September 14, 1942 - Monday - 80 years ago today

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

 

September 10, 1942 - Thursday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner - USS O'Brien:  

Hornet and Wasp continued to patrol in the Coral Sea. 

Operation Watchtower 

Admiral Ghormley, in charge in the South Pacific, was suffering from battle fatigue and there was a consideration of making a change.  Nimitz would visit Ghormley in person.  Admiral Halsey was returning from the illness that had kept him out of the Battle of Midway, and would command the Enterprise when it was repaired and sent back to the battle area.  In the meantime, fear of losing another carrier kept Hornet and Wasp south of the Solomon Islands, but within striking distance.

U. S. Navy Task Forces:

• Task Force 16 (Enterprise) was returning to Pearl Harbor, for repairs to Enterprise. Arrives Sep. 10.
  
• 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. 249-250.
  
•  The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign,  John B. Lundstrom, pp 164-182.
• The Struggle for Guadalcanal, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 104-125.
• Neptune's Inferno, The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal, James D. Hornfischer, pp. 118-131.
  

 

NEXT POST: SEPTEMBER 14TH

 

 

September 6, 1942 - Sunday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner - USS O'Brien:  

Hornet and Wasp continued to patrol in the Coral Sea.  Hornet narrowly escaped a torpedo hit when an escorting destroyer dropped a depth charge that detonated two of the torpedoes bound for Hornet.

Operation Watchtower 

Admiral Leigh Noyes had taken command of Task Force 61, flying his flag on Wasp. He created the surface task force from the ships remaining from Task Force 11, which became Task Force 64.  

Airplanes and  Marines were continually being added to the force at Guadalcanal.  This was critical as the Japanese navy was successfully landing troops, about 5,000 more during this time, on Guadalcanal also.  The island was consistently pulling in more forces on both sides and was becoming the main flash point of the Pacific war.

The thinning US carrier forces would not grow any time soon.  However, surface firepower was coming.  The new fast battleships South Dakota and Washington, were moving to the South Pacific, along with some cruisers that were specifically designed to provide potent anti-aircraft fire for task forces.  South Dakota, unfortunately, just after arriving, struck a reef and was badly damaged, and returned to Pearl Harbor for two weeks of repairs (it was also becoming an unlucky ship, like Saratoga).

U. S. Navy Task Forces:

• Task Force 16 (Enterprise) was returning to Pearl Harbor, for repairs to Enterprise. Arrives Sep. 10.
  
• 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. 248-249.
  
•  The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign,  John B. Lundstrom, pp 164-177.
• The Struggle for Guadalcanal, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 104-122.
• Neptune's Inferno, The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal, James D. Hornfischer, pp. 118-128.
  

 

NEXT POST: SEPTEMBER 10TH

 

January 4, 1942 - Sunday - 80 years ago today

NOTE: This post has two pages.  Click on "Read more" below to see last part of the post.

Status - John Skinner - USS O'Brien: 

On January 4, 1942, O'Brien was still in port, undergoing a refit and awaiting its transit to the Pacific which was to begin on January 15.

Background - U. S. S. O'Brien - Events of 1941

In the early months of 1941, O'Brien continued on the Neutrality Patrol.  There was also a Fleet Landing Exercise in early February at Culebra, P.R. that lasted for 10 days and involved the whole Atlantic Fleet.  March 2nd was the one-year anniversary of the commissioning of O'Brien.  Below are some pages from the ship's fantail newspaper - called the Little Giant Scoop - from about this time.  Some of the references are hard to figure out, although bean jokes are universal.

Some notes:

• It seems that there had been little or no liberty during the Neutrality Patrol judging by the cartoon on the second page.
• The play on words regarding "strikers" on page 2 refers to two things - the large number of strikes happening in the war industries in 1939-1941 - these were very controversial with war material needing to be built up.  The other reference is to Navy "strikers" - these are sailors who are working toward a rating in one of the  general occupation fields in the Navy (such as airman, fireman. signalman, etc.).
• Culebra-atic in the third page is in reference to the base at Culebra, P.R  This was where the recent fleet exercise was held, and also was probably a common port of call during the Neutrality Patrol.