This Day In U.S. Military History – September 27, 1942

Douglas Munro fighting on his Higgins Boat at “the Little Dunkirk of Guadalcanal”

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The United States has recognized gallantry since the Revolutionary War – in the form of medals and ribbons. These have included the Purple Heart, service crosses (names branch dependent), Silver Star and Bronze Star. The first of these was the Badge of Military Merit and was first awarded in May of 1783. It would later be renamed the Purple Heart. All awards for gallantry are valuable and treasured – but none more so than the (Congressional) Medal of Honor. Its value is driven by the fact that there have only been 3,536 of these awarded – with nearly 20% of them awarded to soldiers who were killed during the action they received the MoH for. But of these 3,500+ Medal of Honor awardees, only one has been a member of the U.S. Coast Guard: Douglas Munro. This is his story.

On Sunday, September 27, 1942, seven weeks into the grinding fight for Guadalcanal, Lieutenant Colonel Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller sent three companies of his 1st Battalion, 7th Marines west of Point Cruz. The plan was to land them from the sea, drive Japanese troops away from the Matanikau River, and plant a patrol base on the far bank. Signalman First Class Douglas A. Munro, of the U.S. Coast Guard, two weeks shy of his twenty-third birthday, took charge of the Higgins boats and tank lighters that carried the Marines from Lunga Point. Shortly after noon the destroyer USS Monssen laid down covering fire, and the landing went in almost unopposed.

The Marines pushed inland toward a low ridge called Hill 84. There the Japanese closed from both flanks. Enemy machine guns and mortars raked the ridge. Monssen was driven off by bombers. Radios failed. On the crest someone laid out white T-shirts to spell a single word visible from the sea: HELP!

The gallant Chesty Puller, watching from offshore, organized the rescue. He flagged down naval gunfire to blast a corridor from the ridge back to the beach. At Lunga Point the same boats that had landed the Marines were still being refueled when the call came. Munro, having landed the Marines, volunteered at once. “Hell, yeah,” he told the officer in charge.

He led five small craft back toward the cove under constant machine-gun fire. As his Higgins boat closed on the beach he signaled the others in, then swung his own boat broadside between the Japanese positions and the Marines scrambling into the water. With only two light guns he drew fire – so the loaded boats could pull away. Nearly five hundred men, including the wounded, were taken off in what survivors later called their “Little Dunkirk.”

One tank lighter grounded near Point Cruz. Munro steered in, passed a towline, and helped free it. As the last boats cleared the surf a burst of fire walked across the water. A bullet struck Munro at the base of the skull – mortally wounding him. He remained conscious just long enough to ask, “Did they get off?” Told that they had, he died before the boats reached Lunga.

His crew, two of them wounded, finished the run. Every Marine who reached the beach that afternoon was brought out. Puller later endorsed the recommendation that became Munro’s Medal of Honor, which would be presented by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the young Coast Guardsman’s parents the following May. Eighty-four years later he remains the only member of the Coast Guard ever awarded the nation’s highest decoration for valor. On a narrow strip of sand west of the Matanikau, a signalman had placed his boat between the enemy and the Marines—and kept it there until the last marine was safely evacuated.

Signalman First Class Douglas A. Munro’s Medal of Honor Citation:

“For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry in action above and beyond the call of duty as petty officer in charge of a group of 24 Higgins boats, engaged in the evacuation of a battalion of marines trapped by enemy Japanese forces at Point Cruz, Guadalcanal on 27 September 1942. After making preliminary plans for the evacuation of nearly 500 beleaguered marines, Munro, under constant strafing by enemy machine guns on the island, and at great risk of his life, daringly led five of his small craft toward the shore. As he closed the beach, he signaled the others to land, and then in order to draw the enemy’s fire and protect the heavily loaded boats, he valiantly placed his craft with its two small guns as a shield between the beachhead and the Japanese. When the perilous task of evacuation was nearly completed, Munro was instantly killed by enemy fire, but his crew, two of whom were wounded, carried on until the last boat had loaded and cleared the beach. By his outstanding leadership, expert planning, and dauntless devotion to duty, he and his courageous comrades undoubtedly saved the lives of many who otherwise would have perished. He gallantly gave his life for his country.”

We owe all of our military members, past and present, much respect. They are due this honor. But those soldiers who have been wounded and killed in action, while valiantly fighting for our great Republic, are due so much more. Their names should be etched on our hearts and remembered forever. Through my blog posts, I will continue to do my part to acknowledge and honor these individuals. They represent one of the many reasons to be proud of our country. God bless the USA 🇺🇸 and all who have signed a blank check – one redeemable with paying their “Last Full Measure” – to protect our way of life and great traditions.