B-24 Liberators in flames at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. The planes were struck by Japanese bombs causing ammunition to explode. March 1943.

Source: National Archives (127-N-53240)

A sign in front of a tent on Guadalcanal reads: "Betty Grable, in case of air raid, get into hole." 1942.

Source: National Archives (127-N-61519)

Bill Lansford, whose mother came to the United States from Juarez, Mexico, was born July 13, 1922 and grew up in Latino neighborhoods in East Los Angeles. He spoke little English and had virtually no contact with his Anglo father, a Los Angeles policeman, until he was fourteen. At 16, . . .

Bill Lansford, center, with fellow Marines after Guadalcanal. The note written on the photograph says "The Terrible Trio." New Hebrides, 1942.

Source: Bill Lansford

Bill Lansford, center, with fellow Marines before their deployment to Guadalcanal. He served with Colonel Carlson's 2nd Raider Battalion known as Carlson's Raiders.

Source: Bill Lansford

Returning home, Bill Lansford enjoyed swapping war stories with fellow soldiers and the new kind of freedom.

Of Mexican descent, Bill Lansford noticed very little discrimination growing up.

Marine ID card belonging to Bill Lansford.

Source: Bill Lansford

Latino soldiers tended to volunteer for the more dangerous tasks during the war.

Lt. Col. F. Evans Carlson (front row, third from left) with his famed Carlson's Raiders, the 2nd Raider Battalion. February, 1943, Guadalcanal.

Source: National Archives

Bill Lansford and Pete Arias talk about being part of "Carlson's Raiders"

A U.S. Marine on Guadalcanal writes a letter to his parents. November 4, 1942.

Source: National Archives (208-AA-76HH-4)

Bitter contest between the Japanese and the Americans that marked a turning point in the Pacific war. The struggle on Guadalcanal was protracted, and the period from August 1942 to February 1943 saw some of the most bitter fighting of the war. In all, there were some 50 actions involving . . .

Marines seek shelter during an air raid on Guadalcanal. January 30, 1943.

Source: National Archives (080-G-39215)

A scout bomber passes over Marines in a swampy jungle area on Guadalcanal. November 2, 1942.

Source: National Archives (208-AA-75KK-20)

Marines prepare to evacuate a wounded soldier from the front lines on Guadalcanal. January 10, 1943.

Source: National Archives (127-N-53450)

The bodies of dead Japanese soldiers litter the beach at the mouth of the Tenaru River, Guadalcanal. Marines patrol the shores. 1942.

Source: National Archives (080-G-17077)

Aboard the USS Montpelier, James Fahey would see action at Guadalcanal, Saipan and the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot.

Source: James Fahey and Family

James Fahey grew up in Waltham, Massachusetts, the youngest of four orphaned children. Two of his brothers, John and Joe, had been in the Navy at Pearl Harbor and had survived. James signed on the following year and became a seaman first class aboard the USS Montpelier. He hoped to . . .

The USS Montpelier in the South Pacific, January 15, 1944. Aboard the Montpelier, James Fahey would see action in such battles as Guadalcanal, Saipan, the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf.

Source: National Archives (80-G-213953)