No Bended Knee by Merrill B. Twining

Author:Merrill B. Twining
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Nonfiction
ISBN: 9780307416209
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2007-12-17T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 9

Abandoned Mission

Immediately following the Battle of Edson’s Ridge, sweeping changes were made within the division. Recent promotions had made us overstrength in senior ranks, and the commandant of the Marine Corps directed General Vandegrift to make readjustments. These promotions made the process somewhat less painful. Col. Jerry Thomas, who had been spot promoted, became chief of staff. He had been performing most of those functions for a long time anyway as General Vandegrift had lost confidence in his predecessor. The commanding officer, 5th Marines, and two of his three battalion commanders were also detached. Colonel Edson was given command of the regiment. Maj. Bob Ballance was assigned command of the Pioneer Battalion (Shore Party). Its commander, Col. George Rowan, was considered to have done extremely well, but his age and rank were disproportionate to a small command. Despite his low rank, Capt. Jim Murray was deservedly made D-1 (personnel), a job he had been performing as division adjutant in the absence of Col. Robert C. Kilmartin Jr., who was serving as Rupertus’s chief of staff on Tulagi. General Vandegrift called me aside, sternly gave me a little good advice, and told me, somewhat to my surprise, that I would take over as the operations officer (D-3). This unexpected reward reminded me of the story about the dog that bit Frederick the Great. The king not only forgave the offender but also gave him a piece of cheese.

The relief of Col. LeRoy P. Hunt was a sad event, but indicative of Vandegrift’s military character and high sense of duty. The general was sending home one of his best friends and our most admired officer of World War I. In 1918 Hunt had been the captain selected to command the company of Marines storming the famed Essen Hook on Mont Blanc, opening the gate for the stalemated French Army.

During this period aviation activity at Henderson Field was augmented by the opening on 9 September of Fighter One, an airstrip parallel to Henderson Field, and the arrival of 24 fighters from the Saratoga, which, damaged by a Japanese torpedo, was departing the area for repairs. Still more navy planes came in to bolster the hard-pressed Cactus pilots. Air action climaxed on 13 September, as did the ground action on the Ridge, by a resounding repulse of repeated Japanese aerial and ground threats. Losses of Marine and navy planes were severe, but enemy losses were catastrophic. Throughout this critical period, Geiger, by sheer force of personality and example, maintained effective control of a confused and rapidly changing situation.

Jerry Thomas immediately showed himself to be a highly effective chief of staff. He organized the command post for the first time on a truly functional basis. The general was provided with more suitable accommodations, and the number of personnel in the CP was reduced by transferring nonessential functions to less congested areas.

Butch Morgan moved his galley out of the blacksmith shop and into a screened enclosure at the insistence of our division surgeon, Capt. Warwick T.

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