On Sept. 27, 1942, during the Second Battle of the Matanikau, part of the Guadalcanal Campaign, Signalman First Class Douglas A.Munro was in charge of a detachment of ten boats which landed U.S. Marines at the scene. After successfully taking them ashore, he returned his boats to their previously assigned position and almost immediately learned that conditions ashore were different from what had been anticipated and that it was necessary to evacuate the Marines immediately.
Munro volunteered for the job and brought the boats to shore under heavy enemy fire, then proceeded to evacuate the 500 men on the beach. 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 most of them were in the boats, complications arose in evacuating the last men, whom Munro realized would be in the greatest danger. He accordingly placed himself and his boats such that they would serve as cover for the last men to leave. Among the Marines evacuated that day was Lt. Col. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller. During this action, protecting the men after he had evacuated them. Munro was fatally wounded. He remained conscious sufficiently long only to say four words: "Did they get off?". For his actions, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, and he's the only member of the U.S. Coast Guard to earn it. #memorialday #hero #stayzero