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Originally Posted by Sooz Pascale  During the Solomons campaign he was on the USS Buchannan, a fast new destroyer. After the defeat at Savo, the aircraft carriers pulled out, followed by many of the transports, leaving the Marines and the badly shot up Cruiser/Destroyer force to fend for themselves for a long period of time. |
I remember reading that General Vandegrift, in command of the ground forces, was pretty upset over the withdrawal of the carriers. It was one of those moments in history where the course of much larger events hung by a single, narrow thread. Fascinating story.