Guadalcanal marked the beginning of America's island-hopping counter-attack against the Japanese in World War II. In August 1942, 19,000 US Marines were involved in Operation Watchtower - the taking of the new airfield on Guadalcanal and the eventual defeat of the Japanese on the island. The heavy losses sustained by the US Navy in maintaining supplies and the loss of 1592 Marines were the price of the six-month long savage and intense campaign that was so vital to the US progress in the Pacific and to morale at home. This book looks at the history of these campaigns.