On this date, their regiment was involved in the culminating fight of a two-day operation aimed at wiping out Japanese defenses on the west bank of the Matanikau River. Attempts to broaden the Marine-held Lunga Perimeter past the Matanikau had been stymied by tough resistance; 1/7 had already made two attempts, one by land and the failed "Little Dunkirk" expedition by sea. The new plan (the October Offensive, or Third Action Along The Matanikau) grew out of lessons learned in the failed attacks, and involved a march through the jungle to a single log bridge that spanned the river. After crossing, the Seventh Marines and the "Whaling Group" of scouts and snipers would attack towards the ocean, rolling up the Japanese right flank while the First Raider Battalion and the Fifth Marines kept up the pressure on the riverbank. The plan worked; most of the Japanese defenders were killed and the survivors scattered in disorder. Naturally, the Marines took casualties as well and followed the standard operating procedure of burying their dead in the field. The official practices were laid out in the 1941 Technical Manual 10-630, but this tome was not high on the reading list for Marines in the field. Instead, the dead were buried as quickly, grouped together when possible, and a marker erected on the spot. Whenever possible, the coordinates were noted to make eventual retrieval easier. Such was the case with most of the burials conducted by the Seventh Marines on October 9, 1942. PFC Hugh Gilbert Strickland buried in the field at (69.75-200.4), Map #104, North Coast, Guadalcanal.
https://www.fold3.com/page/529985490/hugh-g-strickland
*Note: Information provided by FAG Member 48526889
https://www.fold3.com/page/529985490/hugh-g-strickland
*Note: Information provided by FAG Member 48526889
On this date, their regiment was involved in the culminating fight of a two-day operation aimed at wiping out Japanese defenses on the west bank of the Matanikau River. Attempts to broaden the Marine-held Lunga Perimeter past the Matanikau had been stymied by tough resistance; 1/7 had already made two attempts, one by land and the failed "Little Dunkirk" expedition by sea. The new plan (the October Offensive, or Third Action Along The Matanikau) grew out of lessons learned in the failed attacks, and involved a march through the jungle to a single log bridge that spanned the river. After crossing, the Seventh Marines and the "Whaling Group" of scouts and snipers would attack towards the ocean, rolling up the Japanese right flank while the First Raider Battalion and the Fifth Marines kept up the pressure on the riverbank. The plan worked; most of the Japanese defenders were killed and the survivors scattered in disorder. Naturally, the Marines took casualties as well and followed the standard operating procedure of burying their dead in the field. The official practices were laid out in the 1941 Technical Manual 10-630, but this tome was not high on the reading list for Marines in the field. Instead, the dead were buried as quickly, grouped together when possible, and a marker erected on the spot. Whenever possible, the coordinates were noted to make eventual retrieval easier. Such was the case with most of the burials conducted by the Seventh Marines on October 9, 1942. PFC Hugh Gilbert Strickland buried in the field at (69.75-200.4), Map #104, North Coast, Guadalcanal.
https://www.fold3.com/page/529985490/hugh-g-strickland
*Note: Information provided by FAG Member 48526889
https://www.fold3.com/page/529985490/hugh-g-strickland
*Note: Information provided by FAG Member 48526889
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STRICKLAND HUGH G - PRIVATE FIRST CLASS - GEORGIA
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