Their big guns. We have nothing to counter them. Our 155mm's sailed off with the Navy the day we landed. Goddamn the Navy!
9. HEAVY RAIN RENDERED FIGHTER STRIP NUMBER ONE INOPERABLE, AND RAIN PLUS DAMAGE FROM
JAPANESE HEAVY ARTILLERY RENDERED HENDERSON FIELD RUNWAYS INOPERABLE DURING MORNING. LIMITED US AIR ACTIVITY AFTER 1345.
Well, at least Pick wasn't there!
10. INTENSITY OF JAPANESE AIR ACTIVITY DURING AFTERNOON 25OCT42 SUGGESTED BY ROUGH NOTES
OF LT COL L.C. MERILLAT, FOLLOWING:
1423-CONDITION RED. 16 JAP BOMBERS AT 20000 FT,
FIVE MILES
1430-INTENSE BOMBING OF KUKUM BEACH
1434-1 BOMBER SHOT DOWN, REMAINDER LEAVING
1435-1 BOMBER HAS PORT MOTOR SHOT OUT
1436-2 ZERO SHOT DOWN OVER HENDERSON
1442-ANOTHER JAP FORMATION APPROACHING
1451-1 ZERO SHOT DOWN
1456-HENDERSON STRAFED BY THREE ZEROS
1502-NINE ZEKES BOMB HENDERSON AIRCRAFT
GRAVEYARD
1507-HENDERSON STRAFED BY SIX ZEROS
1516-CONDITION GREEN
Thank God, Pick wasn't there. I wonder where he is.
11. AT APPROXIMATELY 2000 25OCT42, LIGHT (105-MM AND SMALLER) JAPANESE ARTILLERY BAR
RAGE COMMENCED ON NOW SEPARATE POSITIONS OF 1/7 AND 3/164 USA AND CONTINUED INTERMITTENTLY UNTIL 2100.
The standard artillery "softening up" barrage. How the hell did the Japanese move that much ammunition over that terrain? The most one man can carry is one 105mm shell at a time. For that matter, how did they get their cannon in position?
12. AT 2100 25OCT42 SMALL JAPANESE ATTACKS, IN STRENGTH OF 30 TO 200, UNDER MACHINEGUN
COVER COMMENCED PRIMARILY AGAINST 3/164 USA AND CONTINUED UNTIL APPROXIMATELY 2400. 37-MM CANNON OF WEAPONS COMPANY, 7TH MARINES KILLED AT LEAST 250 OF THE ENEMY WITH CANISTER AT CLOSE RANGE. NO SIGNIFICANT PENETRATION OF US LINES OCCURRED.
Jesus, you have to give the Japs credit for tenacity! They kept attacking for three hours! Did they know they were attacking soldiers and not Marines? Sure, they did. They have good scouts, too. They knew what they were doing. And the Army fooled them. It cost the Japs 250 men to learn that this wasn't the Philippines; that if they haven't been starved and they have ammunition to fight with, American soldiers, American National Guardsmen, are not a pushover.
13. AT APPROXIMATELY 0300 26OCT42, JAPANESE STRUCK IN FORCE AT LINES OF 2ND BN 7TH MARINES (LT COL HANNEKAN) WITH MAJOR EFFORT AT F COMPANY 2/7TH, WHICH WAS FORCED TO TEMPORARILY WITHDRAW AT 0500.
"Temporarily withdraw" is a euphemism. Maybe it wasn't a retreat, but Fox company certainly got pushed out of their positions.
14. A COUNTER ATTACK WAS LAUNCHED UNDER EXEC OFF 2/7TH (MAJ O.M. CONELY). TROOPS CONSISTED OF RADIOMEN, MESSMEN, BANDSMEN, WHO WERE JOINED BY ELEMENTS OF COMPANY G AND 2 PLATOONS OF COMPANY C, 1/5TH MARINES. AMONG PARTICIPANTS WAS PLATOON SERGEANT MITCHELL PAIGE, USMC, WHO IS BEING RECOMMENDED FOR MEDAL OF HONOR FOR VALOR IN ACTION DESCRIBED IN 13 ABOVE. .
Conely apparently rounded up everybody who could hold a rifle-cooks and hornplayers and stragglers and the lost-and sounded charge.
I wonder what the sergeant actually did to get his name in this? The British call that sort of thing "mentioned in despatches. " We don't normally do it. Sergeant Paige must be one incredible Marine!
15. BY APPROXIMATELY 0600 THE SITUATION WAS WELL IN HAND, WITH ALL POSITIONS LOST IN US
HANDS. APPROXIMATELY 300 JAPANESE BODIES WERE FOUND IN AREA OF F COMPANY 2/7TH.
Jesus, what amounted to less than a company of Marines- dragged up on the battlefield and just told to go out and fight- killed 300 Japs!
16. BY APPROXIMATELY 0800, SIGNIFICANT JAPANESE ACTIVITY HAD CEASED.
17. JAPANESE LOSSES ARE ESTIMATED AT APPROXIMATELY TWO THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED (2200) KIA.
Sonofabitch! Twenty-two hundred dead. Six companies... a battalion and a half... dead! But what did it cost us? Here it is:
18. US LOSSES: USMC AND USA ESTIMATED TOTAL
105 KIA, 242 WIA, 7 MIA AS FOLLOWS:
A. FIELD GRADE OFFICER KIA FOUR (4)
B. FIELD GRADE OFFICER WIA THREE (3)
C. COMPANY GRADE OFFICER KIA TWELVE (12)
D. COMPANY GRADE OFFICER WIA SIXTEEN (16)
E. ENLISTED KIA EIGHTY-NINE (89)
F. ENLISTED WIA TWO HUNDRED FIFTEEN (215)
G. MISSING IN ACTION: SEVEN (7)
H. HENDERSON FIELD IS OPERABLE; FIGHTER STRIP MINIMALLY SO.
I.
VANDEGRIFT MAJ GEN USMC COMMANDING
=SECRET=
Jesus Christ, the Japanese took a whipping! Almost ten to one! How do they get their men to keep fighting when they're taking losses like that?
Pickering looked up from the After-Action Report to find MacArthur's eyes on him.
"You said something about an interesting MAGIC intercept, Fleming?"
"I have it here," Pickering said, then took several folded-together sheets of paper from the right bellows pocket of his blouse.
MacArthur chuckled, and Pickering looked at him.
"Pluto and Lieutenant Whatsisname, the one who was wounded..."
"Moore, Sir," Pickering furnished.
"... the one who limps. When they arrive with a MAGIC, they normally come not only armed to the teeth but with the MAGICs in a briefcase chained to their wrists. You are a delightfully informal fellow, Fleming."
"My aide, Sir, is in your outer office-armed to the teeth and with the briefcase chained to his wrist. That is known, I believe, as delegation of responsibility."
MacArthur's face froze.
Watch your mouth, Pickering. You may think El Supremo is more than a little pompous, but El Supremo thinks of himself as The Supreme Commander. One does not say anything to The Supreme Commander that he might possibly interpret as insolent.
After almost visibly making up his mind, MacArthur apparently decided the humor was neither out of place nor disrespectful. He laughed.
"Pay attention, Willoughby," he said. "I think we can all learn something from the Marines."
"General," Willoughby replied, "I'm fully aware that General Pickering can be quite ruthless as far as security is concerned."
Christ! That can't be anything but a reference to Ellen Feller. God, let's not open that bag of worms!
MacArthur looked at Willoughby, curiosity on his face.
"I think that is expected of someone with his responsibilities," MacArthur said finally. "He is also very tenacious, bringing up again and again a subject he knows I would rather he didn't. I find both characteristics admirable, in their way." He met Pickering's eyes. "You were about to tell me about the intercept."
I have just had my wrist slapped. I've been told he doesn't want to hear me try to sell Donovan's people to him again. But he didn't ask Willoughby what he meant. Or does he already know about Ellen Feller?
"Sir, there's a Japanese Naval officer that the people at CINCPAC and Pluto have been keeping track of-Commander Tadakae Ohmae, an intelligence officer."
"What about him?" MacArthur asked impatiently.
"He's apparently on Guadalcanal. Just after midnight last night, he sent a radio to Tokyo, using Japanese 17th Army facilities. It was addressed to the Intelligence Officer of their Navy. Pluto and I think it's significant; CINCPAC doesn't."