GUADALCANAL WAR CLUB AND UNIT ART

GUADALCANAL WAR CLUB AND UNIT ART
Pair of items from a veteran of the 26th Construction Battalion which served at Guadalcanal. Included is a hand-carved wood 'war club', 15.5 in. long, bearing painted inscription: 'GUADALCANAL 1944'. Sold with a section of canvas or coarse cotton, 12.5 x 8.5, 'unit art' from the Navy's 26th Construction Battalion (Seabees) showing shells and exploding bombs about the name 'GUADALCANAL'. The cloth has been mounted atop an old piece of cardboard and was previously framed. This battalion of Seabees was commissioned in 1942 to complete projects necessary for driving the Japanese from the island of Guadalcanal. The Seabees on Guadalcanal built gun mounts and emplacements, tunnels, 6,000 feet of railroad, multiple docks, over 35 miles of primary roadway, 10 bridges and two radio stations with 150-foot transmitter towers. The tradesmen also completed salvage work on ships damaged by enemy attacks. While there the battalion had 187 air alerts and came under attack 68 times.