Book Review: Guardian of Guadalcanal by Gary Williams

Topic & Content

During World War II, some 171,000 enlisted personnel and officers served in the U.S. Coast Guard, of which 2,000 died, and a roughly equal number were decorated. Six Navy Crosses, one Distinguished Service Cross, and one Medal of Honor were awarded to U.S. Coast Guardsmen in that conflict. This book is the story of Douglas Albert Munro, the only Coast Guardsman to receive the Medal of Honor (posthumously). The book is organized as follows:

• Ch. 1: Why?
• Ch. 2: “Mother, Are You OK?”
• Ch. 3: The North Atlantic
• Ch. 4: The South Pacific
• Ch. 5: Operation Watchtower
• Ch. 6: Naval Operating Base Cactus
• Ch. 7: “Did They Get Off?”
• Ch. 8: First Family of the Coast Guard
• Ch. 9: Coming Home
• Ch. 10: Honor, Respect, Devotion to Duty
• Ch. 11: Coast Guard and Marine Corps Legend

Author’s note: For those who don’t know, Douglas Munro is a legend in the U.S. Coast Guard, for obvious reasons, and deserves his own post on this blog. While his career was fairly short, only lasting from 1939 – 1942, he achieved what no Coast Guardsman has since, sadly at the cost of his life. For context, here’s his Medal of Honor citation:

For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry in action above and beyond the call of duty as Officer-in-Charge of a group of Higgins boats, engaged in the evacuation of a Battalion of Marines trapped by enemy Japanese forces at Point Cruz, Guadalcanal, on September 27, 1942. After making preliminary plans for the evacuation of nearly 500 beleaguered Marines, Munro, under constant risk of his life, daringly led five of his small craft toward the shore. As he closed the beach, he signaled the others to land, and then in order to draw the enemy’s fire and protect the heavily loaded boats, he valiantly placed his craft with its two small guns as a shield between the beachhead and the Japanese. When the perilous task of evacuation was nearly completed, Munro was killed by enemy fire, but his crew, two of whom were wounded, carried on until the last boat had loaded and cleared the beach. By his outstanding leadership, expert planning, and dauntless devotion to duty, he and his courageous comrades undoubtedly saved the lives of many who otherwise would have perished. He gallantly gave up his life in defense of his country.

In many ways, Munro’s story is intrinsically linked with the story of his friend, Raymond Evans. Munro and Evans were practically inseparable and were known as the “Gold Dust Twins.” Evans would receive the Navy Cross for his actions during the evacuation of the Marines and would later be commissioned as an officer. He retired at the rank of Commander in 1962.

The book not only covers the life of Douglas Munro but that of his family and his legacy, as well. His mother, Edith, would later join the Coast Guard Women’s Reserve (AKA SPARS) and attain the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade. The book ends with a discussion on how Douglas Munro continues to be remembered in the U.S. Coast Guard today, with numerous buildings, memorials, and ships named in his honor.

Thesis

The straightforward thesis of this book is to tell the story of Douglas A. Munro.

Author’s Background

According to the book’s biographical blurb, Gary Williams grew up in Upper Sandusky, Ohio. He attended Franklin University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Resources Management and Leadership. He later attended the University of Dayton, graduating with a Master’s in Public Administration. In addition to Guardian of Guadalcanal, Williams has written the books Siege in Lucasville, SEAL of Honor, and Heart of a Lion.

Critical Observations

Positives

The best praise I can give is that this book is decently cited, and Williams utilized various official and secondary sources, as well as conducted interviews with Munro’s present-day relatives to gain insight into the man. He writes a very heartfelt tribute to Douglas Munro and his actions that saved hundreds of Marines. If anything, this book finally does justice to the story of one of the most famous Coast Guardsmen, but it’s a story that is too long in coming. Indeed, this is the only published book I’ve found on the subject.

An interesting note is that Munro’s time on Guadalcanal would see him cross paths with several notable people. The battalion of Marines that Munro helped rescue was under the command of none other than Lieutenant Colonel Lewis “Chesty” Puller, who had earlier evacuated to the nearby destroyer USS Monssen and was directing the evacuation from that ship. Also, one of the Marines rescued during the evacuation that claimed Munro’s life was John Basilone, who would go on to receive the Medal of Honor himself for his actions the following month on Guadalcanal. Munro was also acquainted with U.S. Navy coxswain Samuel B. Roberts who was mortally wounded earlier in the day. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, the second-highest award for valor, for his actions. Roberts would gain even more fame for having three ships named after him; possibly the most famous being the John C. Butler-class destroyer escort which charged the Japanese battle line during the Battle off Samar during Leyte Gulf on 25 October 1944.¹

The book’s discussion of Munro’s legacy, both in the Coast Guard and the Marine Corps, is interesting. Munro’s rescue of the Marines solidified his reputation in the Marine Corps and he’s the only non-Marine to have his name on the Wall of Heroes at the National Museum of the Marine Corps. According to Williams, although I don’t know if this still applies today in the 2020s, Munro’s story (at least for some time) was taught to Marines in boot camp. The fact that Munro’s actions that led to his Medal of Honor were more well-known in the Marines than in the Coast Guard was somewhat embarrassing. However, in today’s Coast Guard, multiple buildings, ships, and other monuments are dedicated to the name Douglas Munro, and more of the service’s history and heritage is taught to new recruits in boot camp.²

Negatives

My biggest issue is that the book could use another round of editing because it has a little too much filler in it. The book itself isn’t very thick with the actual narrative of the hardcover version, not including the appendixes, being only 159 pages long. In addition to being a biography of Douglas Munro, the book covers the course of the Pacific War in a very cursory fashion. It doesn’t just cover the start of the Pacific War up to the Guadalcanal campaign, it continues and covers even the atomic bombings of Japan. Much of this is really extraneous and doesn’t add anything to the overall narrative of who Douglas Munro was. I wonder if the publisher had page requirements for the manuscript, so that may be why the book has content that’s only tangentially related to the subject.

A better narrative would’ve been to stop with any further discussion of the Pacific War following Munro’s death, with only a little discussion of the end of the war and the repatriation of Munro’s body postwar. Thankfully, most of the remainder of the book is actually focused on Munro’s family and friends.

The writing itself isn’t anything special. Parts of it are fairly good, but most of it was just average. There are a few typographical errors, as well. For example, Munro’s body was exhumed from Guadalcanal, where he had initially been buried, and returned to the U.S. to be reinterned in Laurel Hill Cemetary in March 1948. However, the photo’s caption in the book gives the incorrect year of 1943.

Evaluation (Does the content support the thesis?)

All in all, the book tells the story of Douglas Munro and his heroic deeds but is hampered by mediocre writing and a lot of unnecessary material. Still, it’s the only book I’ve seen with a wide publication that actually tells Munro’s life story. Otherwise, you’ll have to dig through an assortment of articles online to get an idea of who this Coastie was. In this regard, it’s an honest and emotional story of a Coast Guard hero who gave the ultimate sacrifice and did justice to Douglas Munro’s life and legacy.

Notes

1. A later USS Samuel B. Roberts, an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, would survive a mine strike in April 1988 which broke her keel. This is normally a death sentence for a ship, but the crew fought fires and flooding for some five hours and managed to save the ship. ↩︎
2. The Coast Guard went through a lot of standardization in the early 2000s. This included revamping a lot of the training service-wide as well as in boot camp. Taking a page from the Marines, the basic history and heritage of the Coast Guard is now more extensively taught and you would be hard-pressed to find a Coastie today who doesn’t know of Douglas Munro. ↩︎