Nicole's Post

The Marines on Guadalcanal
JAMES SMITH, 1st Raider BattalionConverted for the Web from "Into The Rising Sun: In Their Own Words, World War II's Pacific Veterans Reveal the Heart of Combat" by Patrick K. O'Donnell

Jump to: The Marines on Guadalcanal John Sweeney, 1st Raider BattalionRobert Youngdeer of E-Company John Sweeney commands B-CompanyDave Taber at Bloody Ridge Ira Gilliand throwing grenadesJohn Mielke defends Henderson Field Tom Lyons, 1st Parachute Battalion"Horse Collar" James Smith Frank Guidone and the mortar squadDean Winters, 2nd Raider Battalion Ray Bauml on the Long Patrol
On September 27, the 1st Raider Battalion would help launch an attack near the mouth of the Matanikau River. Poor intelligence greatly underestimated the strength of the Japanese defenses facing them, turning the operation into a disaster. The Japanese halted the Raiders and 5th Marines' advance at the mouth of the river and nearly wiped out the amphibious landings by another Marine battalion at Point Cruz. Jim "Horse Collar" Smith recalls the battle.

We were on this narrow trail along the east side of the Matanikau River, a steep cliff on the other side. As we snaked up the side of the trail, a guy named Ed Mertz had a kidney stone. And here we are plastered alongside the trail with Japs on the other side of the river and this guy Mertz goes down screaming, clutching his gut. I remember thinking, "Oh, God, we are going to get it." It was just a little farther along there that C Company was just a little ahead of us. Ken Bailey [the battalion executive officer and Medal of Honor recipient for his actions on Bloody Ridge], with his runner right behind him, was dashing across a log footbridge, caught a Nambu [machine gun] between the eyes and went down. Can you imagine getting hit in the eyes with a machine gun. I would be so mad if something like that would have happened to me. I just couldn't imagine what was going through his head at the time -Nicole Pedone 3/26/09 2:11 PM You would probably be killed instantly. I don't know if "lucky" would describe living through it. -Christine Wright 3/27/09 8:59 AM
A little later in the day -- I guess we were still heading south -- Sam Griffith got shot in the shoulder at about 300 meters. That left us with a bunch of young 1st (who had just made 1st lieutenant), I would be so mad if I got left with a bunch of young lieutenants that didn't really know what they were doing and what was going to happen. I would want someone that knew what was going to happen and had more experience so that I knew what was going to happen and knew what they were in for. -Nicole Pedone 3/26/09 2:16 PM
Me too. Though a lot of these men were unexperienced and had little training. -Christine Wright 3/27/09 9:00 AM
and there was actually a discussion at the CP as to who was the senior officer. Edson was in a state of shock after Bailey was killed. It affected [Bailey's runner] more than anything else. He had been Major Bob Brown's runner until the ridge, and Brown was killed coming off the ridge. Someone said to him, "You must be a jinx, because this was the second major you lost." The poor kid became unglued. It was a terrible thing to say.

I remember when we pulled Bailey into the aid station in a poncho. Aid station [sigh] -- a couple of guys sitting on logs and doctors treating them. There was a kid by the name of Dobson who had been shot right in the groin. His face was absolutely dead white, you couldn't believe it.
I couldn't imagine seeing someone that was so pale looking. I wouldn't like to be in this kind of thing because I wouldn't want to do something like this and dying and pain. -Nicole Pedone 3/26/09 2:19 PM
Yeah, if you were shot in the groin you'd bleed out really quickly. It would be really hard to not break down while seeing someone dying. -Christine Wright 3/27/09 9:02 AMHe just sat there and held his stomach. Everybody knew he was going to die, and he knew he was going to die. I dont know what I'd do if I knew that everyone was going to die. -Nicole Pedone 3/27/09 11:27 AMNot a murmur out of him; talk about stoicism. He died shortly after that. He just slid off the log and was dead. A man next to him had a flesh wound and was crying like a baby. Talk about a contrast.
Eventually they pulled us out of there because the Japs were well entrenched on the other side of the footbridge.