The goal was to succeed by any means. Guadalcanal was unusual in that the Japanese we fought had not known defeat and were certain that we soft Americans would buckle. The units we fought were Royal Marines, big strong, well trained. They were tough to kill. Their fatal and worst mistake was being unaware of the fighting spirit and toughness of our Marines and our superior fire-power.
They fed their troops in piecemeal and got them chewed up. It was obvious they vastly under estimated the fighting spirit of the Marines.
I’m glad you made it through and thanks for your service. (My father’s generation had many men like you.)