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Marine BGen Samuel Blair Griffith.
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Contact Info
Home Town Lewiston
Last Address Lewiston
Date of Passing Mar 27, 1983
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THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY Washington 4 February, 1942 Cited in the Name of The President of the United States THE FIRST MARINE DIVISION REINFORCED Under command of Major General Alexander A. Vandegrift, U.S.M.C.
CITATION: "The officers and enlisted men of the FIRST MARINE DIVISION, REINFORCED, on August 7 to 9. 1942, demonstrated outstanding gallantry and determination in successfully executing forced landing assaults against a number of strongly defended Japanese positions on TULAGI, GAVUTU, TANAMBOGO, FLORIDA and GUADALCANAL, British Solomon Islands, completely routing all the enemy forces and seizing a most valuable base and airfield within the enemy zone of operations in the South Pacific Ocean. From the above period until 09 December, 1942, this Reinforced Division not only held their important strategic positions despite determined and repeated Japanese naval, air and land attacks, but by a series of offensive operations against strong enemy resistance drove the Japanese from the proximity of the airfield and inflicted great losses on them by land and air attacks. The courage and determination displayed in these operations were of an inspiring order."
FRANK KNOX Secretary of the Navy
Other Comments:
UNIT CITATION BATTLE OF EDSON'S RIDGE (1-2 p36)
HEADQUARTERS, FIRST MARINE DIVISION FLEET MARINE FORCE C/O POSTMASTER, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. 19 September, 1942. DIVISION BULLETIN NUMBER 40a-42
Commendation of Raider Battalion, Parachute Battalion, and Eleventh Marines for action against the enemy of 13-14 September. 1942.
1. The Commanding General desires to commend the outstanding efforts of the Raider Battalion. the Parachute Battalion, and tne Eleventh Marines during the enemy attack on the First Division positions on Guadalcanal Island on the night of September 13-14, 1942.
2. On that night the Raider Battalion with the First Parachute Battalion attached, having been assiged the mission of occupying and defending a key position a1ong a ridge located about one thousand (1000) yards south of the Guadalcanal air field, had scarcely moved into the position when the enemy launched an attack on it and broke through the front lines. The situation of forward units havIng become untenable, a skillful withdrawal to the reserve position was effected.
3. During the period from 1930 on the 13th to 0000 on the 14th the enemy launched a series of ferocious assaults on the reserve position. each culminating in fierce hand to hand combat in vhich both attacker and defender employed bayonets, rifles, pistol., grenades and knives. The Parachute Battalion, hastily reorganized into two companies after its withdrawal from the main line of resistance, counter-attacked the enemy advancing on the left of the reserve position to extend that position to the left and to straighten the line then being held by the Battalion Reserve. This counter-attack was carried out successfully in that the enemy was forced to vithdraw into the edge of the woods fronting the reserve position, this flanking movement which had threatened the whole position having been halted. During this courageous attack the Parachute Troops suffered casualties estimated at 40%.
4. Throughout the night the Eleventh Marines supported the Raiders and Parachutists by nine hours of almost constant artillery fire of the greatest accuracy and effectiveness, and greatly assisted them in standing off the attacks of the enemy. The morning of the 14th found the enemy, retreating and the reinforced Raider Battalion in complete control of the field of battle.
5. Almost without exception the officers and men engaged in this action proved themselves to be among, the best fighting troops that any service could hope to have, and in extending to tnem the salutation of the officers and men of the Division the Commanding General vishes to state that he considers i t a privilege and an honor to have had troops of this caliber attached to his command.
A. A. VANDEGRIFT.
Guadalcanal Campaign (1942-43)/Battle of Edson's Bloody Ridge
From Month/Year
September / 1942
To Month/Year
September / 1942
Description The Battle of Edson's Ridge, also known as the Battle of the Bloody Ridge, Battle of Raiders Ridge, and Battle of the Ridge, was a land battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II between Imperial Japanese Army and Allied (mainly United States Marine Corps) ground forces. It took place from 12–14 September 1942, on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, and was the second of three separate major Japanese ground offensives during the Guadalcanal Campaign.
In the battle, U.S. Marines, under the overall command of U.S. Major General Alexander Vandegrift, repulsed an attack by the Japanese 35th Infantry Brigade, under the command of Japanese Major General Kiyotake Kawaguchi. The Marines were defending the Lunga perimeter that guarded Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, which was captured from the Japanese by the Allies in landings on Guadalcanal on 7 August 1942. Kawaguchi's unit was sent to Guadalcanal in response to the Allied landings with the mission of recapturing the airfield and driving the Allied forces from the island.
Underestimating the strength of Allied forces on Guadalcanal–about 12,000–Kawaguchi's 6,000 soldiers conducted several nighttime frontal assaults on the U.S. defenses. The main Japanese assault occurred around Lunga ridge south of Henderson Field, manned by troops from several U.S. Marine Corps units, primarily troops from the 1st Raider and 1st Parachute Battalions under U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Merritt A. Edson. Although the Marine defenses were almost overrun, Kawaguchi's attack was ultimately defeated, with heavy losses for the Japanese.
Because of the key participation by Edson's unit in defending the ridge, the ridge was commonly referred to as "Edson's" ridge in historical accounts of the battle in Western sources.[4] After Edson's Ridge, the Japanese continued to send troops to Guadalcanal for further attempts to retake Henderson Field, affecting Japanese offensive operations in other areas of the South Pacific.
