Lt. Colonel William W. Stickney cuts the Thanksgiving cake with a Japanese sword on Guadalcanal seventy-five years ago this week. Stickney served in the Navy during World War 1. Between the wars he received his law degree. Stickney joined the Marines during World War 2 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel, commanding the 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment, 1st Marine Division–The Old Breed–during the fighting on Guadalcanal. After the war he served several stints in the Marine Corps Reserves and eventually became a major general.
New York Times, 27 November 1942. I would love to know how this turned out. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
(images/top, USMC Archives; bottom, NYT)
The Strawfoot 
This looks like the traditional cake for the Marine Corps Birthday, 10 November.
Bill, indeed it does look like a Marine Corps anniversary cake as well. I’m sure they stopped to recognize the Corps anniversary while there in the Pacific, and took strength and encouragement from their history during that month of hard fighting in November 1942. I’m speculating but presumably they paused and combined the two events. It says both Thanksgiving and USMC so it seems plausible. Keeping Thanksgiving in their hearts must have been a comforting reminder of home when they were so far away.