Status - John Skinner:
The crew of O'Brien was rescued on the 19th as the ship sank, and became passengers on the two other accompanying ships. These ships did not take them all the way to the west coast; they would have to find transportation on other ships bound for San Francisco. We could speculate that they were delivered to nearby Pago Pago to await transportation. It appears they reached the United States on or around November 7th.
Admiral Ghormley had been replaced as area commander by the much more aggressive Admiral Halsey. As the Marines on Guadalcanal fought off attacks from the Japanese troops on the 23rd and 24th, Halsey began to plan for new Navy action in the upcoming days.
U. S. Navy Task Forces:
- Task Force 16 (Enterprise) sailed from Pearl Harbor on October 16th for the South Pacific, crossing the equator on the 19th.
- Saratoga remained at Pearl Harbor for repairs (sailed November 10th).
- Combined
Task Force 61 remained on patrol in the Coral Sea near Guadalcanal.
- Task Force 17 (Hornet) -> TF 61
More Information:
- Official Navy Chronology, pp. 266-267.
- The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign, John B. Lundstrom, pp 334-343.
- The Struggle for Guadalcanal, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 181-193.
- Neptune's Inferno, The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal, James D. Hornfischer, pp. 214-222.
NEXT POST: OCTOBER 28TH
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