There is no gain saying that the Solom's are hard-bitten bunch of islands.

It is true that fever and dysentery are perpetually on the walkabout,

that loathsome skin diseases abound, that the air is saturated with a poison that bites

into every pore, cut, or abrasion, and plants malignant ulcers,

and that many strong men who escape dying there

return as wrecks to their own countries.

Jack London, the terrible Solomon's.

Welcome to the history of the 20th century.

The 20th century. Episode 371, Operation Shoe Strang

Episode 371 Operation Shoe String.

Last time we were looking at the Pacific Theater, we left off with a reluctant U.S. Army General,

Douglas MacArthur, and an equally reluctant U.S. Navy Admiral, Robert Gormley,

preparing to invade Touloggi and Florida in the Solomon Islands, when they received the

news that the Japanese were building an airfield on the much larger island of Guadalcanal,

and the seizure of that island became another of their assigned objectives.

Despite its status as a last-minute addition to the mission, code-named Operation Watch Tower,

Guadalcanal would soon become the most important objective and the center of the battle

for control over the southern Solomon Islands.

In Washington, the Joint Chiefs of Staff felt it urgent to proceed with Operation Watch

Tower as soon as possible in order to capitalize on the momentum the Allies had gained

following the U.S. victory in the Battle of Midway. The commanders

on the scene, Gormley and MacArthur, though, were concerned that the forces available to them

...