(Feb. 4, 2022) This week, 80 years ago, soldiers of the Twenty-Fifth Imperial Japanese Army under the command of Tomyuki Yamashita (“the Tiger of Malaya”) landed on the North Shore
“Colonel, there’s about 3,000 Japs between you and me.”
Sergeant Ralph Briggs telephoned the command post of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment at about 9:30 on the night of October 24, 1942, to report what he had just seen. The telephone was picked up by Lt. Col. Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller, the battalion commander. Sergeant Briggs and 46 other Marines had been sent 3,000 yards in front of the American lines to warn of any movement by enemy troops.
Colonel Puller asked the sergeant if he was certain that the Japanese were on the move. “Positive. They’ve been all around us, singing and smoking cigarettes, heading your way.”