| Marines wait to board Landing Craft, Vehicle and Personnel (LCVP) to transports off Guadalcanal. On December 7, 1 year after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, United States Marine Corps General Alexander A. Vandegrift (March 13, 1887 – May 8, 1973), Commander of the 1st Marine Division, sent a message to all men under his command in the Guadalcanal area thanking them for their courage and steadfastness, commending particularly the pilots and “all who labored and sweated within the lines in all manner of prodigious and vital tasks.” He reminded them all that their “unbelievable achievements had made ‘Guadalcanal’ a synonym for death and disaster in the language of our enemy.” On December 9, he handed over his command to General Alexander M. Patch (November 23, 1889 – November 21, 1945), formerly the Commander of the American Division and now the Commander of XIV Corps. Vandergrift flew out to Australia at the same time the 1st elements of the 5th Marines were boarding ship. The 1st, 11th, and 7th Marines would soon follow together with all the division’s supporting units. The men who were leaving were thin, tired, hollow-eyed, and apathetic; they were young men who had grown old in 4 months time. They left behind 681 dead in the island’s cemetery. Photo by Ralph Morse (October 23, 1917 – December 7, 2014). | |
| Image Filename | wwii2115.jpg |
| Image Size | 626.03 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1965 x 2048 |
| Photographer | Ralph Morse |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | December 9, 1942 |
| Location | |
| City | |
| State or Province | Guadalcanal |
| Country | Solomons |
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| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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