"For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous intrepidity above and beyond
the call of duty as Commanding Officer of the 1st Marine Raider Battalion, with Parachute Battalion attached, during action against
enemy Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands on the night of 13–14
September 1942. After the airfield on Guadalcanal had been seized from
the enemy on August 8, Col. Edson, with a force of 800 men, was assigned
to the occupation and defense of a ridge
dominating the jungle on either side of the airport. Facing a
formidable Japanese attack which, augmented by infiltration, had crashed
through our front lines, he, by skillful handling of his troops,
successfully withdrew his forward units to a reserve line with minimum
casualties. When the enemy, in a subsequent series of violent assaults,
engaged our force in desperate hand-to-hand combat with bayonets,
rifles, pistols, grenades, and knives, Col. Edson, although
continuously exposed to hostile fire throughout the night, personally
directed defense of the reserve position against a fanatical foe of
greatly superior numbers. By his astute leadership and gallant devotion
to duty, he enabled his men, despite severe losses, to cling tenaciously
to their position on the vital ridge, thereby retaining command not
only of the Guadalcanal airfield, but also of the 1st Division's entire
offensive installations in the surrounding area."
From Col. Edson's Medal of Honor citation, awarded in 1943.
Thank you for your service and may you be at peace,
Brian
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