My grandfather, Sea2C Clifford Russell Anderson served aboard the USS Atlanta during the “Bar room brawl” at Guadalcanal. He abandoned ship after all hopes of saving it were lost. He was mostly quiet about his time in the war. As a young curious boy I waited patiently for the times that he would open up. I recall him saying they were a “sitting duck” and took a pounding from both sides. The fact the ship lost power and he was pulled from communications to assist topside spared his life. He passed in 1987 when I was 21. I miss him.

Alexander Vandergrift said of the sailors that died that night,   "We here at Cactus raise our tin hats to Callighan and his galant crews."

I had a Great Uncle aboard the USS San Francisco (CA-38) from the summer of 1941 to February 1946.
One time I pressed him to talk about this battle. He quietly replied, "All my friends got killed."

He passed away in 1996.
He was always a hero to me, but he never thought so.

I live in San Francisco and every November I make it a point to go down to Sutro Point, where there is a small memorial, the centerpiece of which is the bridge structure of the USS San Francisco, removed during her repair and placed there,  showing the huge, jagged holes made by the heavy-calibre Japanese shells that wiped out Admiral Callaghan and his staff. There is a flagstaff mounted on a dias which has a brass arrowhead, pointing along the Great Circle route to Ironbottom Sound in the Solomons. Sometimes I go in the evening and stand on the high cliff, looking out over the vast Pacific, golden in the Westering Sun, and I think back in reverence and gratitude to those desperate days and our forefathers who met them, and tears come to my eyes.

My late father was a Marine that landed on Guadalcanal and never talked about it except for how warm the water was when he jumped into it to get to the beach.

Hope Captain Bob makes a speedy and complete recovery. Distinguished man, he looks like a Roman Senator and really friendly.  I imagine had he been around at the time I guess he would have torpedoed Japanese warships and merchant ships in a caring sharing inclusive kind of way

I've seen this battle described as a knife fight in a phone booth in the dark while drunk.

600 yds is a fine surface engagement range.
With cannonballs and black powder.

After seeing many YouTube documentaries, this is the first real history lesson I've received.

Man, I'm so happy to have found great channels like this one and Drachinifel to get my fix of detailed naval and pacific war history.

The remnants of San Francisco's bridge is preserved at Land's End in SF. You can put your hand through some of the holes. An amazing connection to history.

It is quickly becoming this happy ritual when a new episode appears on my Youtube feed.
Thank you Seth, Bill and guests for these valuable and learnful conversations. Keep them coming.
Greetings from Switzerland.

A (now deceased) family friend is an unknown hero who got a Legion of Merit at Guadalcanal for non combat work as a US Army airplane mechanic at Henderson. He was there for every major bombardment of the field, and somehow wasn't wounded on the island. He did get malaria though.

Damn......how exceedingly excellent can a historical discussion be???!!!???....well this is it 👍👍👍

I'm 69.....boomer, my Dad was on Saipan and Okinawa.  You MUST keep this channel up and running.  The horror of these battles are not known to the current generations and "the boomers" need to try and make the younger generations understand the cost of freedom.  Good Lord, this episode was gut wrenching.   Thank you so much for the OUTSTANDING coverage.

USS Helena A Light Cruiser! USS Helena " HELL NO I'M A MACHINE GUN CRUISER"

Chills seeing that photograph of the five Sullivan brothers together...

As a military retiree, prior service U S. Navy,  U.S. Army retiree and history devotee of this period, I appreciate your in-depth coverage of these events. My first introduction to this particular fight was back in 1971, while reading Theodore Roscoe's U.S. Destroyer Operations in WWII, while serving in DLG-16. Your Pod casts add a whole new level of information about the early war in the SW Pacific. BRAVO ZULU for your efforts.💯%👍

1:20:49. The torpedo aircraft were from USS Enterprise's VT-10 (albeit detached to Henderson field).

There are no words that can adequately express my gratitude for this series of historical presentations. They are scholarly, entertaining, informative. I could not ask for more. Special thanks to your esteemed guests.