<Dl> <Dd> Many have chronic dysentery or other disease, and almost all show chronic fatigue states...They appear listless, unkempt, careless, and apathetic with almost masklike facial expression . Speech is slow, thought content is poor, they complain of chronic headaches, insomnia, memory defect, feel forgotten, worry about themselves, are afraid of new assignments, have no sense of responsibility, and are hopeless about the future ." </Dd> </Dl> <Dd> Many have chronic dysentery or other disease, and almost all show chronic fatigue states...They appear listless, unkempt, careless, and apathetic with almost masklike facial expression . Speech is slow, thought content is poor, they complain of chronic headaches, insomnia, memory defect, feel forgotten, worry about themselves, are afraid of new assignments, have no sense of responsibility, and are hopeless about the future ." </Dd> <P> The Marines had their own land - based aviation, built around the excellent Chance - Vought F4U Corsair, an unusually large fighter - bomber . By 1944 10,000 Marine pilots operated 126 combat squadrons . Marine Aviation originally had the mission of close support for ground troops, but it dropped that role in the 1920s and 1930s and became a junior component of naval aviation . The new mission was to protect the fleet from enemy air attacks . Marine pilots, like all aviators, fiercely believed in the prime importance of air superiority; they did not wish to be tied down to supporting ground troops . On the other hand, the ground Marines needed close air support because they lacked heavy firepower of their own . Mobility was a basic mission of Marine ground forces; they were too lightly armed to employ the sort of heavy artillery barrages and massed tank movements the Army used to clear the battlefield . The Japanese were so well dug in that Marines often needed air strikes on positions 300 to 1,500 yards ahead . In 1944, after considerable internal acrimony, Marine Aviation was forced to start helping out . At Iwo Jima ex-pilots in the air liaison party (ALP) not only requested air support, but actually directed it in tactical detail . The Marine formula increased responsiveness, reduced "friendly" casualties, and (flying weather permitting) substituted well for the missing armor and artillery . For the next half century close air support would remain central to the mission of Marine Aviation, provoking eternal jealousy from the Army which was never allowed to operate fixed - wing fighters or bombers, although the Army was allowed to have some unarmed transports and spotter planes . </P> <P> Guadalcanal, fought from August 1942 to February 1943, was the first major Allied offensive of the war in the Pacific Theater . This campaign pitted American air, naval and ground forces (later augmented by Australians and New Zealanders) against determined Japanese resistance . Guadalcanal was the key to control the Solomon Islands, which both sides saw as strategically essential . Both sides won some battles but both sides were overextended in terms of supply lines . Logistical failures in a hostile physical environment hampered everyone . As happened time and again in the Pacific, the Japanese logistical support system failed, as only 20% of the supplies dispatched from Rabaul to Guadalcanal ever reached there . Consequently, the 30,000 Japanese troops lacked heavy equipment, adequate ammunition and even enough food; 10,000 were killed, 10,000 starved to death, and the remaining 10,000 were evacuated in February 1943 . In the end Guadalcanal was a major American victory as the Japanese inability to keep pace with the rate of American reinforcements proved decisive . Guadalcanal is an iconic episode in the annals of American military history, underscoring heroic bravery of underequipped individuals in fierce combat with a determined foe . </P>

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