'''Guadalcanal''' is an [[island]] in the [[Solomon Islands]] [[archipelago]] in the South [[Pacific Ocean]]. It was the location of the Battle of Guadalcanal fought between 7 August 1942 and 7 February 1943 by American and allied forces to eject the Japanese occupiers of the island.
Guadalcanal was one of the most important battles of their history for U.S. [[Marines]]. Guadalcanal was the first island taken by the Americans in World War II, and the battle for it was one of the hardest fought of the war.
Guadalcanal is named after the town of Guadalcanal in [[Spain]], which in turn derives from the [[Arabic]] ''Wadi'' [river] ''el Ganar''.