On this day in 1942, Operation WATCHTOWER begins. 14,000 men, mostly of the 1st Marine Division, land at Guadalcanal and Tulagi in the Solomons, covered by 3 carriers, 1 battleship, 14 cruisers and 31 destroyers. Over the next six months the USN will be reforged in the fiery crucible of Guadalcanal.