U.S. Marine Corps Eagle Globe & Anchor Plaque - Theater Made - Guadalcanal
This U.S. Marine Corps Eagle Globe and Anchor insignia (EGA) was carved from a single piece of wood on Guadalcanal sometime in 1942/43. It depicts a full color EGA on a stylized daylight sky, surrounded by a rope border over the designation "GUADALCANAL."

Guadalcanal is a reference to the seminal battle fought by the U.S. Marines between August 1942 and February 1943. It was a brutal campaign fought on, above and in the surrounding waters of, the previously obscure island of Guadalcanal in the British Solomon Islands Protectorate located in the South-western Pacific.

It was a turning point in the Pacific War against Japan. Until this battle Japanese expansion was unchecked until the U.S. Marines halted the advance across the South Pacific and prevented the invasion by the Japanese

During the hard fought battle, both the strategic importance and long lasting significance of the battle became apparent to both the Allies and the Japanese. Guadalcanal was an unsinkable aircraft carrier that the Allies used to deprive the Japanese of supremacy on the Pacific. The victory at Guadalcanal reversed the Japanese advance which had been stopped at the Battle of Midway some months earlier, starting a retreat that only concluded with the Japanese capitulation in 1945.

The significance of the battle to the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions cannot be overstated; both divisions added the battle honor "GUADALCANAL" to their distinctive shoulder sleeve insignia. Likewise, the EGA was the ubiquitous U.S. Marine symbol and so it was only natural that a U.S. Marine Guadalcanal veteran combined the two on this plaque.

Sadly the construction details have been obscured by time, but the carving and painting are exquisite, betraying somewhat skilled hand. It could be possible that this was made by a Marine still on Guadalcanal during the fighting, or shortly there after. Similarly, artwork like this was encouraged for convalescing wounded Marines as well.

Battlefield art work made in combat areas is commonly called "Trench Art." And although that name dates from WWI, it can be used to describe all manner of "theater made" artwork from any conflict from the Napoleonic Wars to the present day. This EGA plaque speaks to both the pride of service in the U.S. Marines and the pride of accomplishment for the strategic victory at Guadalcanal.

Exhibition History:
The War Museum, New York City

Provenance:
• Made on Guadalcanal, 1942/43.
• Retained by unidentified US Marine veteran until 1980s.
• The War Museum, New York City, until 2013
• Sold via Bonham's of New York City, NY to Zaricor Flag Collection, 2013.

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