With its position in the South Pacific, Guadalcanal was an ideal location for a Japanese airfield that could threaten vital US sea lanes to Australia.

When Jefferson Joseph DeBlanc entered Guadalcanal, the United States had been fighting a defensive campaign against Japanese attempts to retake Henderson Airfield and dominate the surrounding seas. 

Australian forces, backed by American artillery, assaulted Japanese positions on Bobdubi Ridge in one of World War II’s bitterest campaigns.

The fight for Mount Austen witnessed some of the hardest fighting on Guadalcanal. Its successful capture ensured the security of Henderson Field from Japanese artillery fire and infiltrators.

The Battle of Manila and the Destruction of the Pearl of the Orient