Guadalcanal Memorial

The Guadalcanal Memorial is a World War II monument.  It was created in 1992 as a tribute to the Americans and their allies who lost their lives during the Guadalcanal Campaign in 1942-43.  The memorial itself is very detailed and there is a lot of information to take in about the battles, all the ships involved, and the strategy of the Guadalcanal campaign.  This site has been voted as the top thing to see in Honiara.

The Guadalcanal Campaign was codenamed ‘Operation Watchtower’ by the American forces.  It was fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 and was the major land offensive staged by the Allies against Japan.  Guadalcanal had been occupied by the Japanese since May 1942.  Allied forces arrived, mainly US Marines.  Many battles were fought on land and sea until finally, the Japanese evacuated their forces in February 1943.  The Battle proved to be one of the most prolonged campaigns in the Pacific.  The US Navy lost so many personnel that for years the figures were not released.  The Japanese lost 30,000, about three-quarters of these from starvation and tropical diseases.