 By mid-1943, a year-and-a-half after Pearl Harbor, the hacking up of Japan's empire began. We had lopped off all the main Solomon Islands except Bougainville. Our plan for Bougainville was to immobilize the Jap ground forces and to knock out their bomber and fighter bases. Softening up operations began in July. The heaviest missions were concentrated on the northern airfields, which were at the center of strong Jap defenses. Airstrips, supply dumps, planes and shore installations were shot up with methodical regularity. Meanwhile at Guadalcanal in the southern Solomon's, ships were being loaded for the main assault. By October 27th, the 3rd Marine Division had embarked. The convoy, to deceive Jap reconnaissance, during the night swung hard to port and cut an arc toward the west coast of Bougainville. Our warships, in coordination with dive bombers, thoroughly pounded the landing area on D-Day, November 1st. Long before dawn, the Marines piled into their assault boats. 0645 hours, landing points in Inchore Island named Furawata and a promontory called Cape Torquina. The first assault boats drew only sporadic enemy fire. But soon the Japs were trying desperately to break up our landing operations. Their continuous air attacks delayed unloading the ships. Our airmen and heavy aircraft shop shooters brought down 18 Japanese planes. On the beachhead, patrols quickly established outposts. By nightfall, the Marines were prepared against the possibility of infiltration or surprise attack. But none came. Admiral Halsey, two and a half weeks later, accompanied units of the 37th Division, which landed between November 8th and 24th to reinforce the Marines. The Jap Air Force, a few days later, made a major strike against our beachhead and succeeded in firing several of our gasoline and oil dumps. Until these losses were replaced, our troops carried on only limited operations towards extending our perimeter. General Griswold, commanding 14th Corps, began to step up our attacks against the Japanese. We beat down suicidal attempts to infiltrate our lines. The technique of jungle fighting was still new to our troops, yet in many instances we completely wiped out Jap units. Underground field hospitals were set up close to the front lines. Medics often performed surgical operations while enemy shells exploded within a radius of 50 yards. Engineers and CBs, meanwhile, had begun building three airstrips. By January, two months after our initial landing, two runways for fighter planes and one for bombers were in operation. We utilized C-47 transport planes to supply our troops fighting in the forward areas. It was a welcome improvement over the drudgery of pack-carrying through swamps and jungles. Troops were fighting one of Japan's toughest outfits, the notorious 6th Division, commanded by the fanatical General Kanda, who had participated in the Rape of Man King. Captured enemy maps and documents tipped us off to an impending all-out attack against our beachhead. This was early in March, four months after our landing on Bougainville. The maps and documents gave us a general idea of the Jap plan of battle and probable jump-off date, March 10th. Before the Japs moved, we had re-disposed our forces and coordinated all our positions. We were ready. In those hills were the Japs, hidden, watchful, waiting for the order to attack. On the eve of the assault, General Kanda issued the following order of the day. Full precision or artillery met the first shock of the enemy's onslaught. Fanatically, the Japanese soldier attacked and attacked. For had not his commander declared, we are invincible. No foe can equal our might. And had not he ordered, strike, strike, and strike again, preserve our nation and our glory. For four weeks the battle raged back and forth, up and down, advance, advance, until we killed more than 8,000 Japs. Our troops buried 5,370 of them. Those who had fled back into the hills could easily be kept immobilized. In May 1944, Bougainville for all practical purposes was ours. We had paid a price, too. Found rest and recreation. Bougainville proved to be of priceless importance as our fighting forces struck closer and ever closer to the heart of the Japanese Empire.