True Adventure: Return to Guadalcanal (1960)

Synopsis

This film is of the documentary series “True Adventure” which ran from the 1950’s to the 1960’s and was created by Bill Burrud who also served as host (:19). This episode takes viewers to Guadalcanal, a major battleground during WW2, with Milas Hinshaw and Martin Clemens (1:26). Clemens was a District Officer on Guadalcanal of the British Solomon Islands protectorate in 1941 when Japan invaded (1:57). Unlike most who fled, Clemens and others like him chose to remain on the island with the natives and form a unit known as the Coast Watchers (2:12). Due to their actions, information was able to be relayed back to the Allies of Japanese ship and troop movements as well as their rebuilding activities on the islands (2:20). They informed the Allies of the construction of Henderson Field in Guadalcanal. That in turn led commanders to focus on attacking Guadalcanal (2:40). This will be Clemens’ first time back since the war had ended two decades prior (2:54). From their plane, the Solomon Islands are spotted below (3:11). Combat footage follows as WW2 had made these islands infamous (3:35). The plane flies over Guadalcanal (4:01) and they land onto Henderson Field (4:05). Save for the remaining rusted debris of the war (4:31), the island is pictured as peaceful. The high commissioner of the Solomon Islands, Sir David Trench, had allowed the pair to use his ship the ‘Coral Queen’ pictured at (5:27). They are seen leaving from Point Cruise and heading along the coastline. Along the…

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Details

Running time

25 minutes

Collection

Ephemeral Films

Subjects on the Internet Archive

• Stock Footage