The cool thing is I actually recognized my uncle, then Capt. Elmer Salzman, at least in spirit, who was awarded the Silver Star for his actions at that time, specifically, calling on his combat experience in the inter-war years (Honduras, Haiti – “Caribbean bandit campaigns”, in which he was awarded the Navy Cross), to rally and reorganize their defensive positions. It wasn’t Gen. Vandergrift’s idea, eventhough he got the Congressional Medal Of Honor and then kicked upstairs as Commandant of the Marine Corps. Honduras isn’t that different than Guadalcanal. Capt. Salzman, my uncle, uniquely recognized that, and it was he, Capt. Salzman who lobbied General Vandergrift to reinforce their positions where the Ichiki regiment attacked at night, and were subsequently slaughtered. My uncle said very, very little of this. What I mostly know is because I wrote the Records Dept. In St. Louis, and, after 6 months, and to my astonishment, produced a week by week account of Capt. Salzman’s (later to be Major General Salzaman) week by week account of his duty cycle from Guadalcanal all the way thru Okinawa. By the way, if you think he looked something like the “John Wayne” image…he was 5’ 5”, kind of stock/pudgy, prematurely balding…but he was A LEADER, not a Hollywood central casting type….. However, he was, according to his older sister, my grandmother, never the same after the war….

Try to watch it if you can, wherever you may be around the world.