Almost no Marine of the U.S. 1st Marine Division stationed on Guadalcanal — an island 90 miles long and 25 miles wide in the Solomons Archipelago of the South Pacific Ocean — had experienced combat before stepping onto the island. The struggle, which had settled into a repetitive daily pattern since Aug. 10, 1942, had set the Marines on edge.

Stultifying heat and humidity enveloped the men in constant sweat while swarms of insects of biblical proportions greedily feasted on the men, who themselves felt the undeniable gnawing of hunger. Dysentery and malaria were rampant, so much so that one Marine recalled, writes historian Ian Toll, “It was so bad and so prevalent that a solid bowel movement was a cause for rejoicing.”

This huge crater was caused by a 100 lb. bomb the Japanese dropped o

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