Firsthand from Guadalcanal

July 2, 2012 11:30 AM - Updated: February 5, 2013 7:52 PM

gugdalcanalNaval History, August 2012
When the 1st Marine Division splashed ashore on Guadalcanal on 7 August 1942, two members of a Marine journalism program landed with them—Second Lieutenant Merillat and Sergeant James Hurlbut. After studying journalism at Northwestern University, Hurlbut had worked for newspapers in Chicago before enlisting in the Marines and serving on the staff of Leatherneck magazine. He left the Corps and became a Washington Post reporter in 1933. Prior to his re-enlistment in 1942, he was working for a Washington, D.C., radio station.

On 10 March 1943, Hurlbut was back in Washington, meeting with Navy Department representatives about his Guadalcanal experiences. After delivering a prepared statement about the course of the long battle, the sergeant answered questions about the enemy and fighting on “the Canal.”

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