Status - John Skinner - USS O'Brien:
Hornet and Wasp continued to patrol in the Coral Sea.
Battle of Edson's Ridge
Japanese forces on Guadalcanal were ready for a new attack on the US Marine positions The Marines, under Colonel Merritt Edson, had dug in on a ridge about a mile south of the airfield, and other Marines defended points near the shore. Not all of the perimeter was defended when the battle began. After two nights of intense fighting, with the result being in doubt several times, the Marines held, losing around 100 men versus 800 Japanese.
The current Marine garrison on Guadalcanal was exhausted after several weeks of patrolling, fending off attacks, (including many night attacks) and keeping the airplanes and runway going. Reinforcements were on the way; a new Marine regiment was coming in from Noumea. The transports coming in would require air cover from Task Force 61.
U. S. Navy Task Forces:
- Task Force
16 (Enterprise) was at Pearl Harbor, for repairs to Enterprise.
- Saratoga was also returning to Pearl Harbor for repairs. Arrives Sep. 21.
- Combined
Task Force 61 remained on patrol in the Coral Sea near Guadalcanal.
- Task Force 17 (Hornet) -> TF 61
- Task Force 18 (Wasp) -> TF 61
More Information:
- Official Navy Chronology, pp. 250-252.
- The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign, John B. Lundstrom, pp 183-219.
- The Struggle for Guadalcanal, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 123-132.
- Neptune's Inferno, The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal, James D. Hornfischer, pp. 118-131.
NEXT POST: SEPTEMBER 18TH
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