It's been a mad scramble of frenetic action on all 1st Marine Division battlefronts as Christmas approaches. PFC Sledge and the other Marines of K-3-5 are marching up into the Umurbrogol on Peleliu. Along the way, they passed the bloody and battered 1st Marines who suffered so heavily up in that section of rugged coral high ground that they've been pulled out of the line. We'll pick up with that action later. Meanwhile, the Wayback Machine took us briefly back to the Solomons where we put Division units over the side of APAs via landing nets and into the boats for the landing on Guadalcanal. And then we put our Marines back on the nets to recover them and officially end the campaign. Platoon Sergeant Basilone has made the long, multi-leg flight back to the States and is now out there beating the drum and helping to sell war bonds. It won't take long before he's begging the Commandant to let him join the forming 5th Marine Division at Camp Pendleton and get himself back into the action. There's a lot of war left to fight  including the murderous crossing of the Peleliu airfield, the landing on Iwo Jima with Manila John and his machinegunners and the sprawling, muddy, bloody fight for Okinawa - but officially the Division is on stand down for Christmas and these frontline reports will cease until the first week of January. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Semper Fidelis.