No Bended Knee

December 30, 1996
The author of this candid and revealing memoir served as the 1st Marine Division's operations officer during the 1942 battle for Guadalcanal, one of the major campaigns of WWII. The literature of the campaign is based largely on his after-action report, which, as he now discloses, was written under severe handicaps, including malaria and the lack of an operations log. Setting straight the historical record, Twining here reveals that the division's commanding officer, Maj. Gen. A.A. Vandergrift, ordered the log to be burned when he thought the unit was going to be forced into the island's interior for a last-ditch stand. Twining expresses resentment over the faintheartedness of the operation's overall commander, Vice Adm. Frank Jack Fletcher, for his decision to withdraw the fleet only two days after the Marines' amphibious landing, leaving them stranded and taking with him a large part of their supplies and equipment. He also discusses the inept interference of Rear Adm. Kelly Turner, commander of the amphibious forces, and the bone-deep hostility toward the Marines by Army authorities who later campaigned to abolish the corps. Twining retired in 1959 with the rank of general. Illustrations.