08:00 - TULAGI ISLAND - AUGUST 7, 1942

The calm morning breeze sweeps over 'Beach Blue'. The scent of the plants and local flora scatter the air, until the faint sound of engines and the faint smell of gasoline interrupts the natural morning. Groups of LVT-1 landing craft soon scatter the beachhead. Representing the '2/5', or 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, in Fox Company, 2nd Rifle Platoon, 1st Rifle Squad, is Private 'CC' Clayton, the designated rifleman/scout. Almost all of his fellow Marines 'green'- fresh from training, they land without resistance, as the 2/5s secure the northwest corner of Tulagi. Joining Edson's Raiders, they eventually spend the day advancing southeast to the other end of the isle, picking off pockets of Japanese troops here and there. Unbeknownst to the Americans, Masaaki Suzuki, commander of the Japanese 3rd Kure Special Naval Landing Force unit, repositions the Japanese main defenses into a lineon a hill called Hill 281, and a nearby ravine located at the southeast end of the island. The Japanese defenses included dozens of tunneled caves dug into the hill's limestone cliffs and machinegun pits protected by sandbags. The Marines reached these defenses near dusk, unfortunately realizing that they did not have enough daylight left for a full-scale attack, digging in for the night.

As night passes over the Marines, the Japanese prepare their night-time assaults. At 22:30, the raids on the command post begin. Calvin is rudely awakened by gunfire, his company's command post under raid. Zipping off his mummy bag, he grabs his gear and weapons, on guard. In the corner of his eye, he spots a lone Japanese infantryman sneaking up behind most of the other Marines. Pulling out his trusty Colt .45 revolver, Calvin takes aim with both hands, and pulls the trigger. The signature crackle of the .45, made staple in the 'Wild West', pierces the night as the Japanese trooper collapses. His first kill.
Soon, full darkness set in. There was movement to the front- Calvin could hear them jabbering something. Then, the enemies found a gap, beginning to run through the opening. The gap was sealed when another squad closed the gate. Some Japanese had crawled within 20 yards of Calvin's squad. He began throwing grenades. His grenades were going off 15 yards from their position, and they had to duck as they exploded. Before long, the enemy was all around. It was brutal and deadly- they had to be careful not to kill their comrades. Calvin was tired, but it was to stay awake or be dead.

Just when Calvin believes that all is well, the 5th and final assault begins. The stealthy Japanese troops make their way- mostly undetected, with some ranged combat. The desperate Japanese cry of "天皇陛下万歳", or "Tennōheika Banzai", meaning "Long live His Majesty the Emperor", rings, but is drowned out by the sound of Springfields, Thompsons, Arisakas, and death cries. Calvin, guarding a pile of sandbags in front of a trench under Hill 281, scans the scene for 'Japs' charging the Marine fortifications, but is once again ambushed by Japanese troops. Two enemies sneak out of the trench, with a death wish, but are confronted from the side by Calvin's squadmate, the assistant auto rifleman, emptying his Thompson gun, or 'tommy gun', on the Japs. One of the two is cut down, but the other recieves only a wounded arm and destroyed pistol, now grabbing his Type 30 bayonet to get the kill. Forced into the ancient proving ground of hand-to-hand combat, Calvin pulls the M1905 bayonet from his strap, only to have the strap (as well as his thigh) sliced by the Japanese soldier. In primal pain and hatred, Calvin jabs his knife into the Jap's stomach, leaving it in. He pulls out his Colt, emptying the 5 remaining rounds into the foe's chest and face just in case.

Fuck! I gotta get to a med quick or I'm fucked! The closest doc team's in H&S, 350 god damn yards northwest!

Calvin quickly wraps gauze around his upper thigh, leaning into the side of the trench with his left arm, using his right to hold his (reloaded) revolver, as a last resort. He eventually hobbles back to his squad, and they run over to the medical camp, 350 yards away. They manage to take the fortified route with minimal resistance, standing guard at the camp. Calvin approaches a tent, with a final Marine battle cry of Retreat, Hell!, before getting his leg treated.

Daybreak rises on Tulagi. Stuck in a medical tent, Calvin groans, cursing his fate. In that part of the isle, the ambience is mostly quiet, with occasional gunfire and mortar cracks in the distance and the given bustle of a typical Marine camp. Meanwhile, the building that was once the British colonial headquarters hosts a threat that is neither British nor forgotten- six Japanese soldiers had infiltrated the building during the night chaos. Hiding under the porch, they open fire on three Marine patrollers, killing them. However, this merely seals what little fate they had to write- the porch, the Japs, and their hopes and dreams are blown away by grenades within minutes. Following this commotion, the American troops are reinforced with more landings- in the form of the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines (2/2 for short). Slowly linking up, and surrounding the Japanese positions on Hill 281 and the ravine, the Marines continued their mortar shelling until they were finally all in position. Beginning their assault on both Japanese fortifications, the Marines hastily develop makeshift explosives to root out the Japanese troops hiding in caves, blind corners, and other hard-to-spot areas. Using these tactics, the Japanese individual positions are easily neutralized. Come afternoon, there is little resistance to speak of, as the Americans secure Tulagi. Only three Japanese are taken prisoner, the remaining 307 either killed or honorably commited suicide. Such a number pales in comparison to the 45 dead Marines left on Tulagi.