Customer Reviews

Guadalcanal: The U.S. Marines in World War II: A Pictorial Tribute

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Book Review

Eric Hammel, St. Paul, MN: Zenith Press, 2007, 160 pp. Maps, Glossary, Bib., Index. $34.95.

Hammel has written some excellent books covering the war in the British Solomon Islands and in particular on the big island of Guadalcanal Yet this work is different as it a pictorial history or photo study of war on that sun baked island, but it is also provides a brief narrative history. The work also covers the outer-islands of Tulagi, Tanambogo, Gavutu and Florida, but not to the extent of his photo examples of Guadalcanal.

His previous pictorial book, Bloody Tarawa, also a narrative history with 250 photographs, is a great addition of the pictorial history of war on another deadly island, another excellent book.

Yet, the Guadalcanal book is better for one reason. His Chinese printer used a better grade of paper than on Eric's Tarawa work with the result in that the photographs are much sharper. Hammel's photo collection is probably the best private assemblage of photographs from the campaign; most of his photographs came from the files of the National Archives, the Marine Corps Historical Branch or the Marine Corps University. Many I had never seen before as even though I have studied the Solomon campaigns for 45 years, and I have many Guadalcanal photographs in my own collection that do not appear in Hammel's hardback.

2d Lt. Thayer Soule an experienced photographer was the chief photographer of the 1st Marine Division and was assigned to D-2 Section (Intelligence); he landed on Guadalcanal on D-Day. Lt. Soule is credited with have taken many of the early photographs. (See Thayer Soule, Shooting The Pacific War) He had two of his still photographers, Privates Robert Howard and Edward A. Sexton assigned to the assault units for still camera work. Ed Sexton to the 2d Battalion, 5th Marines, for the invasion of Tulagi, and Bob Howard for the landing at Gavutu with the Paramarines. Sexton got some fine shots of the Tulagi Campaign, but Howard was too busy on Gavutu to take photographs; he was too busy trying to stay alive. The first eight hours on Gavutu, the Chutes had 50% causalities.

On the third page he shows four marines carrying a man on the stretcher, but no caption. I'll provide the details. They are all from Company A, 1st Battalion, 6th Marines. The photo was taken in a coconut grove near Tassafonga Point on 28 January 1943. On the stretcher was wounded Lt. Baine P. Kerr; in the left front was Cpl. Berndt, left rear, Plt/Sgt. Joseph A. Cado, right rear, Pvt. Barkowski, and right front Cpl. Herman Burks.

On page 29, he had the caption wrong, it reads ..."mounted light machine gun overlooks a likely landing beach in southwestern Tulagi." No way ! That gun was on Gavutu Island, and the photo was taken in the spring of 1942 by Lac. Cliff Searle with the RAAF. On page 32, he lists 12 Japanese POWs as "Imperial Navy infantrymen were taken prisoner during the two day battle of Tulagi" There were only four combatants who were taken prisoner from that battle, the others were laborers from the construction units.

The photograph on the last page "Here lies a devil dog" was not taken at Guadalcanal, but on Bougainville Island.

These are simple mistakes, but are not a distraction. The book itself is a gem and it is highly recommended.

Stanley C. Jersey, author, Hell's Islands: The Untold Story of Guadalcanal

This volume contains just about every picture taken of the campaign. A must have for serious historians of the battle.

The six-month Guadalcanal campaign was the longest operation the U.S. Marines faced in the pacific, and many books have been written by participants and reporters alike. GUADALCANAL: THE U.S. MARINES IN WORLD WAR II is a pictorial tribute: this means a collection of unusual vintage photos, many of which have never before seen print - paired with critically acclaimed military historian Eric Hammel's expert analysis. This unique combination makes for a choice pick not just for military libraries but for general-interest holdings which would make at least one such visual tribute accessible to the public eye rather than specialty examination alone.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

An excellent book about the pivotal point in the US crusade across the pacific. An easy read with excellent pictures makes this great for the weekend historian. It was a book you should have. Great pictures that I have not seen before.

However Amazon's service is something to be desired. The books were obviously effected by some type of moisture and then trying to get them to take it back at their expense was a huge hassle. I would strongly suggest using some other company to buy your books from.

Spent a spellbinding couple of hours going over this volume with a Marine sergeant who was there. He was astounded at the photos: he'd never seen them, many he never knew were taken. He was even able to point to a group photo, with him towering in the second row. He'd forgotten the photo, he'd forgotten the photographer. He remembered the place. An amazing tribute.

I have a number of this author's books. These focused books with excellent pictures provide very enjoyable reading and insight as to what these important battles were actually like. I would highly recommend this book.

This is an excellent collection of photographs from the Guadalcanal campaign. Since there weren't as many photographers as later campaigns, virtually all of the pictures are non-action shots. The photos cover a wide range: aerial shots, post-bombardment damage, destroyed tanks and fortifications, piles of dead bodies, various American and Japanese commanders and troops, and lots of photos of Henderson Field and its surroundings. Some of the post-battle photos are pretty graphic, but the overall quality of the photographs is really high. Many of the photographs are ones which I've not seen before, and I've read several books on Guadalcanal. The book also contains a nice amount of text covering the events and battles of the first few months of the campaign, but the primary focus of the book is the photographs. Another fine book on the U.S. Marines in World War II from author Eric Hammel and a definite "must-have" for anyone interested in the battle for Guadalcanal.

As with his beautiful coffee table book Iwo Jima, Hammel has written an excellent overview of the Guadalcanal campaign. The highlight of the book is of course the huge number of photos included, many never seen before. The only complaint I could possibly have with the volume is that it's a different size than the Iwo book. And that's simply picking nits...

A great pictoral history of our first offensive action of World war two that took place in August 1942 at a time when this countries resources were stretched very thinly, possible even dangerously thin. Our victory in that fight also set the pattern for the Marine Corps' actions
through the Pacific campaign through to the final surrender. I have a few old friends still alive who were there, and their stories are incredible. Semper FI!!