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2. The Sullivan family first heard the news that their five sons had died at Guadalcanal from neighbors. So their mother wrote this letter of inquiry to the Navy. At the time of her letter, the boys had been dead for two months.
3. Sullivan bros were together, despite the Navy’s policy of separating siblings, because the oldest brother, George, had written to the Sec Navy shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack, asking that they be allowed to serve together: “As a bunch, there is no-body that can beat us.”
4. The Sullivan brothers would see the worst of the war at Guadalcanal, the largest of the Solomon Islands, strategically located in the South Pacific and lying northeast of Australia. https://look.substack.com/p/the-sullivan-brothers
5. Guadalcanal was the site of a series of land, naval and aerial battles between U.S. forces and land and sea forces of Imperial Japan. They took place over a six month period, from August 1942 until the Japanese withdrawal in February 1943. https://look.substack.com/p/the-sullivan-brothers
6. The battles on Guadalcanal were fought in stifling tropical heat and, for a while, on reduced rations. Fever, chills, vomiting and muscle pain from malaria, spread by mosquitos, debilitated American troops. https://look.substack.com/p/the-sullivan-brothers
7. Japanese forces had invaded Guadalcanal, then a British territory, in 1942 and commenced construction of an airfield. Possession of a Guadalcanal air base was important to control of the sea lines between the U.S. and and its ally, Australia.
8.Marines landed on Guadalcanal Aug 7, 1942 & seized the airfield, renaming it Henderson Field in honor of the 1st marine aviator killed in the Battle of Midway in June. The Marine landing marked the first major offensive action against Japanese positions in the Pacific theater.
9. The fight for Guadalcanal culminated in a decisive naval battle that took place on November 12 - 15, 1942. This is the battle in which the Sullivan brothers were killed. https://look.substack.com/p/the-sullivan-brothers
10. After many failed prior attempts to retake Henderson Field, the Japanese had organized a transport convoy in Nov 1942 to carry 7,000 infantry troops and equipment to Guadalcanal for another assault.
11. As a part of this operation, several Japanese warships were ordered to bomb Henderson Field from offshore to destroy Allied planes that posed a threat to the convoy.
The US learned of the planned offensive and launched a counterstrike to defend Henderson Field.
The US learned of the planned offensive and launched a counterstrike to defend Henderson Field.
12. The USS Juneau, the Sullivan brothers' ship, was a participant in the Allied counterstrike. It arrived in Guadalcanal on November 12 and took up her station in a protective screen around Allied transports and cargo vessels.
http://13.At 2:00 am on November 13th, a Japanese naval force consisting of two battleships, one light cruiser and nine destroyers, engaged the Juneau, along with the other landing support group vessels. Because of bad weather and confused communications,
14....the battle occurred in near-pitch darkness and at almost point-blank range, and the ships of the two sides became intermingled.
15. The Juneau was struck on the port side by a Japanese torpedo and withdrew from the battle, heading toward an Allied safe harbor for repairs. In her retreat, at 11:00 that same morning, a 2nd Japanese torpedo struck Juneau in its weapons magazine. There was a great explosion.
16. The Juneau broke in two and disappeared beneath the surface of the water in seconds. Fearing more attacks and assuming there were no survivors, U.S. ships accompanying the Juneau departed without searching for survivors. https://look.substack.com/p/the-sullivan-brothers
17. >100 sailors had survived the sinking of the Juneau [1 report claims 115 survived]. 8 days after the sinking, rescue aircraft arrived, but in the intervening days, while awaiting rescue in the open ocean, all but 10 sailors had died from injuries, exposure & shark attacks.
![17. >100 sailors had survived the sinking of the Juneau [1 report claims 115 survived]. 8 days after the sinking, rescue aircraft arrived, but in the intervening days, while awaiting rescue in the open ocean, all but 10 sailors had died from injuries, exposure & shark attacks.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EY47_HSXkAI6Hkd.png "17. >100 sailors had survived the sinking of the Juneau [1 report claims 115 survived]. 8 days after the sinking, rescue aircraft arrived, but in the intervening days, while awaiting rescue in the open ocean, all but 10 sailors had died from injuries, exposure & shark attacks.")
18.Two of the Sullivan brothers apparently survived the sinking, only to die in the water; two presumably went down with the ship. Some reports indicate the fifth brother also survived the sinking, but disappeared during the first night when he left a raft and got into the water.
19. Our history journal published an extensive report on the Sullivan Bros in January; and I am grateful to those who have read this thread and signed up to subscribe to our journal. We tell important stories that provide context for the crazy that has infested much of America.
