What happens
Marines land on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands in August 1942, expecting a fierce fight on the beach. Instead the Japanese have slipped away, and the men find themselves on an island where the enemy may still be hiding in the jungle. Among them are Hook, Taxi and Chicken, who share a wary camaraderie with Father Donald Lee, the ship's chaplain who came along to help the wounded and the dying. This Lux Radio Theatre production, first broadcast on February 28, 1944, adapts Richard Tregaskis's war correspondent account, with William Bendix, Preston Foster and Lloyd Nolan in the leading roles. The story follows the marines as they secure the island and begin to understand what lies ahead.
Guadalcanal, one of the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, in August 1942
Characters: Hook, Taxi, Chicken, Father Donald Lee, Colonel Grayson, Captain Davis, Captain Cross, Mr. Weatherby
Listen for: The rain and the solitary shot in the night, and the men's uncertainty about where the enemy is hiding in the jungle
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.