On Sept. 27, 1942, a group of landing craft sped toward the beaches of Guadalcanal. Huddled on shore, and fighting for their lives, were about 500 men of COL Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller's Marines. As the Coast Guard extracted the soldiers, Signalman 1st Class Douglas Munro steered his LCVP between the evacuating Marines and the Japanese. By interposing his craft between the men on the beach and the enemy, Munro allowed the landing craft to safely evacuate all the Marines. As the last men climbed aboard, Munro steered his craft away from the beach. When almost clear, Japanese gunfire struck Munro and killed him instantly. Munro was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. It is fitting that given the Coast Guard's lifesaving tradition and the tremendous part the Coast Guard played during World War II, the Coast Guard's only Medal of Honor winner was not only involved with a rescue but also an amphibious operation. The Coast Guard's participation in amphibious activity during World War II was perhaps the most important war-related job the service performed. Incredibly, the Coast Guard fully manned more than 350 naval ships, including 76 LSTs, 21 cargo and attack-cargo ships, 75 frigates, and 31 transports. In addition, the Coast Guard manned more than 800 cutters, nearly 300 ships for the Army, and thousands of amphibious-type assault craft.