Guadalcanal Diary (1943) - full transcript

Today, Sunday July 26th 1942,

is a peaceful, lazy day of rest

here on our transport

somewhere in the South Pacific.

And very pleasant it is too, here in the

beautiful white sunshine of the port deck

with the blue panel of the sea to watch

and a good song rising clear.

Where Father Donnelly, Notre Dame 1917,

all-American fullback for two years,

now simply Chaplain Donnelly,

is working the second shift.

Say, Sammy, your voice is OK.

Why not? My father was

a cantor in the synagogue.

We're on the signal bridge, where

Colonel Grayson and his staff are relaxing,

as contented as if seated on their front

porches of a Sunday morning back home.

What a way to travel to war.

I wish we had the funnies.

So we could see if Mammy Yokum

got the termites out of the turnip patch.

However the favourite occupation,

as usual, is shooting the breeze.

Exchanging scuttlebutt.

Boy, I'd sure like to be back home,

sailing me a boat on Chesapeake Bay.

If I was back home I wouldn't be on no boat.

If I was back in Laredo

I'd go and see my Conchita.

- Maybe Lolita.

- Well, make up your mind.

All right, Conchita.

And Lolita.

Ebbets Field, that's for me.

Watching them beautiful Bums.

Bums is right.

- Just leading the league.

- Oh, sure. That league.

Got any dough which says

the Yanks will take us in the Series?

The Dodgers ain't even in it yet.

What good'll dough do where you're going?

- How do you know where we're going?

- Oh, pipe down.

Besides, I don't care

if I never see any more dough again.

Of course, you monkeys understand

I'm talking about Confederate dough.

Say, ain't you a war correspondent?

- That's right.

- Put my name in the paper.

The funny paper.

- Sure. What is it?

- Johnny Anderson.

You can call him Chicken.

He's just sprouting his pinfeathers.

A certain party I know

will get a kick out of that.

You know your mother

don't let you go out with no dames.

Pipe down, will you?

I got him.

Sweepers, man your brooms.

Clean sweep-down fore and aft.

Pleasant too to stretch out

in the calm tropical night

with the lapping of the waves

beating a soft, faint obbligato to our song.

They're a great bunch of kids, Father.

- They'll do all right.

- Mm-hm.

Any news yet as to where we're headed?

Even the colonel doesn't know that.

So then I says "Listen,

do you think what I'm thinking?"

She gives me one of them looks

and says "Yeah."

That's a tomato every time.

- Writing to that babe of yours?

- Why not?

- Some doll, huh?

- Yeah, she's a real hunk of woman.

- And she don't give me no arguments either.

- She don't, huh?

You know, I had me a dame like that once.

But so did a lot of other guys.

- Good night, Chicken.

- Good night, Taxi.

OK, boys.

Come on, come on.

Cut out the skylarking. Hit the sack.

Lights out, one minute.

Hey, Sergeant.

Do you know yet what we're up to?

Oh, the same old thing - manoeuvres.

Don't say I told you.

Up and down landing nets,

in and out of boats - I'm getting tired of this.

The way you looked at Onslow Beach

you could stand plenty of practice.

One of these days we're gonna

run up against the real thing.

- Hey, Tex.

- Yeah.

- Hot, ain't it?

- Yeah.

Hotter than a Texas cattle car in August.

- So you think it's hot, do you?

- Yeah.

How would you like

a nice tall glass of ice-cold beer?

Beer. Strictly a middle-class beverage.

The last time I was in Brooklyn

it was just such a night as this.

We was having cocktails.

The old lady brought them in,

I took one taste, and boy, what a kick.

- You know what she did?

- What?

She took 'em out and

put in another slug of gin.

- What a sweet old lady.

- Yeah.

- Well, good night, Taxi.

- Good night.

Yes, this has been a peaceful, lazy day of rest

almost everywhere on the ship.

Despite the fact that tomorrow or the next day

we'll know where we're headed.

Where possibly we may be wounded or die

on some Japanese beachhead.

- What's going on?

- I don't know.

- Where'd they come from?

- Look at 'em.

Is that a task force for ya!

How many are there?

Must be about a thousand.

- So we're out on manoeuvres, eh?

- My eye. Looks like the real McCoy.

- Where's Jordan? He'll know the answer.

- Jordan, come here.

Give us the lowdown. What are they?

The Pepsi-Cola. The Illuscious.

- Boy, that's a heap of 'em.

- Now if we only knew where we were going.

Looks like we mean business, Colonel.

It's a cheerful thought to be going into this

with all this power and force behind us.

- What's this coming?

- That's the FCPL.

They got a civilian with them.

How do you do, Mr Weatherby?

I'm Colonel Grayson.

- Dispatches, sir.

- Well, now maybe we'll find out something.

- Tokyo?

- Could be.

Gentlemen, we're going to attack

the Japanese strongholds

on Guadalcanal and Tulagi

in the Solomon Islands.

Guadalcanal?

The Navy and Coast Guard will put us ashore.

Once established, our objective is an airfield

which the enemy has almost completed.

Mr Weatherby, who has supervised

a copra plantation there,

will tell you some of the difficulties

you may expect to encounter.

Well, fellas, this is

a detailed map of Guadalcanal.

After crossing the beach

you'll have to penetrate a field of grass

from four to six feet high - and it's

good stuff for the Japs to hide in too.

"Headquarters, fifth regiment, first marine

division, fleet marine force, 26th July 1942."

"From Colonel Wallace E Grayson, USMC,

to all members of this command."

"Subject: mission of this force."

"The coming action marks the first offensive

involving ground forces of the US."

- "The marines are to initiate this action..."

- Ain't it always the way?

"...which will prove the forerunner of

successive offensive actions

that will end in ultimate victory

for our cause."

And all we have to do to prove it

is to get shot at.

- "We have worked hard for this action..."

- He's telling us.

"...and I have every confidence in our ability

and desire to force our will upon the enemy."

- He took the words right out of my mouth.

- "We meet a tough and wily opponent."

"But he is not sufficiently tough or wily

to overcome us, because we are marines."

- Now you're talking.

- "Each of us has a task."

"Let each vow to perform it

to the utmost of his ability,

with added effort for good measure."

"Good luck and God bless you.

God favours the bold and strong of heart."

Wallace E Grayson.

- Very well done, Hook.

- Thank you, Brother Potts.

If I'd only gone to high school...

Hey, what is this?

"Annexe E to general order

number 3, paragraph D."

"Burial."

"Graves will be suitably marked.

All bodies will wear identification tags."

Most of you have never had any experience in

the jungle before and the Japs have. Plenty.

keep your mouths shut.

Stop yelling your head off.

We can beat 'em at their own game of silence

if we try, but... you know how marines are.

Some dope'll yell "Hey, mac.

Is that C company over there?"

It isn't funny. Don't laugh.

If any of you run over

to see if C company is over there,

what kind of chow C company's having,

you're liable to end up chow yourself.

Honourable bullet, take honourable death

of honourable Japanese.

Keep an eye out for snipers all the time.

See a bunch of bananas in a coconut tree,

shoot 'em down. That makes sense, don't it?

Hey, wait a minute.

This ain't government issue.

No, that's Flatbush issue.

If it'll make the Japs happy to die for

their emperor, I'll try to make 'em happy.

Going to take the island all by yourself?

That would cause no surprise

in certain circles in Brooklyn.

And one more thing.

Watch out for booby traps.

Don't go round picking up anything

the Japs leave laying around.

What if you promised

a certain party a souvenir?

Just forget about it. You're liable to find

it'll blow right up in your kisser.

If you see any.45 with

a beautiful pearl handle, leave it lay.

- The most beautiful pearl in the world?

- Hiya, Father.

- How many Japs they got on that island?

- Hard to say. Several thousand.

- Any natives?

- About 16,000.

- Uh... cannibals?

- No, I believe they're strict vegetarians.

But then of course

they've never tasted marine meat.

Don't worry. Perhaps we'll land on Friday.

- Well, Chick, looks like it won't be long now.

- Looks that way.

- Tomorrow morning maybe, eh?

- Maybe.

Hey, Taxi, what time is it

back home now anyway?

- How many hours' difference is there?

- 19 between here and San Francisco.

And three more to home.

But I never can tell which way it is.

That's the trouble with me too. I can never tell

whether it's yesterday or tomorrow.

- Would you like to hold him a while?

- Sure.

- Take it easy, boy. I'll see you later, kid.

- Yeah, so long.

- Getting bald?

- It's beginning to look that way.

- How will Edith like that?

- She won't.

By the way, if you need any hair restorer

I have an ample supply. A going-away gift.

What do you suppose

they're doing about now?

Sleeping, I hope.

Quite a difference to the days

when I sat in your class

and listened to you propound

the great philosophies of the world.

I don't know. Philosophy might

come in pretty handy these days.

Jim. How do you feel?

Scared?

I suppose so.

I try to look at it as just ajob, like selling

a big order when there's sales resistance.

Funny that we two should end up like this.

The first two companies in.

- Three to one says my outfit lands first.

- Three coconuts to two says you don't.

Good.

It's odd we haven't been attacked

by a submarine. Surely they spotted us.

Yes, it is rather odd.

Couldn't be a trap, could it?

By the way, we ought to be there by morning.

I hear the zero hour should be about 6.20.

Approximately.

I'd say the landing would be nearer 8.30.

- Better not go ashore with the first wave.

- And why not?

That's when I'll be needed the most, isn't it?

I guess I'd better look down below

and see if anybody's got the jitters.

Friday August 7th, 1942.

The day for which we've trained so long.

The day of landing.

There's none of the gaiety and song

which filled the few preceding days.

Every nerve taut.

Perhaps this is because the thing

that's happening seems like a dream.

Here and there a man wets his lips.

Breathing is a little harder.

Waiting, eyes strained.

Field glasses pointing toward that high,

irregular mass lying beyond the water.

Toward Guadalcanal.

Well, there she is.

We must have almost passed their batteries.

- Either it's a trick or they're awful dumb.

- If it works out, it'll make a swell story.

Let's not think of it any other way.

It's got to work.

- Well, Sarge, looks like this is it.

- Yeah.

Unbuckle your chin straps

and your cartridge belts.

This ain't no turkey shoot. Make 'em all count.

Don't worry, Sarge. I will.

- Well, Sarge, looks like this is it.

- Yeah.

- What they handing you?

- Something till they put up the galleys.

Biscuit, sugar, soluble coffee

and meat and vegetable stew.

Sounds just like Thanksgiving, huh?

Thanksgiving!

Sorry we're not going in the same boat.

No use putting all of our eggs in one basket.

Funny how we can stand here preparing

to force a landing on the enemy shore

and act as if it were

the most normal thing in the world.

Yes, it is rather.

You know, Sarge,

times like these make me wish

I was back in Brooklyn.

Driving my cab

and keeping an eye on them Bums.

When the Yanks get another crack at them

they'll take 'em apart.

I should live so long!

Hey, what am I saying?

- Good luck.

- Same to you.

Hey, look. Our planes.

Heads down below the gunwales.

That ought to knock out any machine-gun

nests or any artillery emplacements.

Hit the deck.

Watch every tree.

- What's up?

- I thought I saw a Jap in that tree.

You're learning fast. Better to waste

ammunition than take any chances.

I'm all wore out

landing against such heavy fire.

- Don't worry. We'll hear from them yet.

- So far so good.

I hope it isn't a trap.

The second wave's coming in.

Captain Davis.

- Captain Davis!

- Aye-aye, sir.

- Any sign of the enemy?

- I think they're hiding in the hills.

Push right on, but be careful.

- How about those coconuts you owe me?

- I thought it was a photo finish.

- You moving up?

- No.

Colonel Grayson wants me to hold

this village until the MPs move in.

- They sure must have left here in a hurry.

- Yeah.

Wasteful, I calls it.

- Hook, there's somebody in there.

- Where?

Watch out, kid.

Ah, for the love of...

Give me a cigarette.

- Since when did you start smoking?

- I'm starting right now.

Come on.

Easy through the door, fellas. That's it.

- Hey, what are you going to do with that?

- Sleep in it, I hope.

Just what I needed for Saturday night.

- I wonder what the Japs use it for?

- I wouldn't know.

I got me a case of Jap beer.

Hey, Bowman.

Caviar. I thought these monkeys

lived on fish heads and rice.

Yes. It's hardly the primitive diet

on which they're supposed to subsist.

- Tastes good too.

- Provided, of course, it isn't poisoned.

If nothing happens to you, let me know.

Gangway!

- Gangway!

- Padre, where'd you get the bike?

- Hey, where did you get it?

- Plenty more where this came from.

Must be a couple of hundred Jap trucks there.

No telling how many radios, guns.

I guess we really caught them

with their pants down.

That's one way of putting it.

But from the reports from Tulagi,

I'm not so sure they did over there.

Where's me helmet?

Hey, Hook. This is it.

- It's only three monkeys on a rope.

- Pretty small, eh?

Ugly, ain't they?

Hey, Snow White,

where's the rest of the Seven Dwarves?

Hart, Schaffner and Marx.

We found them under a bush.

We thought it was a trap and let them have it.

A couple of them got away.

- Are these the monkeys we're fighting?

- No, these are labourers.

We can't get much out of them, sir.

This lingo they talk.

They keep pointing to the hills.

I guess that's where the rest of them went.

- Are they praying?

- They think we're going to shoot them.

Corpsman.

Fix 'em up.

Arigato.

We ain't got no avocados.

Let's get going.

Turn these prisoners over to the MP.

There's the airfield.

They appear to have moved out,

so we'll move in.

Potts, Anderson.

This flag belonged to Lieutenant Snall.

He carried it all the way through China.

He's had a heart attack.

It's his ambition to see his flag

flying over captured territory.

- Run it up.

- Aye-aye, sir.

Maybe we should have waited.

Let the Japs finish it up.

Ahh, I bet there ain't a Jap

within ten miles of here.

Hit the deck.

Where's me helmet?

Corpsman.

Corpsman.

- Is he dead?

- Yeah, he's dead.

Amen.

May God have mercy on his soul.

Yes, he is dead. And now we know

that not all the enemy have fled.

That in the jungle surrounding us

men are lurking.

Silent, dangerous, with weapons.

How many? Where are they hiding?

How grave is the danger?

No man can say.

We'll have to wait and watch in the rain.

Each man with his own thoughts,

caught and held in the grip of unseen danger.

And into the night too, with only

the drip of the rain through the palms

and distant thunder of naval guns in our ears.

Knowing that if our people lose the battle,

the enemy will be ashore before morning

and we'll have to fight for our lives.

Suddenly most of us know

the awful feeling of being pitifully small.

Know for a moment that we're only tiny

particles caught up in the whirlpool of war,

the terror and power and magnificence of

man-made thunder making that point real.

And so, wet, miserable and sleepless,

at the mercy of great forces

more powerful than anything human,

we face the first night of occupation.

- The Navy isn't doing much sleeping either.

- Not from the sound of that firing.

- Suppose they'll come in here and shell us?

- Could be.

Help!

It's a Jap. He's got me. Help!

Help!

- What is it?

- A Jap.

I'm asleep there.

A Jap jumped out of a tree with a knife.

Tojo himself.

All right, pipe down. Shove off.

Honest, Sarge.

I could have sworn I felt his buck teeth.

Here's your first Jap prisoner.

Who's there?

Who's there?

Jap snipers?

What's the matter out here?

I heard something. I thought it was a Jap.

Knock off that shooting at every shadow.

These men are trying to get some sleep.

- Next time, go after him with your bayonet.

- Aye-aye, sir.

Right through the back.

Hiding up in the trees like apes...

Why don't they come out

in the open and fight?

There you are, Father.

In his pell-mell retreat, the enemy

has not even destroyed his equipment.

Already we are converting it to our own use.

Constructing runways, erecting hangars,

setting up defences against the day

when we'll have our own air support.

Knowing that until that day comes

we've but one course to follow-

to dig in and wait.

Come on, Taxi, step it up. Dig in, will you?

Maybe if we dig deep

we'll come up at Ebbets Field.

Sure. I'm practically standing on

second base right now.

We lost four cruisers last night off Savo.

We beat them off, though, but good.

- And our casualties in Tulagi and Gavutu?

- Heavy. The Japs fought to the last man.

- How many did we get, sir?

- About 400 on Tulagi. 800 on Gavutu.

We took them by surprise.

Knocked them off like ducks.

Any way of getting our stories out?

There's a navy plane scheduled in.

I'll see if I can get them aboard.

Thank you, sir.

The first hectic days are over,

but we have not been idle.

Day and night our patrols have been out,

pushing deeper and deeper into the jungle.

Catching occasional glimpses of the enemy.

Waiting, eager and expectant,

for our first contact with the Jap.

The Japs have been parachuting them

inside our lines.

They need supplies.

Bring these men into my camp.

Lieutenant, you can read this. What's it say?

Listen to this.

"The enemy before your eyes is collapsing."

Look, I'm collapsing.

Wait, listen. "A relief landing party is near."

- What did I tell you?

- Go ahead. I'm frightened.

"We are convinced of help

from the imperial heaven."

Only God's children go to heaven.

Listen. "Respect yourself. By no means

run away from the encampment."

It make Tojo very unhappy.

"The enemy has suffered enormous losses."

"All transports have been sunk and

his choicest troops have been annihilated."

- I guess we're dead and we don't know it.

- We must be. How about that, Padre?

If we are, at least we're not

in imperial heaven.

If we ain't, it ain't the cook's fault.

- Sergeant.

- Yes, sir?

- Ask Captain Davis to come here.

- He's in the sickbay. A touch of cat fever.

Anything I can do?

These natives tell me there's a big bunch

of Japs at a village five miles from here.

The prisoner thinks they'll surrender.

Seems they haven't any food

and most are without weapons.

Take a patrol and see what it's all about.

- But don't take any chances.

- Yes, sir. It'll be a pleasure.

I suggest you go by boat and stay far enough

off so they can't snipe at you from shore.

- Malone.

- Yes, sir.

Take this fella down to sickbay

and get him fixed up. He's a friend of ours.

The hair on them guys!

What a spot for a mattress factory.

Captain Cross, can I go with you?

I know the woods pretty good.

- Sure. I'm glad to have you, Alvarez.

- Thank you, sir.

Aren't you the lucky stiff?

Lying here with a pretty nurse waiting on you

while I'm off hunting Japs.

If there's any hunting of Japs to be done,

I'm going to be in on it.

No, you go right ahead and goldbrick.

I'll do your dirty work for you.

Our first crack at the enemy.

Not just hiding in foxholes as he flies over,

taking cover every five minutes, shaking

our fists at something we can't even see.

At Matanikau there are Japs.

Men of flesh and blood like ourselves.

We will see them face to face.

And as Captain Cross has put it,

it'll be a pleasure.

Hey, Captain, look.

He's moving away from us.

He's spotted us. He's turning this way.

- Let's turn back.

- No, he'll head us off.

- We can't make it.

- Coxswain, make a run for it.

Get your heads down.

- We may have to swim for it.

- Well, boys, it's been a great life.

If you want my opinion,

it's ending a little too soon.

Go alongside.

Those are our shore batteries.

They're on the target.

Certain that the sounds of firing

have revealed our presence,

Captain Cross has decided to wait for cover

of darkness before landing near Matanikau

despite the insistence of the Jap prisoner

that all will be well,

that his friends,

starving and without weapons,

are waiting in the village eager to surrender.

Turn back. We'll make our way back by land.

All right, men, dig in. Right on the beach.

- What are we digging in here for, Captain?

- I'm not taking any chances.

Let's have a look around.

We got to get back to the beach.

- Can you make it?

- Sure.

Hey, Corporal. There comes Captain Cross.

Cease firing.

Captain, what happened

to Lieutenant Thurmond?

I don't know.

Soose, go in and see if you can find him.

Aye-aye, sir.

I found Lieutenant Thurmond dead, sir.

We got to get word back

to Colonel Grayson we're in trouble.

- I want a volunteer.

- I'll take a crack at it, sir.

- All right, son. Go ahead.

- Aye-aye, sir.

Slowly the night is dragged through.

Somehow our men, even the wounded,

have managed to fight on

against an unseen enemy

whose perfidy and deceit are now all too clear,

hoping against hope that help would come.

But with the rising sun

the last hope fades.

Three men out of

the entire patrol remain alive.

The others, to many of whom Guadalcanal

was not even a name a few short months ago,

now lie dead in their shallow foxholes,

over which an indifferent sea

is already beginning to roll.

We'd better make a try for the palms.

OK, Captain.

We'd better go back to Matanikau.

This time we'll go in force. And for blood.

Yes, we're going back to Matanikau.

And this time for blood.

Men, boys, going into battle

for the first time in their lives.

Untried, new to the jungle.

High-school athletes,

grocers, clerks, taxi drivers.

Men with memories of friends

ambushed, tricked, slaughtered.

Those bayonets. I saw them.

I saw them.

Soose, they never knew it.

Better get that bar off your collar.

Don't want to go round inviting trouble.

Thanks, Captain.

- How you doing? Still trigger-happy?

- You'd better wait and ask the Japs.

Here.

- There you are.

- Thanks.

- Hey, Butch, you got a cigarette?

- Sure. Help yourself.

- Jap cigarettes.

- Half tobacco, half stinkweed.

Now I'll enjoy them more than ever.

I thought they were all stinkweed. Ew!

That's one for Captain Cross.

Dig in light for a mortar barrage in this area.

Colonel Grayson says to watch your fire.

Only fire toward the beach.

Some of our men are moving in below.

Pass the word along. They're not to fire

into the palm grove. Only toward the beach.

OK.

Pass the word.

Keep your heads down.

- Hey, Hook.

- Yeah.

How do you feel about killing... people?

It's kill or be killed, ain't it?

Besides, those ain't people.

- Yeah, I know, but the first time?

- Well, it was kind of rugged I guess.

Then it's just repetition.

Quit thinking about it. You'll go crazy.

Hey, look.

- That's for me.

- Wait. You nuts?

All we ever shoot at is privates.

That's a major.

You got enough to think about without going

for souvenirs. And keep your head down.

Stay here.

- Yeah, Tex?

- You see what I see?

Oh, yeah.

- Are you Sergeant York or Gary Cooper?

- They were good too.

Scratch one squint-eye.

Hook.

- Hook.

- What the?

- Hook.

- Yeah, take it easy.

Corpsman.

Corpsman!

I thought he was dead.

Yeah, I know.

- Hook, am I going to?

- Nah. You'll be all right.

Beautiful sword.

I promised a certain party...

Yeah, I know.

It ain't possible.

We gotta get outta here.

Think you can walk?

I guess so.

Hold it. I'll lift you up.

OK.

- Hook. The sword.

- Yeah, I know. You promised it.

Look, I'll go back and get the sword for you.

You will? Thanks.

I'll get you a couple of Japs to put on it too.

- There's an ambulance. Can you make it?

- Yeah.

- Hook, what time is it?

- Told you to save your breath.

I mean, back home.

I never thought this would happen to me.

What time is it, Hook?

Where's the doctor? Doctor!

Yes.

Corpsman, plasma.

- You'd better get back. I'll watch out for him.

- Thanks, Father.

The Battle of Matanikau is over.

And this war of mighty armies, of masses

of men, of tank and plane and armour,

has been just an episode, a skirmish.

A few score men killed or wounded.

But the enemy has been defeated, almost

wiped out, and one thing we've learned.

Colonel Grayson was right-

it's not going to be a picnic.

The first emotion, elation, is gone.

Veterans now, blooded

bush-fighting specialists,

their bravado gone, or at least subdued,

with a new respect for the Japs.

Weary, silent, stunned.

Men with glazed eyes holding their sides.

Limping along, shock-blast victims,

staggering, sometimes falling,

the only sound an occasional groan.

Moving like drunken men or men in a dream.

Heads, legs bandaged, clothes torn.

Unlit cigarettes dangling from their lips.

Old before their times.

Boys with the memory of death in their eyes.

Staring, remembering friends

they've left back there.

- You know what them monkeys say?

- Nah.

They didn't even know

they was on Guadalcanal.

As for them killing themselves

rather than get caught,

I saw a couple of these skivvies

making a motion to commit hari-kari.

Did they break out in grins

when nobody tossed them a knife.

- I ain't got no use for this one.

- Mail.

- Mail.

- Mail.

Yahoo! Mail.

Come and get it.

- Dubosky.

- Here.

- Jensen.

- Coming up.

- Malone.

- That's me.

Gimme that, will you?

Captain Cross.

- I'll take it.

- Here's two more, sir.

- Father Donnelly.

- Here.

- Bibles.

- It's heavier than that. More like a cake.

- Harold Grayson.

- How about Aloysius T Potts?

Take it easy. We'll get around to you.

Mcllvoy.

Mcllvoy.

Oh, that's me.

"Querido Jes?s."

"Aqu? tengo tu retrato cerca..."

Conchita or Lolita?

Margarita.

From the Flatbush Athletic Club.

"Are you keeping fit in these difficult days?

You owe it to yourself to exercise regularly."

"Course in body-building, $25."

- It'll be a bargain.

- Yeah.

Yeah, I know. She's some hunk of woman.

And she don't give you no arguments either.

Hey, fellas, I'm a mother. Her name

is Geraldine. She's three months old.

He got up too soon.

Now, boys, I want you

to study these. Diligently.

Thank you, Father.

Now maybe we can find out how we're doing.

From dear Mom - and no bills.

I wonder if Edith knows yet.

- What's that?

- My future publisher. Book Of The Month.

- What have you got?

- Long Remember.

- What's it about?

- The Battle of Gettysburg.

- You know. Gettysburg Address.

- Gettysburg Address?

Where Lincoln lived. Civil War, remember?

You mean the war they had

in Gone With The Wind. Boy, that was a war.

That's all.

Oop, one more.

- Dubosky.

- Hey, that's another one for me.

Are you sure there's nothing for me?

Sammy Klein?

Sorry, Sammy, that's all there is.

They wrote to you. Itjust missed the boat.

You know how mail is.

Let's go, mac.

Hey, Sammy.

Come here. I want you to read this.

"From the future Mrs Malone."

She must be some dame

if you want to marry her.

The trouble with you guys is

you never met a lady. Go on, read it.

What makes you think I can read?

- Taxi, how's about lending me that razor?

- What for?

I must have lost mine coming ashore.

Let me see.

Right there.

Oh, yeah.

- Hey, Tex, Soose, fellas.

- Cut it out, Taxi.

We got to investigate this. Come over here.

- Look, a whisker.

- Where?

Right there.

You can see it with the naked eye.

- Think we ought to shave it off?

- Let's leave it and see what it turns into.

- Kind of cute, ain't it?

- Ow!

- Say, Hook.

- Yeah.

- Look what I found. Limes.

- Oh, boy.

If I only had some ice, soda water,

cherries and a bottle of gin,

would I make you a Tom Collins.

- You know I'm just fooling, Father.

- That's all right, son.

But if you find those ingredients,

drop around.

Condition red.

Here we go again.

Condition red.

- Condition red.

- Sui.

Douse the fire.

- Where's me helmet?

- Sui.

Here, boy. Here, Sui. Come on, boy.

There they are.

Here they come.

Hit the deck.

Father Donnelly.

- He's been hit.

- You'll be all right. It's concussion.

Don't burrow in so deep.

Next time, cushion yourself on your elbows.

Wait till our planes get here.

They won't look so pretty.

Yeah, but where are our planes?

Today is a red-letter day on the island.

Reinforcements are coming in.

The army. And coming

not a day too soon either,

for we are tired after days of heat and rain,

dust and disease, mud and malnutrition.

Weeks of constant fighting,

watching the enemy slipping more and more

men ashore from Bougainville and Rabaul.

The target of his bombers and Zeros,

against whom we're lucky to put up

a mere six or seven Grummans.

Is it any wonder the welcome sign is out?

I never thought I'd be so glad to see

an army man. My name's Anderson.

Boy, am I glad to see you guys.

You're a sight for sore eyes.

Say, buddy, how many Japs you killed?

Quiet. Confidentially, that's a military secret.

Thought you'd be in foxholes on the beach.

This place looks great.

It does, huh? Well, give it time, brother.

The beauty will wear off.

- Where you from?

- Minnesota.

- I'm from Flatbush.

- Never heard of it.

What am I laughing at?

Every enemy thrust on our airfield so far

has been beaten off.

His ships have been sunk,

his dead are numbered in hundreds.

But the Jap is a persistent foe.

Now he is holed up in the caves on the island,

from which vantage spots

he is a constant menace to our patrols.

He must be driven out, and to Colonel

Grayson and his men has fallen the task.

Nor is it going to be an easy one.

These rocky ledges and great natural caves

afford excellent positions,

from which his machine guns

can sweep the countryside.

The men behind those

machine guns are fanatics.

They'll die at their posts, some chained

to their weapons, rather than surrender.

One by one they must be

blasted from the earth that hides them.

- What do you think, Hook?

- I think it's a trick.

There are probably 30 or 40 in each cave.

We've got to get them out of there.

- Malone, you and Potts know the ropes.

- I knew it.

Get above those caves and use grenades.

We'll cover you, OK?

- Yeah, sure.

- OK, mac.

Take some of those pineapples.

- All set, Sarge?

- Yeah.

Davis's idea.

He says it'll blow the place to pieces.

Let me have it.

This gasoline and TNT ought to do the trick.

And now for the world of sports.

All right, pipe down.

The Yanks'll murder them guys.

- Aloysius T Potts talking for the Yanks?

- New York's my hometown, ain't it?

Since when did Flatbush

become part of New York?

Who said anything about Flatbush being

part of New York? It's just vicey-versey.

Sportsman's Park at St Louis

was packed with 34,255 wild-eyed fans

as the Cards and the Yanks tangled

in the second game of the World Series.

On the mound for the New York Yanks

was Ernie Bonham.

Well, that settles it.

The Cards sent their 23-year-old rookie out

in a surprise move to even the Series.

- Come on, you Redbirds.

- Give us the score, will you?

Dazzling fielding marked every inning,

but it was not until the eighth,

with the score tied one to one,

that the fans got the real thrills.

Will you give us the score?

Jim Brown and Terry Moore

proved to be easy outs,

but Enos Slaughter

caught one of Bonham's fast ones

and slammed a scorching liner to right field

and slid into second base for a double.

- I knew he could do it.

- Think nothing of it.

Take it easy, Ernie boy.

Make every one count.

Roy Cullenbine, confused by the Redbirds

earlier on, made a perfect throw to the bag.

Attaboy.

- But Phil Rizzuto let the ball slip through.

- Tag the bum out.

While he was trying to locate it,

Slaughter dashed safely for third.

- I was expecting that.

- He isn't home yet.

Stan Musial worked Bonham for a 2-3 pitch.

And then, with the home crowd

yelling for a hit, he...

- And the final score...

- You can't do that. Give us the score.

Wait. Shh.

And that's the way the game ended.

Condition red. Condition red.

Condition red. Condition red.

Condition red.

Don, condition red.

First time I've ever had a tree in bed with me.

I don't mind the one with my name on it. It's

the "To whom it may concern" I don't like.

They're throwing everything at us

but the kitchen stove.

That's the stove now.

- Here, take a puff.

- No, thanks.

Sure makes you feel kind of naked.

Nothing between you and kingdom come

except coconut logs.

It isn't so much dying.

It's having to sit here and take it.

Anybody who says he ain't scared

is a fool or a liar.

- Is there any room in here?

- Come on in.

Sit over here, Father.

- Those sound like eight-inch shells to me.

- Bigger than that, I imagine.

There's a report of a couple of battleships

and about eight cruisers off Savo Island.

- How's it going up there?

- OK.

You know, they've got

some great navy doctors here.

When this started

they were in the midst of an operation.

Had to go on or the kid would have died.

Think they ran off and left him?

Not those boys.

- How do you know, Padre? Were you there?

- Who, me? Well, naturally I had to stay.

- Hey, that was a bomb.

- Yes, their planes are busy too.

They're pasting Henderson Field.

Father, you got any objections

if I say what I'm thinking?

Go right ahead, son. Don't mind me.

Well, I don't know about

these other guys, but me, well...

I'm telling you, this thing is over my head.

It's going to take somebody

bigger than me to handle it.

I ain't much at this praying business.

My old lady always took care of that.

Yeah, my old lady was like that too.

I don't know as I mean that kind of praying.

The Lord's Prayer and things like that.

I know what you're talking about, Taxi.

I used to pray like that when I was a kid.

"Lord, give me this, give me that.

Please let the Yanks win."

I never been in a spot

like this before in my life.

I'm no hero. I'm just a guy.

I come out here because

somebody had to come.

I don't want no medals.

I just want to get this thing over with.

I'm just like everybody else,

and I'm telling you I don't like it.

Except I guess

there's nothing I can do about it.

I can't tell them bombs

to hit somewhere else.

Like I said before, it's up to somebody

bigger than me, bigger than anybody.

What I mean is I...

I guess it's up to God.

And I'm not kidding when I say

I sure hope he knows how I feel.

I'm not going to say

I'm sorry for everything I've done.

When you're scared like this, the first thing

you do is start trying to square things.

If I get out of this alive, I'll probably go out

and do the same things all over again.

The only thing I know is

I didn't ask to get in this spot.

And if we get it -

and it sure looks that way now -

then I only hope he figures we've done

the best we could and lets it go at that.

Maybe this is a funny kind of praying to you

guys, but it's what I'm thinking and praying.

- Amen.

- Amen.

Seeing your friends hurt and killed

is not a thing you can easily forget.

True, we have killed four, five,

six or even ten for every man we've lost.

That's statistics. But I find it very difficult

to think of these boys as statistics.

They were just Joe and Jim,

Bill and Whiz and Alabam to us.

God rest their souls.

Here they come again.

Hey, wait a minute.

Those ain't Japs. Those are ours.

That's our air support.

Thank God. At last.

- Our planes, Taxi.

- Yeah, our planes.

But what's this? More reinforcements?

More marines coming ashore?

Kids full of big talk, itching for a fight.

Just like us a few months ago.

Hey, they got one of them here too.

"USO headquarters. Big dance tonight.

All marine and navy personnel invited."

I get it, Spike. FHA project 782.

Hey, good-looking,

how's the female situation?

- The which?

- The love life, stupid.

What is this love life

the gentleman's talking about?

Never heard of it. Must be some strange

custom they have back in the States.

You're killing you, ain't you?

Don't look now, but a truck of gas

just came on the field.

Maybe they can stop dishing it out

with an eyedropper.

Perhaps we'll get out of here by Christmas.

But which Christmas?

- What, no sheeps' tongues?

- No sheeps' tongues.

Hey, Taxi, now maybe

we'll get three meals a day.

Must be some mistake. This tastes OK.

I don't like it, boy. When these luxuries start

coming it means us marines has got to go.

- Hot.

- Oh.

- What's up?

- Your guess is as good as mine.

You can bet one thing.

We're not getting all that stuff for nothing.

We've learned not to underestimate them.

We know now they won't surrender.

We also know they aren't supermen either.

We outshoot them, we outfight them

and we usually outguess them.

It's taken us a while to get rid of our

cockiness, but I think we're ready now.

Here's the enemy, with strong points

stretching all the way through here.

About 10,000, as near as we can determine.

They've been building up their forces.

The terrain's in their favour.

There's jungles and rivers and up here, caves,

like those on Tulagi, in which they holed in

in the first days of our invasion.

Don't make the mistake of underrating them.

They're good. But we're better.

So far we've been on the defensive.

We've done very well at

Matanikau, Tenaru and Bloody Ridge.

But our ultimate success requires

that we extend the area we occupy.

To do this we have three jobs.

to eliminate the Japs

already on the island.

to wipe out their heavy artillery,

which is a constant menace to our airfields.

to establish new bases from which to

carry the fight to other enemy strongholds.

This will require an all-out effort,

and I can think of no better date

to begin it than tomorrow.

November 10th, the 167th

anniversary of the Marine Corps.

Tomorrow, the battle.

But tonight, the last night

for many of us perhaps,

there are other things to think of, to do.

A song. One we used to sing

of an evening back home -

Bill and Joe and the rest of the gang.

Home. Most of all, home.

Things that are never

very far from our thoughts.

That a letter managed somehow

to bring closer to us, even here.

Little things that may give us

the courage to face that tomorrow.

These boys are perfectly wonderful.

Makes me proud to serve with them.

If the other millions they're training

at home are anything like these,

then we have nothing to worry about.

Dear Mom. I'm fine and I hope

you and Dad are not worrying,

because everything's OK - no kidding.

Well, girly, I bet you never expected

to hear from me again.

But ha-ha! I fooled you.

Because when a gentleman like I tells

a lady like you something, that's something.

They say that if we clean them out this time

they'll take us out of here for a rest.

That means I might see you

for Christmas after all.

And I mean see.

- All set, Malone?

- Aye-aye, sir.

- Tell the men to fall in.

- Aye-aye, sir.

All right, you guys. Fall in!

Come on. On the double.

Left face.

Forward march.

At last the great offensive is under way,

an offensive this time in force.

This will not be the last fight for Guadalcanal,

but it is the beginning of the end.

Of that there can be no doubt.

And how the picture has changed.

The difficult early days, the critical days,

from August 7th when we landed

through October 26th when reinforcements

and supplies began to pile ashore,

those grave days are past.

No longer are we to be content

merely to hold what we have.

With the army at our side we are out to get the

Jap, to give him a dose of his own medicine.

To make Henderson Field, our first objective

on the island, a real offensive base

from which to strike closer and closer

to the heart of the Japanese octopus.

The plan is very simple.

Three detachments -

one by the shore road,

one by boat and a third through the jungle.

Those who go by shore

will fight a holding action.

Those who go by boat will land far to the west

and attack the enemy in the rear.

The main action on the Jap positions

will come from the jungle.

And what of the men who are now advancing?

Those sorely tried marines

who fought so gallantly in the first days,

and who are now proceeding to the grim

business of taking the fight to the enemy.

The long-awaited day

of all-out action is at hand.

Gone now is the loud

surface toughness of last summer.

In its place is the cool, quiet fortitude

that comes only with battle experience.

There is to be but one command.

Attack, attack and attack.

Ain't that General Vandegrift

with Colonel Grayson?

Yeah.

- Don't he know it's dangerous up here?

- Why don't you go tell him?

Hey, Jap. You forgot something.

You forgot something. Funny.

That's one you taught me, Tojo.

Today, December 10th 1942,

will be our last day on the island.

The job is done. We are going out.

It's from Admiral WF Halsey,

commander of the South Pacific force.

"Never throughout

the history of the Marine Corps

have your deeds been surpassed."

"Your courage and tenacity

make for a fighting spirit

that has surmounted every hardship

and conquered a treacherous enemy."

"No commander could ask more than you

have given each hour of the day and night."

"By your accomplishments you have added

a new verse to the Marine Hymn,

set the pattern for our victory and tower

as an inspiration for every American."

"Today as never before

we the Navy are justly proud of you."

"In deep appreciation for ajob superbly done,

and knowing you will win until victory,

we say 'God bless you all."'

Yes, going out for a well-earned rest,

the job superbly done.

The army is coming in to take over.

Into their hands we commit the job with

full confidence in their ability to perform it.

Oh, boy. A whisker, finally.

- Hey, buddy, what's it like out here?

- It's pretty rugged, son.

- See you guys in Tokyo.

- OK. We'll be there waiting for you.

Paul Sofer

ENGLISH SDH