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CWO3 Manuel (Manny) Vizinho
to remember
Marine 1stLt William Carroll Spradling.
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Contact Info
Home Town Hollis
Last Address Box 303 Hollis
MIA Date May 06, 1943
Cause KIA-Killed in Action
Reason Air Loss, Crash - Sea
Location Solomon Islands
Location of Memorial Manila American Cemetery - Taguig City, Philippines
SPRADLING, William C, 1STLT, O-13368, USMC, from Oklahoma, location Solomon Islands, date of loss May 6, 1943 (pm) + SPRADLING, William C, First Lieutenant, O-013368, USMC, from Oklahoma, Manila American Cemetery (bm) + SPRADLING, William Carroll, 13368, VMSB143, MAG12, 2ndMAW, FMF, Solomon Is area, May 6, 1943, killed in action (mc) + SPRADLING, William C., 1st Lieutenant, USMCR. Father, Mr. W.C. Spradling, Box 303, Hollis, Okla (na)
1stLt William C Spradling was declared Missing in Action on 6 May 1943.
Other Comments:
Body Not Recovered
Air Medal citation: "For heroism and extraordinary achievement as a pilot of a Torpedo Bombing Plane attached to Marine Torpedo Bombing Squadron One Forty-Three, operating from Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, during the periods from 17 Feb. 1943 to 1 April, 1943, and 1 May, 1943, to 6 May, 1943. Lt. Spradling participated in extremely hazardous missions of laying aerial mines in the waters of the Buin Area, South Bougainville, on the night of 21 March, 1943. Highly accurate navigation at low altitudes in bad weather and attacks in the face of intense enemy anti-aircraft fire and blinding searchlights were necessary for the success of the missions which were carried out as planned. On the night of 24 March, 1943, Lt. Spradling participated in an attack on Kahili Airfield, setting fires in the revetment and bivouac areas in the face of heavy anti-aircraft fire. On 6 May, 1943, while attacking Munda, Lt. Spradling's plane was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and he crashed in flames on the runway after releasing his bomb. Throughout these attacks he displayed outstanding leadership, aggressiveness, bravery and airmanship. His courage, loyalty and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service."
World War II/Asiatic-Pacific Theater/Guadalcanal Campaign (1942-43)
From Month/Year
August / 1942
To Month/Year
February / 1943
Description The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II. It was the first major offensive by Allied forces against the Empire of Japan.
On 7 August 1942, Allied forces, predominantly American, landed on the islands of Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Florida in the southern Solomon Islands with the objective of denying their use by the Japanese to threaten the supply and communication routes between the US, Australia, and New Zealand. The Allies also intended to use Guadalcanal and Tulagi as bases to support a campaign to eventually capture or neutralize the major Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain. The Allies overwhelmed the outnumbered Japanese defenders, who had occupied the islands since May 1942, and captured Tulagi and Florida, as well as an airfield (later named Henderson Field) that was under construction on Guadalcanal. Powerful US naval forces supported the landings.
Surprised by the Allied offensive, the Japanese made several attempts between August and November 1942 to retake Henderson Field. Three major land battles, seven large naval battles (five nighttime surface actions and two carrier battles), and continual, almost daily aerial battles culminated in the decisive Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in early November 1942, in which the last Japanese attempt to bombard Henderson Field from the sea and land with enough troops to retake it was defeated. In December 1942, the Japanese abandoned further efforts to retake Guadalcanal and evacuated their remaining forces by 7 February 1943 in the face of an offensive by the US Army's XIV Corps, conceding the island to the Allies.
The Guadalcanal campaign was a significant strategic combined arms victory by Allied forces over the Japanese in the Pacific theatre. The Japanese had reached the high-water mark of their conquests in the Pacific, and Guadalcanal marked the transition by the Allies from defensive operations to the strategic offensive in that theatre and the beginning of offensive operations, including the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, and Central Pacific campaigns, that resulted in Japan's eventual surrender and the end of World War II.