In the summer of 1942, America was still reeling from the attack on Pearl Harbor and the humiliating victories of the Japanese throughout the Far East. Then came the battles of the Coral Sea and the pivotal Battle for Midway. Japan had been effectively countered and it was time to launch an attack. The first landing of American forces on a Japanese held island would occur on Guadalcanal, August 7, 1942. This was the opening of a six month campaign to wrest control of the lower Solomon Islands from the Japanese Empire. From this story of mistakes and heroism would rise the genesis of American strategy for the rest of the war in the Pacific.