSs . ill Zipper and wrap styles in all sixes at this real bargain price, nnrry! ' . SECOND FLOOR REDUCED! Rayon Poplins. Sizes 2 to V ' v .REDUCED! BOYS' SPOIIT SETS Short' sleeve shirts, with matching trousers. REDUCED! ' Boys' Sharkslrin Panls Light tan rayon sharkskins just a few pair left. Sizes 10 to 16. REDUCED! BOYS' SPORT SHIRTS Summer fabrics in short sleeve models. Broken lots and sizes. - . f-r;-,,V '-'--REDUCED! -. - - A Juvehile Goal & Cap Scis ( nrf la a real value ! Coats with cans to nr and Here is a real value! Coats with caps to match. Sizes 1 to 6. - v.' ; r - , REDUCED!, : Deady-lo-IIang Drapes $0.44 $0.44 $71.44 Lined with good quality sa- tJ XJ si teen and ready to hang. A real value. FEATURED! " RUFFLED PRISCILLAS 41 Wide and 2 'J yds. long in crisp cushion dot marquisettes! Ruffled! . REDUCED! FRAIIED PICT0RES Framed and glass covered for only 77c Good . scenes. . .v a . . REDUCED! CLOTHES -BASKETS .... . " ... . ..... -n ' Made of good maple splints. Good roomy size. REDUCED! ; ' GDETOIHIES -1 7je' aTISBAVaTtafta k T1 ltr-Atftawl 4 a AflU aj,Jam' - J v . tvaaaaca aag &avwvw v vivaa uu WIUC mmA Isssl vCL. A a a t ' 1 A2SSUXliaCllii VsSAAaM IT
