San Francisco has some very interesting historical monuments. At Lands End in the Golden Gate Recreation Area, there is a monument commemorating the naval battle of Guadalcanal in World War II and the USS San Francisco, the lead ship that fought the Japanese army there.  The next stop for Japan after Guadalcanal was Australia. U.S. Marines landed on Guadalcanal August 7, 1942, capturing and secured the airfield. The Marines fought for months against thousands of Japanese soldiers attempting to regain control of the airfield.

A short video about the USS San Francisco and the Battle of Guadalcanal is below:

You can also click here to view the video on YouTube.

Click here to view the video on Rumble.

Japan’s Vice Admiral Hiroaki Abe was dispatched to bombard and land troops on Guadalcanal. Rear Admiral Daniel J. Callaghan, on board his flagship the USS San Francisco (CA-38), a 10,000 ton treaty cruiser, was directed to intercept the Japanese naval strike force. On November 12, near Guadalcanal, a damaged enemy plane crashed into the USS San Francisco, destroying the aft control station, killing and wounding 51 men. With a crippled flagship, RADM Callaghan bravely prepared his task force for this imminent battle, which began at 1:48 a.m. Friday the 13 of November 1942. Never in the history of modern warfare had U.S. Naval Forces clashed with enemy ships at collision range in a pitch-black night. This battle is also the only U. S. Naval surface ship engagement in which two American admirals were killed in action: RADM Daniel J. Callaghan on the USS San Francisco (CA-38) and RADM Norman Scott on the USS Atlanta (CL-51). A total of more than 6,000 men on both sides were killed or wounded. The USS San Francisco, severely damaged, limped home to receive a new bridge and other major repairs at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard. She then returned to sea to give battle and bombardment support for landings and occupations in the Pacific. This battle of November 13, 1942, was a major turning point of World War II. It prevented the possible loss of Henderson Field, thus saving Australia from the planned invasion. It marked the beginning of victory in the Pacific.

–TDR