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 USMC December 1942  Sedgwick 1943  Yank Sept 17, 1943  US Army c1945 |
Location The American Cemetery Guadalcanal was located near slightly to the east and inland from Lunga Point near Henderson Field on the north coast of Guadalcanal. Also known as simply the Guadalcanal Cemetery. Prewar and during the Pacific War, part of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate (BSIP). Postwar, this cemetery was removed and the location today is located in Guadalcanal Province in the Solomon Islands. The American Cemetery Guadalcanal was known by many different names including the Marine Cemetery at Lunga, Lunga Cemetery, Guadalcanal Cemetery or 1st Marine Division Cemetery, Guadalcanal. Later, the cemetery expanded with a section for New Zealand personnel killed on Guadalcanal and other locations in the Solomon Islands. Postwar, known as the Army Navy, Marine Cemetery Guadalcanal. Wartime History During the middle of 1942, the American Cemetery Guadalcanal was established a cemetery for American casualties from the Guadalcanal campaign. By 1943 the cemetery was further developed with a chapel made using local materials and a large cross, surrounded by machine gun bullets and 37mm shells. On September 17, 1943 First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visited the cemetery during her day tour of Guadalcanal. She was photographed and recorded visiting several graves including Marine Cpl Stanley E. Friedrichs. Postwar After the war, every grave was exhumed and transported to Manila American Cemetery, National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl) or back to the United States for permanent internment. Afterwards, the cemetery was abandoned. Today The former location is about 500 yards inland from the coast near the Airport Motel. In 2003 during the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), Australian personnel based at the Airport Motel and located several gravestones from the former American Cemetery Guadalcanal. Although these were not in anyway associated with remains, they are interesting relics. American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) was alerted to their presence, but was uninterested in them. But, many of these concrete slabs were made by buddies or friends, and some quite elaborate in their sentiments or messages to the fallen. References High Cost of Moving US War Dead (18 February 1948). (1948-02-18). Pacific Islands Monthly: PIM. XVIII (7), 28. "At the moment, nearly 6,000 American war dead are concentrated at Kukum main port for Honiara. They are due to leave within a few days for Oahu, Hawaii and the United States." Contribute
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