Saturday , January 10th 1998
Leo and I landed at Henderson
Airport at 1.15 p.m. after a 3 hour Solomon Airlines flight from
Brisbane . There is a brand new International Terminal Building across
the road from the current terminal that is due to open in March 1998.
It is being built by Kitano Constructions , so you can guess which country's
flag was flying out front next to the Solomon's flag - (send back the
Marines - they are at the airfield again!) . This terminal is built
on the former camp area of 1st Battalion , 1st Marine Regiment before
they were engaged in the Ilu river battle on August 21st 1942. As we
left the Airport we noticed 2 minibuses full of Japanese tourists ;
not veterans , but family members etc. here to visit battle sites.
We got to the King Solomon Hotel in Honiara
(on the side of Hill 84) about 2.15 p.m. After checking in and unpacking
we went for a walk down to the Kitano Mendana Hotel near Point
Cruz and had a Coke (or 3) . Afterwards I showed Leo the Japanese
150mm gun next to the National Museum across the road (the Jap tractor
that towed this particular gun is now at a village past Kokumbona) .
Then we walked West down Mendana Avenue to a tennis club (the G-club)
that had another 150mm gun on display in its grounds . It was extra
hot and steamy when we arrived (they had just had rain) , so we walked
down to the beach behind the club where a cool breeze was blowing .
On
this beach Companies A,B and D of the 1st Battalion / 7th Marines landed
on 27 September 1942.They moved 500 yards inland to the top of Hill
84 (where the King Solomon is now) , where they were trapped by
the Japanese. Supported by naval gunfire they withdrew to the beach
area between the tennis club and the Mendana
Hotel (now the site of the National Gallery and Prime Ministers
offices), where they were taken off by landing craft under heavy enemy
fire from Point Cruz. Boat group leader
Coast Guardsman Douglas Munro was killed here and awarded the Congressional
Medal of Honour for his bravery. After looking we went back to the Hotel
for a few hours swim in the pool and dinner.
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