Guadalcanal Artist Perspective

The Japanese who fought and survived called it 'starvation island', the Marines and Army simply referred to it as the 'Canal', a place of fear, unspeakable episodes of battle, blood , and sacrifice--- and nobody ever wanted to go back to it.

I grew up in the aftermath of the second world war on the west coast, and clearly recall the horror stories from the Marines who fought at Guadalcanal, sometimes from their own lips; in coffee shops, car garages, even bus stops, former 'Canal' veterans would shudder as their memories would surface and we would get a 'little' of those experiences. Alligator Creek,( Ilu river) defending the Tenaru, the Matanikau campaign, the epic 'Bloody Ridge' where the Marine Corp legend became a rallying cry for an entire nation.

The Guadalcanal fight featured haggard Americans, short of food and ammunition, but long on guts. And fanatical Japanese troops, having been fed a diet of propaganda on the weakness of the American fabric, that her soldiers were terrified of the bayonet, night fighting and would weaken and run at the first demonstration of Japanese resoluteness and courage. To the surprise of the Japanese, the Marine's did not run! They fought.

They would spring from the bush led by sword wielding officers accompanied by flares, whistles and chants of "Marine you die', night and day. The Marines fought the Japanese on a 24 hour basis. In the cover painting I did for "Guadalcanal", for Academy's Conflict of Heroes, I wanted to show a little of the terrain, the terror of charging fanatical Japanese troops, often outnumbering the Marines as close quarter combat was the rule of the day. No quarter was asked, certainly little was ever given.

Stephen Paschal - Stephen Paschal's Art Studio
www.stephenpaschal.com

Back to Guadalcanal Game Page