Lonely Vigil

Coastwatchers of the Solomons

by Walter Lord

Dust Jacket - front:

This is a neat old book. It was published in 1977 by The Viking Press, New York. The dust jacket shows minor signs of wear. The cover consists of green paper covered hard boards and a teal cloth covered spine. The title is in silver on the spine. The cover shows no signs of wear to speak of. The spine is tight and the hinges are strong. There is a signature of a previous owner on the front free end page. The pages show no signs of rips. Exceptions noted, the overall condition of this book is very good.


Front Cover/Spine


Back end pages - Map

Excerpt – Dust Jacket:
This is a great story – largely untold – of the Pacific War. It is the first complete account of the Coastwatchers of the Solomons, that remarkable band of individualists who operated deep behind Japanese lines in the dark days of 1942-43. Living by their wits, with the help of friendly natives, they gave us our best intelligence, rescued our downed flyers, saved our men from their sinking ships – including John F. Kennedy’s PT 109. In Admiral Halsey’s words, “The Coastwatchers saved Guadalcanal, and Guadalcanal saved the Pacific.”

Yet the full saga of the Coastwatchers is more than the story of a few brave men. It is also the story of the natives who helped them, the missionaries they worked with, the downed flyers and castaways they rescued, the Marine patrols they guided, the pilots and submariners who serviced them, even the Japanese who chased them. This varied cast of intriguing characters gives the epoch of the Coastwatchers its special appeal and makes it almost an anachronism by the standards of modern war, for it was a period when individual human beings were still important…
End excerpt


Daniel Pule, Martin Clemen’s chief clerk, today lives in retirement on New Georgia. He stands here (left) with Aleasa Bisili, a mission schoolboy in 1942. They are holding the torn wing of an American plane – part of the debris of war that still litters the Solomons.

Contents:

    Introduction
  1. “Steak and Eggs”
  2. Alone
  3. “Forty Bombers Heading Yours”
  4. The Good Shepherd
  5. New Eyes, New Ears
  6. Taking the Stick to the Wolf
  7. Derailing the Tokyo Express
  8. The Strangest New Year’s Eve
  9. Friends in Need
  10. Driven Out
  11. A Very Private War
  12. 165 Invited Guests
  13. The Other Kennedy
  14. The Final Triumph

    15. Acknowledgements
    List of Contributors
    Index


    Sergeant Major Jacob Vouza, Martin Clemen’s legendary scout. Guiding a Marine patrol, he is seen here wearing U.S. battle fatigues.


    Major General A.A. Vandergrift, USMC, the Allied commander on Guadalcanal. His only defeat was his attempt to evacuate Father de Klerk from Tangarare.


    Merle Farland, Methodist nurse on Vella Lavella, aided Coastwatchers in rescue of fallen U.S. Bomber crew. She was later evacuated to Guadalcanal, where her presence started rumor that Amelia Earhart had been found alive.


    The Sisters of Saint Joseph who were trapped on Bougainville…


    The U.S. light cruiser Helena, sunk in Kula Gulf July 6, 1943. She went down in 25 minutes, leaving most of her crew swimming in the Slot.


    Lieutenant (j.g.) John F. Kennedy at the wheel of PT 109.


    Carden Seton, who served as a Coastwatcher on Choiseul for over a year. Photographed in 1943 while playing host to a U.S. reconnaissance team mapping the coast.


    Eric Feldt (middle row, fourth from left) poses with a group of his Coastwatchers. Snowy Rhoades is on his right, Hugh Mackenzie on his left. Frank Nash, only American in the picture, is seated on the bottom row on the right.

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