"This was the first real test of what's now referred to as the Greatest Generation," frank said. "Going toe-to-toe with an Axis power at the height of their capability, to see whether we had what it would take."
"Guadalcanal was really the testing ground,' he said. "People talk about Normandy or Iwo Jima ... but for the generation that fought the war (Guadalcanal) was a very big deal."
The fight for the island began after the Japanese landed there on June 8, 1942, to begin construction of an air strip.
The U.S. and the Allies realized such an airbase would threaten shipping lanes to Australia and decided to seize the island from the Japanese.
--GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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