This Military Service Page was created/owned by
CWO3 Manuel (Manny) Vizinho
to remember
Marine 1stSgt Orvan Samuel Slaughter.
If you knew or served with this Marine and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial. In these gardens are recorded the names of Americans who gave their lives in the service of their Country and whose final resting place is known only to God.
Other Comments:
Navy Cross The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to First Sergeant Orvan S. Slaughter (MCSN: 248692), United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty while serving as First Sergeant of an assault company attached to the Second Battalion, Second Marines, SECOND Marine Division, during action against enemy Japanese forces at Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands, on 22 November 1943. Voluntarily assuming command when the officers of his company became casualties, First Sergeant Slaughter courageously led his men forward under a constant barrage of enemy shellfire and successfully destroyed three Japanese pillboxes obstructing their advance before he himself was killed. His prompt decision, daring aggressiveness and heroic self-sacrifice in the face of grave peril directly contributed to the success of our forces in that area and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country. General Orders: Authority: Board of Awards: Serial 917 (March 24, 1944) Action Date: 22-Nov-43
Guadalcanal Campaign (1942-43)/Battle of Tulagi (including First Savo)
From Month/Year
August / 1942
To Month/Year
August / 1942
Description
The Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu–Tanambogo was a land battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, between the forces of the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied (mainly United States (U.S.) Marine) ground forces. It took place from 7–9 August 1942 on the Solomon Islands, during the initial Allied landings in the Guadalcanal campaign.
In the battle, U.S. Marines, under the overall command of U.S. Major General Alexander Vandegrift, successfully landed and captured the islands of Tulagi, Gavutu, and Tanambogo among which the Japanese Navy had constructed a naval and seaplane base. The landings were fiercely resisted by the Japanese Navy troops who, outnumbered and outgunned by the Allied forces, fought and died almost to the last man.
At the same time that the landings on Tulagi and Gavutu–Tanambogo were taking place, Allied troops were also landing on nearby Guadalcanal, with the objective of capturing an airfield under construction by Japanese forces. In contrast to the intense fighting on Tulagi and Gavutu, the landings on Guadalcanal were essentially unopposed. The landings on both Tulagi and Guadalcanal initiated the six-month long Guadalcanal campaign and a series of combined-arms battles between Allied and Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands area.
