D-Day quote
USAFAUX2004
Active member
wait, i am confused. how does it relate to d-day?
Charge 7
Master Gunner
At one time invasion days were all refered to as "D-Day" and the invasion time being called "H-Hour". After Normandy in June of 1944 it was judged so significant that it became _the_ "D-Day" and all subsequent invasions were only refered to by the time as "H-Hour". This is probably the root of your confusion. Guadalcanal having started in August of 1942 obviously predates Normandy and so was likely refered to as "D-Day".
Incidently, my dad was part of the first wave at Guadalcanal. He kept Henderson Field from being lost along with alot of other leathernecks. I once asked my old man when he was most afraid in WWII. He said it was on Guadalcanal when the Japanese sank three of our cruisers off Savo Island and the Navy pulled out lock stock and barrel and left the Marines all alone. He said he and a buddy sat down on a sea chest and watched the ships all leave. They sat there and cried their eyes out because they thought they would all soon be dead. He was just 18. It was rough alright but the fact that I'm typing this says of course that he made it through that and many more battles. My father had told me also of how he had been buried by sand kicked up from the shells of IJS Kirishima when it shelled Henderson Field. The Japanese battleship sent out 14" shells that I always imagined must have been devastating to be under. Last Fall while watching the History Channel they had a show on about Guadalcanal and had quite a bit of footage from it. When they got to the part about the Kirishima they actually had footage of the bombardment and there among the men running for their lives was my old man! I recognized him instantly. No way I could fail to note that stance. Before my eyes I saw my father "flower potted". The chill I felt is beyond words. I don't have to tell those that have served what that means but for the benefit of those that haven't "Flower potting" means that the shell was so powerful it kicked upwards in the explosion such that a column of dirt resembling a flower pot comes up. If you are close enough to the "flower pot" you will survive as the explosion's force cascades around you.
Incidently, my dad was part of the first wave at Guadalcanal. He kept Henderson Field from being lost along with alot of other leathernecks. I once asked my old man when he was most afraid in WWII. He said it was on Guadalcanal when the Japanese sank three of our cruisers off Savo Island and the Navy pulled out lock stock and barrel and left the Marines all alone. He said he and a buddy sat down on a sea chest and watched the ships all leave. They sat there and cried their eyes out because they thought they would all soon be dead. He was just 18. It was rough alright but the fact that I'm typing this says of course that he made it through that and many more battles. My father had told me also of how he had been buried by sand kicked up from the shells of IJS Kirishima when it shelled Henderson Field. The Japanese battleship sent out 14" shells that I always imagined must have been devastating to be under. Last Fall while watching the History Channel they had a show on about Guadalcanal and had quite a bit of footage from it. When they got to the part about the Kirishima they actually had footage of the bombardment and there among the men running for their lives was my old man! I recognized him instantly. No way I could fail to note that stance. Before my eyes I saw my father "flower potted". The chill I felt is beyond words. I don't have to tell those that have served what that means but for the benefit of those that haven't "Flower potting" means that the shell was so powerful it kicked upwards in the explosion such that a column of dirt resembling a flower pot comes up. If you are close enough to the "flower pot" you will survive as the explosion's force cascades around you.
03USMC
Active member
It's the last stanza from a doggrel written by a Marine on Guadalcanal called "The 'Canal". The rest describes why Guadalcanal was also called Starvation Island by the Marines who served there.
Any Marine who came thru that campaign deserves alot of respect. Most were not only malnourished but afflicted with malaria and other tropical illness's.
The battles fought on Guadalcanal are still Marine Corps legend. Edsons Ridge/Bloody Ridge, Alligator Creek, The Tenaru.
My uncle the oldest brother of my father was KIA on Tulagi Island across the channel from Guadalcanal on D+3. by a "dead" Japanese solider.
Any Marine who came thru that campaign deserves alot of respect. Most were not only malnourished but afflicted with malaria and other tropical illness's.
The battles fought on Guadalcanal are still Marine Corps legend. Edsons Ridge/Bloody Ridge, Alligator Creek, The Tenaru.
My uncle the oldest brother of my father was KIA on Tulagi Island across the channel from Guadalcanal on D+3. by a "dead" Japanese solider.