INOGUCHI, CAPTAIN RIKIHEI, and TADASHI, CMDR. NAKAJIMA, with PINEAU, ROGER. The Divine Wind: Japan.’s Kamikaze Force in World War II. Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute, 1958.
ISELY, JETER A., and CROWL, PHILIP A. The U.S. Marines and Amphibious War. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1951.
JOHNSTON, RICHARD w. Follow Me!: The Story of the Second Marine Division in World War II. New York: Random House, 1948.
JOSEPHY, ALVIN M., JR. The Long and the Short and the Tall: The Story of a Marine Combat Unit in the Pacific. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1946.
KENNEY, GEN. GEORGE c. General Kenney Reports. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1949.
KING, FLEET ADML. ERNEST J., and WHITEHILL, CMDR. WALTER M. Fleet Admiral King: A Naval Record. New York: W. W. Nor-ton & Co., 1952.
LEAHY, FLEET ADML. WILLIAM D. I Was There. New York: Whittlesley House,1950.
LODGE, MAJ. o. R. The Recapture of Guam. (Marine Corps Historical Monograph.) Washington: Government Printing Office, 1954.
LOVE, EDMUND G. The 27th Infantry Division in World War II. Washington: Infantry Journal Press, 1949.
MARSHALL, LT. COL. S. L. A. Island Victory: The Battle of Kwajalein Atoll. Washington: The Infantry Journal, 1945.
MCMILLAN, GEORGE. The Old Breed: A History of the First Marine Division in World War Two. Washington: Infantry Journal Press, 1949.
—, et al. Uncommon Valor: Marine Divisions in Action. Washington: Infantry Journal Press, 1946.
MERILLAT, CAPTAIN HERBERT L. The Island: A Personal Account of Guadalcanal. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1944.
MEYER, ROBERT, JR. (ed.). The Stars and Stripes Story of World War II. New York: David McKay Co., Inc., 1961.
MILLER, FRANCIS TREVELYAN. History of World War II. Philadelphia: Universal Book & Bible House, 1945.
MILLER, JOHN, JR. Cartwheel: The Reduction of Rabaul. (“U.S. Army in World War II.”) Washington: Government Printing Office, 1959.
—. Guadalcanal: The First Offensive. (“U.S. Army in World War II.”) Washington: Government Printing Office, 1949.
MILNER, SAMUEL. Victory in Papua. (“U.S. Army in World War II.”) Washington: Government Printing Office, 1957.
MONKS, JOHN, JR. A Ribbon and a Star: The Third Marines on Bougainville. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1945.
MORISON, SAMUEL ELIOT. The Rising Sun in the Pacific. (History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Vol. III.) Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1959.
—. Coral Sea, Midway and Submarine Action. (History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Vol. IV.) Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1960.
—. The Struggle for Guadalcanal. (History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Vol. V.) Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1959.
—. Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier. (History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Vol. VI.) Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1960.
—. Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls. (History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Vol. VII.) Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1960.
* All Morison volumes cited are revised editions.
—. New Guinea and the Marianas. (History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Vol. VIII.) Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1960.
—. Leyte. (History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Vol. XII.) Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1958.
—. The Liberation of the Philippines. (History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Vol. XIII.) Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1959.
—. Victory in the Pacific. (History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Vol. XIV.) Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1960.
MORTON, LOUIS. The Fall of the Philippines. (“U.S. Army in World War II.”) Washington: Government Printing Office, 1953.
MYERS, LT. COL. MAX (ed.). Ours to Hold It High: The History of the 77th Infantry Division in World War II. Washington: Infantry Journal Press, 1947.
NAVAL HISTORY division. Naval Chronology, World War II. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1955.
NICHOLS, MAJ. CHARLES S., and SHAW, HENRY I., JR. Okinawa: Victory in the Pacific. (Marine Corps Historical Monograph.) Washington: Government Printing Office, 1955.
O’SHEEL, CAPT. PATRICK, and COOK, STAFF SGT. GENE (eds.). Semper Fidelis: The U.S. Marines in the Pacific. New York: William Sloane Associates, Inc., 1947.
PIERCE, LT. COL. PHILIP N., and HOUGH, LT. COL. FRANK O. The Compact History of the United States Marine Corps. New York: Hawthorn Books, Inc., 1960.
PRATT, FLETCHER. The Marines’ War. New York: William Sloane Associates, Inc., 1948.
PROEHL, CARL w. The Fourth Marine Division in World War II. Washington: Infantry Journal Press, 1946.
RENTZ, MAJ. JOHN N. Bougainville and the Northern Solomons. (Marine Corps Historical Monograph.) Washington: Government Printing Office, 1948.
—. Marines in the Central Solomons. (Marine Corps Historical Monograph.) Washington: Government Printing Office, 1952.
ROBSON, R. w. The Pacific Islands Handbook, 1944. New York: The Macmillan Co., 1945.
SHERROD, ROBERT. History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II. Washington: Combat Forces Press, 1952.
—. On To Westward: War in the Central Pacific. New York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1945.
—. Tarawa: The Story of a Battle. New York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1944.
SMITH, GEN. HOLLAND M. Coral and Brass: Howlin’ Mad Smith’s Own Story of the Marines in the Pacific. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1949.
SMITH, ROBERT ROSS. The Approach to the Philippines. (“U.S. Army in World War II.”) Washington: Government Printing Office, 1953.
STILWELL, GEN. JOSEPH w., and WHITE, THEODORE H. (ed.). The Stilwell Papers. Philadelphia and New York: William Sloane Associates, Inc., 1948.
STOCKMAN, CAPTAIN JAMES R. The Battle for Tarawa. (Marine Corps Historical Monograph.) Washington: Government Printing Office, 1947.
The War Reports of General of the Army George C. Marshall, General of the Army H. H. Arnold, and Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King. Philadelphia and New York: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1947.
TREGASKIS, RICHARD. Guadalcanal Diary. New York: Random House, 1943.
United States Navy, Medal of Honor, 1861-1940. Washington: 1950.
United States Strategic Bombing Survey (Pacific), Naval Analysis Division. The Campaigns of the Pacific War. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1946.
—. Interrogations of Japanese Officials, 2 vols. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1946.
WILLIAMS, MARY H. (compiler). Chronology 1941-1945. (“U.S. Army in World War II.”) Washington: Government Printing Office, 1960.
ZIMMERMAN, MAJ. JOHN L. The Guadalcanal Campaign. (Marine Corps Historical Monograph.) Washington: Government Printing Office, 1949.
CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR IN THE PACIFIC
Only the major events of the Pacific War are listed in this chronol ogy. All dates are those obtaining in the place where the event occurred, which, in the vast majority of occurrences in the Pacific, happens to be the East Zone, or one day later than our own time. The few which took place this side of the International Date Line (180th Meridian)—West Zone time—are marked with an asterisk.
Also, to relate the Pacific to the war against the Axis Powers, a few of the important dates from Europe and Africa are carried in parenthesis.
1941
7 December*—Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor; Japanese surface force raids Midway Island.
8 December—First Japanese air attacks on Wake, Guam, Philippines; Hong Kong bombed; Thailand conquered.
8 December*—U.S. declares war on Japan.
9 December—Japanese land in Malaya.
10 December—Guam falls to Japan.
11 December*—U.S. declares war on Germany and Italy.
22 December—Japan invades Borneo to open Netherlands Indies Campaign.
23 December—Wake Island falls to Japan.
25 December—Hong Kong falls to Japan.
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1942
23 January—Japanese invade New Britain, New Ireland, the Solomons.
24 January—U.S. Naval force batters Japanese troop convoy in Battle of Makassar Strait.
(26 January—First U.S. troops reach Northern Ireland.)
1 February—Gilberts and Marshalls bombed by U.S. carrier forces.
4 February—Allied fleet battered in Battle of the Java Sea.
16 February—Singapore falls to Japan.
8 March—Japan invades New Guinea (Lae, Salamaua, Finschhafen).
9 March—Java falls to Japan concluding Netherlands Indies Campaign.
9 April—Bataan falls to Japan.
18 April—Shangri-La raid (Army bombers flying off U.S. carrier decks) strikes Tokyo, other Japanese cities.
4-8 May—Battle of the Coral Sea turns back Japan from invasion of Port Moresby in New Guinea, vital to defense of Australia.
7 May—Corregidor surrenders to Japanese.
12 May—Last of U.S. troops surrender in Mindanao; Japanese declare Philippines secure.
3 June*—Japan bombs Dutch Harbor in Alaska, occupies Kiska and Attu in the Aleutians.
3-6 June—Japanese Navy decisively defeated by U.S. Navy in Battle of Midway; Japan loses initiative in Pacific War.
28 July—Japanese begin overland drive on Port Moresby from base at Buna-Sanananda.
7 August—U.S. Marines land at Tulagi-Guadalcanal (Guadalcanal secured 9 February 1943).
8-9 August—U.S. Navy staggered in Battle of Savo Island, withdraws from Tulagi-Guadalcanal.
17 August—U.S. Marines raid Makin Island.
(19 August—Canadian and British troops raid Dieppe in France.)
5 September—Australians halt Japanese attempt to invade Milne Bay in New Guinea.
(14 September—Germany opens Siege of Stalingrad.)
3 October—U.S. Marines occupy Funafuti in Ellice Islands.
(24 October—British Eighth Army opens El Alamein drive in Egypt.)
(8 November—British and American troops land in North Africa.)
12-15 November—Japanese repulsed in Naval Battle of Guadalcanal; crisis is passed ashore.
9 December—Command on Guadalcanal passes to U.S. Army.
1943
23 January—Australian—U.S. counterattack recaptures Buna-Sanananda from Japanese.
(23 January—Tripoli falls to Allies.)
9 February—Japanese resistance on Guadalcanal ends.
20 February—U.S. occupies Russell Islands.
2-4 March—Allied land-based planes inflict decisive defeat on Japanese attempt to reinforce New Guinea, sinking entire convoy in Battle of the Bismarck Sea.
11 May—U.S. Army attacks Attu( secured 30 May).
(11 May—German resistance in North Africa broken.)
21 June—U.S. Marines land at Segi Point, New Georgia, opening Central Solomons Campaign (campaign concluded 25 September).
(9 July—Allies land in Sicily.)
15 August—U.S.-New Zealand forces land on Vella Lavella in Northern Solomons.
(3 September—Italy surrenders.)
(9 September—Allies invade Italy.)
2 October—Australians retake Finschhafen in New Guinea.
27 October—New Zealanders land in Treasury Islands.
28 October—U.S. Marines make feint landing on Choiseul.
1 November—U.S. Marines assault Bougainville (airfield area at Cape Torokina secured 21 December).
5 November—First U.S. carrier strike at Rabaul.
20 November—U.S. Marines assault Tarawa (secured 23 November)
15 December—U.S. Army troops land at Arawe in New Britain.
26 December—U.S. Marines assault Cape Gloucester (airfield area secured 15 January 1944).
1944
1 January*—Lieutenant General (later General) Alexander Vandegrift made Commandant of Marine Corps.
2 January—U.S. Army makes surprise landing at Saidor, begins drive up New Guinea coast.
(27 January—Anzio beachhead seized in Italy.)
31 January—Majuro Atoll in the Marshalls, first prewar Japanese territory, seized.
1 February—U.S. assaults Kwajalein Atoll (Marines at Roi-Namur, secured 2 February; Army at Kwajalein Islet, secured 4 February).
17 February—U.S. Army, Marines assault Eniwetok Atoll (secured 23 February).
(21 February—Russians lift Siege of Stalingrad.)
29 February—Admiralty Islands reconnaissance begins (islands captured 18 March).
6 March—Marines assault Talasea on New Britain (secured 8 March).
8 March—Japanese counteroffensive on Bougainville launched, smashed for good 24 March.
20 March—Marines land on Emirau.
22 April—U.S. Army lands at Hollandia and Aitape in New Guinea.
(4 June—Allies enter Rome.)
(6 June—Allies invade France in Normandy landings.)
15 June—U.S. Marines land at Saipan (island secured 9 July).
19 June—Japanese Navy decisively defeated by U.S. Navy in Battle of Philippine Sea; Japan’s carrier power all but destroyed.
21 July—U.S. Marines assault Guam (secured 10 August).
24 July—U.S. Marines on Saipan assault nearby Tinian (secured 1 August).
30 July—U.S. Army’s New Guinea drive ends on Sansapor Point.
(31 July—Allies break out of Normandy.)
(15 August—Allies invade southern France.)
15 September—U.S. Marines assault Peleliu (secured 12 October); U.S. Army troops seize Morotai.
17 September—U.S. Army assaults Angaur (secured 20 September).
23 September—Ulithi seized as advanced Naval base.
20 October—U.S. Army lands on Leyte to open Philippines Campaign.
(21 October—Aachen, first city inside Germany, falls to U.S. troops.)
23-26 October—U.S. Navy destroys remnants of Japanese Navy in Battle of Leyte Gulf.
24 November—U.S. Army Air Corps delivers first B-29 raid on Tokyo.
(16 December—German counterstroke opens Battle of the Bulge, Germans stopped 30 December.)
1945
9 January—Luzon in Northern Philippines invaded.
(17 January—Russians capture Warsaw.)
16-17 February—First U.S. carrier raids on Tokyo Bay.
19 February—Marines assault Iwo Jima (secure 26 March).
24 February—Manila falls.
(7 March—U.S. troops take Remagen Bridge and cross Rhine.)
10 March—Mindanao in Southern Philippines invaded.
9-10 March—U.S. B-29s fire-bomb Tokyo at night in most savage air raid in history (including later atomic bombings).
1 April—U.S. Marines, Army troops land on Okinawa (island secured 22 June).
(28 April—Mussolini put to death by Italian partisans.)
1 May—Australians invade Tarakan Island, Netherlands Indies (secured 19 May).
(1 May—Death of Hitler.)
(2 May—Fighting in Italy ends.)
(7 May—Germany surrenders.)
10 June—Australians and Dutch land on Borneo.
22 June—Okinawa capture marks end of ground fighting in Pacific.
14 July—U.S. begins first surface fleet bombardment of Japan.
30 July—Japan refuses Potsdam ultimatum.
6 August—World’s first atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
8 August—Russia attacks Japan.
9 August—Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki.
14 August—Japan accepts surrender terms.
2 September—Japanese surrender signed in Tokyo Bay.
MARINE MEDAL OF HONOR WINNERS IN WORLD WAR TWO
MARINE CORPS ACES IN WORLD WAR TWO
NO. | NAME | NUMBER OF PLANES SHOT DOWN
1. Boyington, Gregory 28*
2. Foss, Joseph J. 26
3. Hanson, Robert M. 25
4. Walsh, Kenneth A. 21
5. Aldrich, Donal
d N. 20
6. Smith, John L. 19
7. Carl, Marison E. 18½
8. Thomas, Wilbur J. 18½
9. Sweet, James E. 15½
10. Spears, Harold L. 15
11. Donabue, Archies G. 14
12. Cupp, James N. 13
13. Galer, Robert E. 13
14. Marontate, William P. 13
15. Shaw, Edward O. 13
16. Frazier, Kenneth D. 12½
17. Everton, Loren D. 12
18. Segal, Harold E. 12
19. Trowbridge, Eugene A. 12
20. DeLong, Philip C. 11½
21. Bauer, Harold W. 11
22. Sapp, Donald H. 112
23. Conger, Jack E. 10½
24. Long, Herbert H. 10
25. DeBlanc? Jefferson J. 9
26. Magee, Christopher L. 9
27. Mann, Thomas H., Jr. 9
28. Overend, Edmund F. 9*
29. Thomas, Franklin C., Jr. 9
30. Loesch, Gregory K. 8½
31. Morgan, John L., Jr. 8½
32. Snider, William N. 8½
33. Case, William N. 8
34. Dobbin, John F. 8
35. Cutt, Fred E. 8
36. Hernan, Edwin J., Jr. 8
37. Hollowell, George L. 8
38. Kunz, Charles M. 8
39. Narr, Joseph L. 8
40. Post, Nathan T. 8
41. Warner, Arthur T. 8
42. Yost, Donald K. 8
43. Baker, Robert M. 7
44. Brown, William P. 7
45. Caswell, Dean 7
46. Crowe, William E. 7
47. Haberman, Roger A. 7
48. Hamilton, Henry B. 7
49. Jensen, Alvin J. 7
50. McClurg, Robert W. 7
51. O’Keefe, Jeremiah J.7
52. Owens, Robert G., Jr. 7
53. Pittman, Jack, Jr 7
54. Reinburg, Joseph H. 7
55. Ruhsam, John W. 7
56. Wade, Robert 7
57. William, Gerard M. H. 7
58. Mullen, Paul A. 6½
59. Durnford, Dewey F. 6½
60. Dillard, Joseph V. 6½
61. Axtell, George C.; Jr. 6
62. Baird, Robert 6
63. Bolt, John F.; Jr. 6
64. Chandler, Creighton 6
65. Conant, A. Roger 6
66. Dillow, Eugene 6
67. Dorroh, Jefferson D. 6
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