# The Mosquito Bowl: War and Football

> A 1944 football game on Guadalcanal became a fleeting moment of joy for Marines before Okinawa's brutal battle claimed three lives.
- Title: The Mosquito Bowl: War and Football · TIME | Shortify
- Summary: A 1944 football game on Guadalcanal became a fleeting moment of joy for Marines before Okinawa's brutal battle claimed three lives. Four Marines played a…
- Keywords: war, football, marines, okinawa, guadalcanal, pacific war, military, death, sacrifice, military history, Mosquito, Bowl
- Source: TIME — https://time.com/article/2026/10/30/the-true-story-behind-the-mosquito-bowl
- Author: JP Mangalindan
- Published: 2026-10-30T15:09:16+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: war, football, marines, okinawa, guadalcanal, pacific war, military, death, sacrifice, military history
## The Mosquito Bowl Game
In the wet heat of a Guadalcanal afternoon on Christmas Eve 1944, two regiments of the 6th Marine Division met on a football field of packed earth and broken coral.
## The Game's Purpose
The game was a serious to-do with printed programs, numbered T-shirts, goalposts built by the Marines, and an announcer whose call went out over the Mosquito Network.
## The Outcome
Neither team scored, and at least 1,500 Marines lined the field, some with money on the outcome.
## The Aftermath
Three months later, the division sailed for Okinawa, where 15 of the 65 men who played that day were killed.
## The Film
Peter Berg’s The Mosquito Bowl adapts Buzz Bissinger’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book and follows four players from the game through World War II.
## The Players
John McLaughry, Dave Schreiner, Bob Bauman, and Tony Butkovich were the four Marines who played in the game and served together in the Pacific War.
## Schreiner's Background
Schreiner, from Lancaster, Wisconsin, was an All-American college player who was drafted by the Detroit Lions but chose to enlist in the Marines.
## Bauman's Background
Bauman, from Harvey, Illinois, was a tackle who grew up holding his family together and enlisted after Schreiner.
## Butkovich's Background
Butkovich, the son of Croatian immigrants, played at Illinois and was drafted by the Cleveland Rams but enlisted in the Marines.
## McLaughry's Background
McLaughry, the oldest, was already out of college and played for the New York Giants before enlisting in the Marines.
## The Game's Origin
The game stemmed from an argument between the two regiments over who had the better team, with both teams featuring former college players.
## The Game's Significance
The game was about joy and doing something they loved, providing a respite from the war’s brutality.
## Okinawa's Battle
On April 1, 1945, Americans landed on Okinawa, where the Japanese defenders had dug into ridges and limestone caves.
## The Toll of War
By late June, more than 12,000 Americans were dead or missing and nearly three times as many wounded on Okinawa.
## The Death of Schreiner
Schreiner was mortally wounded on patrol on June 21, 1945, as the battle drew to a close.
## The Death of Bauman
Bauman was killed on June 6, 1945, during the division’s push through the north of Okinawa.
## The Death of Butkovich
Butkovich was killed on April 18, 1945, during the division’s push through the north of Okinawa.
## McLaughry's Survival
McLaughry survived the war, raised three children, led football programs at three colleges, and kept painting.
## Key takeaway

Four Marines played a game on Christmas Eve 1944 on Guadalcanal, but three died on Okinawa in 1945.