Location
Lat 9° 25' 0S Long 159° 55' 0E Located on Guadalcanal's north coast, west of Honiara.

Wartime History
Occupied by the Japanese, Marines landed here on September 27, 1942 to expand their perimeter. Later, it was finally taken on January 23, 1943 by US Army forces, aided by P-39s and USMC fighter-bombers, push up the Guadalcanal coast to take Kokumbona and the Poha.

Floating Crane
Came loose from its mooring in 1947 and was beached at this location

Tanganai Church
Located 1km east of Kokumbona, built in 1991, when construction began, the bodies of two Marines killed in the landing by Maxwell's 1st Battalion 5th Marines landing behind lines on the August 27, 1942. Killed were Robert J. Budd and Thomas W. Phillips.  A plaque was donated by the Budd family [ Read Plaque ]. Thanks to Tom Mcleod, Doug Drumheller, John Innes and Peter Flahavin for additional information.

Lela Beach
Just past Kokumbona, after you cross the river. There are two guns on display at the beach that locals claim came from a nearby dump.

Bruno Nana Memorial Area
A series of American and Japanese memorials are located at this roadside village area. Two are in Japanese, a third in English. There are four memorials: Cross Memorial, Japanese Memorial, Black Japanese Memorial and Small Japanese memorial.

Type 92B Gun Tractor
This gun tractor is displayed behind the memorial area. Likely used to move the 150mm artillery.

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Last Updated
October 6, 2009