"George O. Sprigg, son of Mr. And Mrs Clarence Sprigg who reside of the Gettysburg road a short distance from Emmitsburg , has returned home from Guadalcanal with an honorable disability discharge from the armed forces due to fever
contracted while fighting in the jungles of the South Sea Islands.
Sergeant Sprigg enlisted in the Navy at Norfolk, Va. In September, 1942, and following months of training in the Caribbean Sea, he was transferred to the 18th Marine Engineers and took part in the landings and engagements and jungle
fighting in and around Henderson field on Guadalcanal.
He stated that the Engineers are often in an advanced position and have double duty to perform in the way of building bridges and fighting off attacking Japs at the same time. He said the Jap would hide behind a banana leaf and "move his position
forward and closer to where the marine engineers were working and the first thing we knew a banana leaf was shooting at us. But, quickly the Jap and the banana leaf would go up into the air from a number of well placed American shots."
The fighting in the dense jungle surrounding ‘Henderson Field’ was mostly of the Indian type. According to Sergeant Sprigg, the Japs will surrender and not always fight to the death, such being noticeable after the fighting has continued for several
weeks in the same locality, when the detachment has lost all its commissioned officers. He has seen a number of Jap prisoners. Sergeant Sprigg was transferred back to the Navy for disability discharge and his papers contain a 4.0 final average rating
which is the highest conduct rating given in the Navy."
