The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the BRONZE STAR MEDAL to
PRIVATE FIRST CLASS PHILLIP E. ARMSTRONG,
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS RESERVE
for service set forth in the following
CITATION:
"For meritorious service while serving as a Radio Jeep Operator of Marine Service Squadron TWENTY-FOUR, Marine Aircraft Group TWENTY-FOUR, in action against enemy Japanese forces in the Philippine Islands Area, from 22 January to 22 February 1945. Participating in combat against the enemy for four hours during the early stages of the battle for the re-capture of Manilla, Private First Class Armstrong rendered invaluable service in maintaining perfect radio communications with Marine dive bombers. His courage and devotion to duty in the face of intense enemy machine-gun fire were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service."
Private First Class Armstrong is authorized to wear the Combat "V"
For the President
Secretary of the Navy
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.
