George H.W. Bush: “Anniversary of the Landing on Guadalcanal August 7, 1992 Thank you all very much. Thank you, Mr. Secretary, Senator…”

“Anniversary of the Landing on Guadalcanal August 7, 1992 Thank you all very much. Thank you, Mr. Secretary, Senator Chafee, and the other Members of Congress that are with us who are veterans of Guadalcanal. May I salute the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Colin Powell; Commandant of the Marines, Carl Mundy; General Sullivan, Commandant of the Army, is with us; the Acting Secretary of the Navy, Sean O'Keefe; distinguished Commandant of the Coast Guard, William Kime; and of course, the Medal of Honor recipient, Mitchell Paige, but most important, you marines. I would like to open--[applause]--I thought they had a little life left in them. I'd like to open if I may with a story. It's a story of heroism, a story of courage, sacrifice. It's a story from Guadalcanal. Kenneth Bailey was commanding officer of Company C, 1st Marine Raider Battalion, when his men were called upon to defend Henderson Field during the Japanese assault, September 12th and 13th of 1942. The enemy had penetrated our main line of defense, their number superior to ours. Only a miracle, it seemed, could defend that airfield. Major Bailey and his men provided the miracle, turning back the flank attack, then covering the withdrawal of our main force. In the fighting, Major Bailey sustained severe wounds to his head, and even so, for 10 hours he and his men engaged the enemy in vicious hand-to-hand combat. The attack was repulsed, and Henderson Field was secured.…”