| A United States Army 132nd Infantry Regiment, Americal Division soldier is shown on Grassy Knoll with an M1 Garand rifle and M1905 “sword” bayonet during the fighting for Mount Austen in December 1942. Note the 8-round “En bloc” clip on his rifle strap for quick reloading. Mount Austen has an elevation of 1,514 feet (460 meters) on northern Guadalcanal. The local people call the feature Mombula or Mambula (“rotting body”) in the Guadalcanal language. During the Guadalcanal campaign, it was known as the “Grassy Knoll” to the Americans. United States Army General Alexander M. Patch (November 23, 1889 – November 21, 1945) ordered the 123nd Infantry Regiment, Americal Division, to take Mount Austen on December 15, 1942. The 132nd had just arrived on the island on December 8. Their 3rd Battalion was pinned down in the foothills of Mount Austen on December 17 as the attack began, despite heavy artillery preparation. A reconnaissance patrol scattered on December 19 when the battalion commander, in the lead, was killed in action by a Japanese machine gun. 5 days of heavy fighting and cutting through the jungle brought the 132nd to the Gifu position, named after the city in Japan. Gifu had 40 log bunkers with 500 Imperial Japanese Army troops inside. During the last 10 days of 1942 the 132nd hammered Gifu repeatedly, making little progress at a cost of 34 killed and 279 other casualties, mostly sick. Finally, on January 2, 1943, the 1st and 3rd Battalions attacked from the north while the 2nd Battalion swung around and attacked from the south to overrun most of the Gifu strongpoint and secure the west slopes of Mount Austen. Now the Americans could move against Kokumbona without fear of enemy observation or fire from the rear. In the 22-day battle for Mount Austen, the 132nd Infantry had killed between 900 Japanese but in the process lost 112 killed and 268 wounded. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1799.jpg |
| Image Size | 224.14 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1211 x 1280 |
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| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | December 31, 1942 |
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| State or Province | Guadalcanal |
| Country | Solomons |
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| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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