The film recounts the fight of the United States Marines in the Battle of Guadalcanal, which occurred only a year before the movie's release.

They find an abandoned village and capture an airfield, which the Americans work to complete, and rename it Henderson Field.

The Marines walk into a trap, and only Private Soose Alvarez survives to make it back to American lines.

The Marines then march on Matanikau in force and on the way, Private "Chicken" Anderson is wounded by a Japanese officer, who pretended to be dead.

[4] The picture marked the screen debuts of stage actor Robert Rose and Richard Jaeckel, who was a studio messenger boy when he was cast in the production.

On February 28, 1944, Foster, Bendix, Nolan and Jaeckel reprised their roles for the Lux Radio Theatre presentation of Guadalcanal Diary.

"[8] However, David Lardner of The New Yorker wrote a negative review, criticizing the film for containing "every cliché known to man" and for the Marines being depicted as having "altogether too soft a time ... None of the mood of just sitting and taking it until you don't remember where you are any more or how you got there is put across on the screen.