Australian troops lead peace force to the Solomons

AUSTRALIAN troops began a peace mission to the lawless Solomon Islands yesterday, splashing ashore at a beach where US Marines fought the Japanese in one of World War II’s most crucial battles.

The South Pacific’s biggest military deployment since the war began in the tropical dawn when an Australian air force C-130 Hercules disgorged soldiers and equipment at the impoverished island nation’s main airport.

It gathered pace as amphibious landing craft laden with members of the 2,225-strong force and trucks plowed on to Red Beach, where 61 years ago the US 1st Marine Division launched its first offensive against the Japanese on Guadalcanal.