Location
Lat 9° 25' 0S Long 159° 55' 0E  Kokumbona village is located on the north coast of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. Also spelled Kakambona, Kokombono, Kokumbona or Kukumbona. Borders Iron Bottom Sound to the north, Honiara to the east and Lela to the west.

Prewar
A native foot trail led from Kokumbona via Vurai over the mountainous interior of Guadalcanal to Beaufort Bay.

Wartime History
Occupied by the Japanese. On September 27, 1942 Marines landed at this location to expand their perimeter. Kokumbona was captured on January 23, 1943 by U. S. Army soldiers supported by ground attacks by P-39 Airacobras and USMC fighter-bombers, during the push along the north coast of Guadalcanal to capture Kokumbona and Poha.

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

Tanganai Church
Located 1 km east of Kokumbona, Tanganai Church was built in 1991. During the construction, the remains of two Marines: Robert J. Budd and Thomas W. Phillips. Both were killed August 27, 1942 during the landing behind lines by the USMC 1st Battalion, 5th Marines led by Maxwell. Killed were Robert J. Budd and Thomas W. Phillips. Afterwards, a memorial plaque was donated by the Budd family to the church. Thanks to Tom Mcleod, Doug Drumheller, John Innes and Peter Flahavin for additional information.

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
June 15, 2019