Customer Reviews

On the Canal: The Marines of L-3-5 on Guadalcanal, 1942 (Stackpole Military History Series)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Unlike other books I've read on the Guadalcanal campaign, this book is unique in that it covers the battle from the perspective of the individual marines who fought and died in their "spider-holes." Like Ambrose's BAND OF BROTHERS, the stories help one understand how battle and war forge unbreakable life-long bonds of friendship amongst soldiers on the company, platoon and squad levels. Fought in the most primitive of circumstances, with little food, ammo, or basic necessities, these marines made a stand that turned out to be a critical turning point in the War in the Pacific. Marion recounts the fierce fighting that took place, as well as the more mundane and humorous aspects of life as a common marine trying to survive this hell-hole. It's filled with the usual grousing about rear echelon officers and navy brass that give it an authentic feel.

This book is a must read for those interested in World War 11 history. It is a true story as told by M.Sgt.Ore J. Marion, USMC, of the retaking of Guadalcanal from the Japanese, a pivotal battle. Beyond that all Americans should read it because it clearly relates the horror of war.

"On the Canal" is a day-to-day accounting of a company of Marines who were deserted by the Navy after being dropped off on this jungle island on August 7, 1942. They were left without reinforcements, ammunition, medical supples, clothing and most of all food. After they exhausted their food supply, they existed on rice filled with maggots. By late September their clothes were rags, they all suffered from malaria or diarrhea, and they were physically weakened from lack of food and sleep. The battle stories in the newspapers never mentioned the conditions the Marines existed under.

Marion tells about the bonding between the Marines and how they knew each other so well that they instinctively knew every other man's moves whether on patrol or in battle. They knew very well that their lives depended upon each other and they all suffered from the terrible loss of comrades in batle.

They were also at times subjected to the actions or lack of action of an imcompetent officer whose decisions could lead to deadly consequences. In spite of all this their morale remained high and they never lost their determination to succeed. And succeed they did four months later.

We read and hear daily about our troop in Afghanistan and Iraq but we know little about their daily life. Hopefully there has been improvements over the last 62 years but as the Marines on Guadalcanal quickly discovered, in war, the best laid plans can quickly go awry.

Marion, of Italian background, joined the Marines in 1940 and was a squad leader when Guadalcanal came around. By the end of the campaign he was a sergeant commanding L Company of the 5th Marine Regiment's 3rd Battalion. He later fought on Iwo Jima and ended up spending 30 years in the Corps but this book is about his time on Guadalcanal. The Cuddihy's are his nephews and they provide a useful summary of the campaign and a postscript regarding Marion's death in 2003.

Marion was very much in the thick of things. He is a rifleman and is always in the front line. He is involved in one major battle and several other actions, including a bayonet charge. He makes the reality of battle quite clear in terms of its swirling nature and there is some vivid stuff. He writes of casualties and the tension but for the most part he only writes generally of his personal actions during actual fighting. There is a lot on being bombed and shelled and the ongoing difficulties involving getting sufficient supplies. Indeed, it is amazing that the Marines made it through. Marion is quite critical of the navy for leaving them in such a position but he also saw a lot of US ships sunk too. He notes they were all so young the enormity of it all was lost on them. They put up with things because they didn't know any better.

One thing that is clear is the small size of the beachhead. He runs into General Vandegrift on several occasions. He is present at the sacking of the 2nd Battalions Col Maxwell and sees the remains of the Goettge patrol - even though officially they were never found. He also comes across islander girls who had been sexually mutilated by the Japanese. This is one of many things that influences his very hard attitude towards the Japanese. There is also some blunt soldier language. So it is not sanitized. You get a good picture of a marine of the times.

Following his Marine service, Marion steered clear of Guadalcanal. It was only much later that he began to reconnect with it and became a bit of a student of the campaign. His book is partly used to set the record straight and is based in part on writing he did for the veteran's publication `Guadalcanal Echoes'. It is also a lot about his comrades and he includes some snippets that some of the survivors contributed. These are fairly brief, it remains Marion's story but they do flesh the combat action out a little more. Marion includes a few chapters at the end dealing with associated things like Pistol Pete but also his service on Iwo. Here he was with the 5th Division, commanding the demolition section of the 5th Pioneer Battalion. He writes that while Guadalcanal was 4 months of privation and misery, Iwo was a nasty lethal blur. Aside from coming across the dead John Basilone, his friend, he claims to recall little else. Perhaps, like with that bayonet charge on `the Canal' he has managed to forget the truly horrific things. Even so the ommision of such specifics has cost a star, as combat is the focus of my reviews (see my list for where it sits compared to many other Pacific War memoirs). What he has recalled and committed to paper here is still fairly extensive and interesting. Marion gives a clear picture of the difficulties of the campaign and a clearer one on the magnificence of those who served there with him. Recommended

This book provides an interesting, first-hand account of the battle of Guadalcanal. Written by Ore J. Marion, a member of L Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment (L-3-5), this book gives the reader a perspective of what it was like to fight the Japanese on Guadalcanal from someone who was there.

The time frame of the book focuses on the period from August through December, 1942. The Army relieved the Marines in December. The main reason for the Americans' desire to capture Guadalcanal was the fact that the Japanese were constructing an airfield from which they could threaten American supply routes. During the initial landings in August, 1942, the American forces encountered only light Japanese resistance, and the airfield was soon captured from the Japanese. However, this was only the beginning of a six-month long struggle in which both sides would lose many men, ships, and aircraft. The Japanese continued to reinforce the island, while initially, the Americans had difficulty keeping the men supplied with food and ammunition. Several naval battles occurred during the campaign, and the waters around Guadalcanal became known as Ironbottom Sound.

The men on both sides suffered from disease, hunger, and low supplies. While the American men were hungry, the men of the Japanese army were starving. Despite these facts, both sides continued to fight. The Americans eventually were able to turn the tide, and the island was secured in February, 1943.

I've always enjoyed reading first-hand accounts of combat in World War II, and author Ore Marion does a good job of describing what the fighting on Guadalcanal was really like. I do believe that he spent a little too much time complaining about the U.S fleet departing early and "abandoning" himself and the other Marines. The fact is that the Japanese scored a major naval victory by sinking 4 Allied heavy cruisers just days after the American landings. Feeling that the transports and other ships could suffer the same fate, the American commanders made the unpopular but probably correct decision to move their ships to safety. Granted, all of the supplies were not unloaded, but the men did manage to sustain and eventually defeat the Japanese.

I enjoyed reading this book to get a first-had account of the fighting on Guadalcanal. Although I didn't totally agree with the author's beliefs, I still found the book to be enjoyable and informative. Recommended for readers interested in learning about the Guadalcanal campaign.

My grampa ed wrote this book. I REALLY recemened this book from peaple that like to read about world war 2, although the book is sad. (well of course its sad)I never met my uncle ore (my dads, moms, brother) even though i was born 1995 and he died 2003..... even though war is a terrible thing.... this book is very good.

A fast moving, exciting personal narrative of a US Marine during the initial invasion of Guadacanal. Abandoned by the US Navy, the Marine forces faced a much superior army and only through pure guts and determination, became the victor in the end. As the number of WWII vets become fewer and fewer each year, Stackpole is doing the world a service by recording their memories. 'On the Canal' won't give you the big picture view of the key battle, indeed, for most of the time the only thing the author was 100% sure of was what was directly in front of his fox hole. Still, the book delivers something greater.

This was a gripping, fascinating read. I read this immediately after reading Eugene B. Sledge's _With the Old Breed_ (also very highly recommended) and it was hard not to compare the two. Unlike _Old Breed_, _On the Canal_ is a series of essays (many of which originally appeared in the "Guadalcanal Echoes" newsletter). This is occasionally confusing since the book goes back and forth in time quite a bit as a result. Also unlike Sledge's book, Marion's recollections are occurring well after the fact. As a result, you don't get so much of the wild-eyed awe of youth, but instead get a lot more of an adult's understanding of what he did as a kid. Whereas _Old Breed_ is almost always serious and traumatic (also very possibly the result of Peleliu and Okinawa being bloodier than Guadalcanal), _On the Canal_ is often humorous, though serious enough when necessary.

This book is a great way to get to know Guadalcanal from the POV of a rifle platoon Marine. I'm very happy it got put together.