Status - John Skinner - USS O'Brien:
On Febuary 2, 1942, O'Brien was in port at San Francisco, having arrived on January 31st. O'Brien was assigned to a convoy bound for Australia that would leave on the 4th.
Navy Attacks in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands
In the eight weeks since the Pearl Harbor attack, there had been a seemingly endless series of bad news; Pearl Harbor attacked with great loss of life, Wake Island lost, the Philippines surrounded, Japanese invasions and conquests all over the Pacific, shipping sunk just offshore on the east coast, and on and on. Clearly more was coming as there was little hope to retain the Philippines and Singapore was in grave danger. The Navy and the American public were starving for some good news.
As noted earlier, two carrier task forces had moved toward the Gilbert and Marshall Islands after supporting the convoy of Marines to Samoa. On February 1st, this force attacked several islands in the Gilberts and Marshalls, both with carrier aircraft and bombardment from ships. Although only a few small Japanese ships were sunk, and a few others damaged, the attack was a great morale booster for the Navy, and also for the public. Both carrier task forces returned intact, with only minor damage to one cruiser.
The Navy did not have enough ships to do anything more at the moment than these hit-and-run raids on Japanese outposts. It was clear, though, that there would be Japanese attacks soon in the Coral Sea area to threaten the link between Hawaii and Australia. Carrier task forces could use these attacks as training for the battles soon to come.
NEXT POST: FEBRUARY 6TH
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