The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was the first shot in a multi-pronged attack.  Their bombers attacked Guam, Midway, and Wake, as well as Manila and Singapore.  The Japanese forces also attacked the Philippines, the Netherlands East Indies, New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago.  They swept over New Britain, New Ireland, and the Admiralty.  Rabaul on New Britain Island was fundamental to the Japanese strategy.  They planned to make Rabaul their main base of operations from which they could dominate New Guinea, Australia, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Fiji, and New Zealand.  By January 1942, they captured Rabaul.  The Japanese carrier strike force controlled the seas, and they continued their march southward to strategically-vital Australia; they pushed from Rabaul to Bouganville.  In May, they reached Tulagi, capital of the Solomons, and next door to Guadalcanal.  Soon an airfield was being built on Guadalcanal. 

            Two of the Japanese aircraft, often mentioned in Doc Livingood’s logs are the big twin-engine Betty bombers and their fighter aircraft, the Zero.   The Zero had excellent maneuverability and range.  However, these positive features came at the expense of pilot and gas tank protection.

On August 7, 1942, the landing of a Marine division on Guadalcanal and the nearby islands of Tulagi, Gavutu, and Tanambogo began the first stage of the counter-offensive.  The initial landings at Guadalcanal went well with little resistance; however, the resistance on the other islands was extremely strong. The fierceness of the fighting on Gavutu inspired the poem, The Graves of Gavutu. 

In the months that followed the fighting on Guadalcanal intensified.  The Japanese reacted resolutely with air and naval support and with reinforcements to the island.  After six months of fighting, Guadalcanal was finally secured in February 1943.  Another poem, Edson’s Ridge, capture’s one of the more bloody and strategically crucial events, among many, during this period. 

The Japanese airfield on Munda Point on the southwest coast of New Georgia was designated as the most important enemy position in the Solomons due to its proximity to Guadalcanal, 200 miles away.  Additionally, construction of secondary base near the mouth of the Vila River on the tip of Kolombangara Island had begun in December 1942.

On February 21, 1943, the U. S. Army made an unopposed landing on the Russell Islands, 60 miles northwest of Guadalcanal.  In addition to naval and air engagements in the ensuing months, the allied forces began the climb up the Solomon Islands.  On June 30, the Army landed at Rendova Harbor, and the Marines landed at Viru Harbor.  On July 2 and 3, landings were made on New Georgia and at Vangunu Island to the southeast of New Georgia.  On July 5, The Marines and Army landed at Rice Anchorage on the Island of New Georgia.  The Munda airfield was captured on August 5, 1943.  By October 6, 1943, the Central Solomon Islands Campaign ended with the complete evacuation of Kolombangara and Vella Lavella Islands. 

Later in October, the land movements continued to the north Solomon Islands.  On October 26, landings were initiated in Treasury Islands.  On October 28 Choiseul was invaded.  Finally, on November 1, 1943, the allies landed on Bougainville Island. 

            Although there are numerous islands that actually comprise the Solomon Islands, there are large islands and major clusters of islands enclosing a central passage, nicknamed “The Slot.”  The Slot runs southeast and northwest.  At the top end are Bougainville and Buka, currently part of Papua New Guinea.  On the eastern side are Choiseul, Santa Isabel and Malaita; on the western side are San Cristobal, Guadalcanal, The Russells, New Georgia, Rendova, Kolombangara, Vella Lavella, The Treasuries and The Shortlands.   In a Central position lays Florida, and to the South is Rennell. 

            The Slot was a major passage way for Japanese naval vessels during the Solomon Islands’ Campaign.

The aerial-nautical maps are copies of the originals from Doc Livingood’s collection and were used by the pilots of VMF-213.  These maps detail the islands and both the Japanese airfields and United States airfields.  

Marine fighter squadron VMF-213, the Hellhawks, was formed July 1, 1942 at Ewa, in the then territory of Hawaii. The first echelon of the squadron left Ewa on February 15, 1943, and arrived at Espiritu Santos, New Hebrides, on February 28, 1943.  The last three echelons of the squadron arrived on March 8, 1943.  Espiritu Santos, New Hebrides, was their rear area of operation. 

Squadron designations were based on specific letters used for indicating the missions for each particular type of squadron and its assigned aircraft.  As an example, a World War II squadron operating the F4U Corsair aircraft would have been designated a fighting squadron (VF). The letter F, for fighting or fighter, was the key in identifying the type of squadron and was also used in the aircrafts designation.  The Letter M would be assigned to Marine squadrons.  Identification numbers were assigned to each squadron, hence VMF-213.  

VMF-213 were trained on the Grumman built F4F-4 Wildcat.  It had four fifty caliber machine guns and was much better protected than the Zero; however it had some severe limitations: lack of power compromised its ability to carry heavier payloads and fuel loads.  It lacked the manueverability, power, speed, and ability to climb of the Zero.  To compensate for its weaknesses and relying on its strengths, the Marine pilots developed the successful two-plane mutually protecting fight section  tactic.  However, shortly after their arrival in the Pacific theater, the F4F-4 Wildcats were replaced by the F4U Vought Corsair, giving inspiration to the Poem, Two-Thirteen and Their F4U’s. 

On April 3, 1943, the VMF-213 departed Espiritu Santo, code named both Buttons and Ebon, for Guadalcanal, code named Cactus and Ebay.  On April 4, they relieved the VMF-124 and started to operate from Henderson Field on Guadalcanal.  The squadron’s first job was to learn the geography of the Solomon Islands: the islands, the Slot, the location of enemy troop concentrations, the airstrips, etc.  Typical missions involved escorting bombers up to Bougainville, a Japanese stronghold in mid-1943, actions against New Georgia, Villa, Munda, Rekata Bay, Vanga Vanga, and Lolabinauri, and included area patrols of the Russell Islands and other surrounding islands. 

The Flight Surgeon’s Log documents certain operations: beginning on April 4^th with local patrols, followed by aerial battles in defense of Russells and Tulagi on April 7^th, mission over Choiseul and Kolombangara on April 13^th, strafing on Vila and Munda on April 22^nd, aerial battle over Vangunu on April 25th, and intercepts in the course of these missions.  The first tour ended May 12, 1943, with only two pilots lost and only seven Japanese planes shot down.

The squadron’s highly regarded Commanding Officer, Major Britt, died in an operational accident on April 13^th.  Additionally, Lieutenant Eckart was listed as MIA and never returned.  A log entry notes that Eckart “seemed to be straggling in formation” after the aerial battle over Vangunu on April 25^th.  Later, on June 12^th there is a note of an unconfirmed rumor that a pilot was picked up with neck wounds a month earlier and died shortly thereafter, indicating it was probably Lt. Eckart.

The Hellhawks’ second combat tour of duty began on June 17, 1943, and the pace of the war increased dramatically.  Combat patrols continued as major land operations began.  On June 30^th, the squadron engaged in aerial battle over New Georgia and Rendova covering the Rendova landings.  On July 11^th, there was another aerial battle over New Georgia; on July 15^th a large bomber attack on New Georgia was intercepted.  On July 17^th and 18^th, there were aerial battles over Kahili.  On July 19^th, the Commanding Officer, Major Weissenberger, and Doc Livingood requested Fighter Command to “ease duty on the pilots – no relief in sight for 10 days.”  After completion of the mission on Kahili on July 26^th, all pilots were grounded for “Combat Fatigue.”  On July 28^th, VMF-214, the “Black Sheep,” arrived to relieve the VMF-213.

            The second combat tour resulted in 62 Japanese planes shot down.   Seven Marine aces were made: Weissenberger, Cupp, Hall, Shaw, Thomas, Morgan, and Vedder.  However, the second tour also took a severe toll; six pilots lost their lives: Votaw, Winnia, Garrison, Tate, Peck, and Spoede.  On June 29^th, Lt. Tate was on morning patrol and had engine failure; he died in a crash short of the runway.  On June 30^th, Lt. Peck had engine failure and glided to a water landing but failed to get out of the plane prior to sinking.  On July 3^rd, while returning from combat patrol in late evening, Lt. Spoede “ran into thunderhead” and contact was lost – reported as missing.  On July 15^th, Lt. Votaw was reported missing, “last seen making a run on a Betty.”  On July 17^th, Lt. Garrison was “shot down in combat over Kahili on return – broke division to make pass at zero . .  . shot down, both wing tanks blazing – went straight in not seen to get out.”  On July 18^th, Lt. Winnia failed to return; he was “last seen in combat over Kahili” and was later designated a prisoner of war; he was never recovered.  One particular poem, Over the Horizon, stands out in that it captures the squadron’s pilot losses up through the end of the second Combat tour. 

In their third tour, while primarily based on Guadalcanal, the squadron was split-up for periods of time; a significant number of pilots were assigned Munda, New Georgia Island, and, at times, to the Russell Islands.  In addition to patrols and escorting bombers, combat actions continued against Kahili and Vella Lavella.  On September 12^th, a major aerial battle occurred over Kahili; the squadron shot down eight planes.  On September the 17^th, in an aerial battle over Vella Lavella, the squadron shot down nine planes. In a September 23^rd engagement, between Vella Lavella and Kahili, the squadron pilots shot down another 5 planes.  By the end of the third tour, another 35 Japanese plane were shot down, bringing the total of Japanese planes shot down to 104 for the Hellhawks’ three combat tours.  While no new aces were made, Cupp, Shaw, Thomas, and Morgan added to their tallies of enemy planes shot down: 12, 13 ½, 16 ½, and 8 ½, respectively.     During the third tour, five pilots were classified Missing in Action and later as Killed in Action: Bennett, Brown, Glascock , Cloake, and Roberts.  On Sept. 9^th, Lt. Bennett was “last seen in battle near Villa Lavella (in control of airplane).”  On Sept. 12^th, Capt. Brown was “shot down while strafing Kahili. – radioed ‘losing oil pressure’, - pulled up to 700 – 1000 ft. and plane went into water – not seen to escape.  Time 1730 between Kahili and Shortlands.”   On September 18^th, in an aerial battle over Vella Lavella, both Lt. Glascock and Major Cloake were reported Missing in Action.  Glascock was “last seen in run on dive bomber, wing seen to fall off, possibly in explosion, continued down straight into water – guns firing into water.”  On September 23^rd  in a battle between Vella Lavella and Kahili, Lt. Roberts was reported down and was last seen in the Shortlands’ area. 

On October 11, 1943, VMF-221 arrived to relieve VMF-213.  That same day, Thomas shot down 3 zeros and 1 probable; Shaw shot down one zero. On December 9, 1943, after their third combat tour and a short rest in Sidney, Australia, the Hellhawks returned to the United States for reorganization and training.

[1] Doc Livingood’s log documents 12 planes shot down during Cupp’s VMF-213’s three combat tours in the Solomon Islands. Other records both support the 12 or state 13.
[2] Doc Livingood’s log account for 13 ½ planes shot down. Other records record 13 and two suggest 14 ½.
[3] Doc Livingood’s log accounts for 16 ½ planes shot down. Other records indicate 18.5 planes shot down and one record specifically mention two Zeros shot down while stationed on the Essex, an aircraft carrier, in February 1945.
[4] Miscellaneous diseases such as cellulitis and catarrhal fever also occurred, as well as one instance Psychoneurosis attributed to malarial infection.