The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, a multi-day battle that might see greater than 1,700 Individuals killed, started on today in historical past, Nov. 12, 1942.
Guadalcanal is the most important island within the Solomon Islands, a rustic situated within the Pacific Ocean northeast of Australia and east of Papua New Guinea.
The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal got here a number of months into the prolonged navy marketing campaign on the island, and featured intense, heavy fights that noticed massive quantities of casualties on either side.
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The preventing that started on Nov. 12 was “arguably essentially the most unorganized and chaotic naval battle of World Conflict II,” in line with the web site for The Nationwide WWII Museum.
The assault started with Japanese plane launching an assault on the American ships on Nov. 12, and continued on each the air and sea till Nov. 15.
The Battle of the Solomon Islands, photographed by the united statesPresident Adams off the coast of Guadalcanal, Nov. 12, 1942. (CORBIS/Corbis by way of Getty Photos)
The American forces discovered themselves outnumbered and outmaneuvered by the Japanese navy, mentioned the museum.
Regardless of these disadvantages, in addition to “many errors,” the American forces “gave a great accounting of themselves, forcing the Japanese to desert their mission of attacking Henderson Discipline,” mentioned the museum’s web site.
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As Henderson Discipline was not captured by the Japanese, the Individuals have been in a position to launch plane that might assault the Japanese ships the day after the preliminary assault.
The American plane sank the already broken Japanese battleship Hiei, a serious strategic victory, mentioned The Nationwide WWII Museum.
The Hiei was the primary Japanese battleship to be sunk throughout the battle.
Rear Admiral Daniel Callaghan, left, and Rear Admiral Norman Scott, proper, have been each killed throughout the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Each have been posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. (U.S. Navy)
The Japanese would ultimately lose one other battleship, the Kirishima, along with a heavy cruiser, three destroyers and plenty of different transports, mentioned the web site for the U.S. Navy.
Whereas the battle was thought of a strategic victory for the Individuals, the victory got here at a value.
The American Navy misplaced two mild cruisers — the “Atlanta” and “Juneau” — plus seven destroyers.
Rear Admiral Daniel Judson Callaghan was killed aboard the united statesSan Francisco; Rear Admiral Regular Scott was killed on the united statesAtlanta.
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Each have been posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his or her actions throughout the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, says the Congressional Medal of Honor Society web site.
However maybe essentially the most well-known casualties of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal have been the 5 Sullivan brothers of Waterloo, Iowa.
The lack of 5 brothers marked the “greatest blow to anybody household in U.S. wartime historical past,” the Navy’s web site signifies.
The lack of 5 brothers marked the “greatest blow to anybody household in U.S. wartime historical past.”
As close-knit siblings, the 5 Sullivan brothers — George, 27; Francis, 26; Joseph, 24; Madison, 23; and Albert, 20 — had requested that the Navy hold them collectively, regardless of coverage that said they need to be separated.
Each George Sullivan and Francis Sullivan had already served within the Navy and have been discharged a yr earlier than their deaths. But they opted to re-enlist after their good pal was killed within the Pearl Harbor assault.
The 5 Sullivan brothers (left to proper) — Joseph, Francis, Albert, Madison and George — all served on the united statesJuneau, a lightweight cruiser sunk throughout the Battle of Guadalcanal, Nov. 1942. All 5 brothers perished within the sinking. (Workplace of Conflict Data/Interim Archives/Getty Photos)
All 5 brothers have been killed whereas stationed aboard the united statesJuneau, an Atlanta-class mild cruiser.
The united statesJuneau was torpedoed and sank on Nov. 13, killing all however 10 of her crew.
Initially, the united statesJuneau was “severely broken” by a torpedo on Nov. 12, says the web site for the U.S. Navy. The subsequent day, she was hit once more.
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“The next morning, the crippled cruiser, down by the bow and struggling to make 18 knots, retired from the battle space,” mentioned the U.S. Navy.
“Dealing with sluggishly as she limped by the glassy-calm sea, Juneau was a straightforward goal for the close by Japanese submarine I-26. A torpedo strike hit the broken cruiser and detonated her magazines,” they mentioned.
Thomas and Alleta Sullivan acquired 5 posthumous Purple Hearts, one for every of the sons they misplaced throughout the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, from Admiral Clark H. Woodward. (Bettmann Archive/Getty Photos)
The ship sank in simply 42 seconds. No less than three of the Sullivan brothers have been killed immediately; stories differ as to when the ultimate two brothers perished.
The devastating lack of the Sullivan brothers, together with equally tragic tales of a number of siblings dying in battle, prompted the U.S. navy to ultimately undertake the “Sole Survivor Coverage.”
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The coverage “supplies a peacetime exemption from task to a fight zone to anybody whose dad or mum or sibling was killed in motion, died within the line of obligation, or dies later on account of illness or damage incurred within the line of obligation whereas serving within the Armed Forces of the US,” say the web site for the U.S. Marines.
The surviving Sullivan household was lauded for its bravery amid the lack of their sons and brothers, and acquired letters of condolences from each President Franklin Roosevelt and Pope Pius XII, mentioned the Des Moines Register.
Their story was made right into a film — and there have been two naval ships named “The Sullivans” of their honor.
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