In 1943 the Allies chipped away at the defensive outer barrier of the Japanese Pacific empire, particularly in the Solomon Islands. US Marine and Army infantry trudged through bloody jungle fighting on remote South Pacific islands such as Guadalcanal, New Georgia, and Bougainville. The US Navy waged war on Japanese shipping, seeking to prevent reinforcement and resupply for the battered Japanese ground forces. Particularly celebrated are the tiny PT boats, such as John F. Kennedy's PT-109, which charged destroyers head on. In this work, author Richard Dunn adds a third dimension to the history of the New Guinea and Solomon Islands campaigns by detailing the pivotal role of airpower. Dunn has formulated his narrative by studying and comparing Allied and Japanese reports, many of which reside in his personal collection. AUTHOR: Richard Dunn retired from the government after serving as the general counsel of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Previously, he was with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, engaged in the private practice of law, and served on active duty as a judge advocate in the USAF. His awards include the presidential rank of Meritorious Executive and the Secretary of Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Award. Mr. Dunn received a BA degree (cum laude), University of New Hampshire; JD, University of Maryland; and LLM (highest honors), George Washington University. He spent years on an almost daily basis at the US National Archives and others at Nimitz Library US Naval Academy. Dunn has amassed one of the largest private collections of translated Japanese intercepted messages and captured documents. 40 b/w photographs and maps