Press Releases

(Washington, DC) – Congressman Ed Case (HI-01) introduced a resolution to recognize the 80^th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, a battle that proved to be pivotal in World War II.

“The six-month Solomon Islands campaign which commenced in August 1942 was one of the bloodiest of World War II, with thousands of our own lost, but it turned the tide of the entire war,” said Case.  “We cannot forget this critical effort, nor that their sacrifice was and remains the foundation for three generations now of a democratic Indo-Pacific.”

The Battle of Guadalcanal was the site of the first major amphibious landing of World War II, where American and Allied servicemembers fought heat, mosquitos, disease, dense vegetation, and unfamiliar terrain in an all-consuming six-month around-the-clock battle focused on seizure of a now-iconic airfield, Henderson Field. By seizing Henderson Field, the United States halted Japanese efforts to disrupt supply routes and the Allies took one of the first vital steps toward winning WWII. The battle, together with the associated naval battles of Ironbottom Sound, cost the United States and its Allies the lives of some 7,000 servicemembers, with an additional 7,000 servicemembers wounded, 29 ships sunk, and more than 600 aircraft shot down.

Case recalled his Congressional delegation to the Western Pacific in April of this year and stressed again the critical importance of full United States engagement throughout the Indo-Pacific including the Solomon Islands.

“We must not only commemorate the significance of this battle and honor the great sacrifice it required, but also recommit to the fullest extent to the countries and peoples of the Indo-Pacific who have been our partners in democracy and peace for the three generations since.”

A copy of the resolution is attached.

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