US Marine Corps - The Black Vault

Sal ’o—The Ga[ling Defeat 395
question at the time in regard to the decision, which in view of the necessity
of conserving our carrier strength he viewed then and continues to view
as sound.loz
However, had information become available to the Commander Task
Force 61 (Fletcher) during the night of the Japanese success at Savo Island,
Admiral Kinkaid thinks that the task Force should have been turned north
and every effort made to make air attacks on the retreating Japanese ships
the next morning.’”3
Admiral Fletcher was told by this scribe:
Forrest Sherman, Commanding Ofi3cer of the W’ap, tried to persuade Admiral
Noyes to recommend to you to turn north after the first word was
received of the Japmese surface ships being in the Guadalcanal Area.
The author then asked:
Did anyone try to persuade you to do this? Did this thought occur to you ?
Admiral Fletcher’s answer was:
I didn’t know anything about %vo Iskmd happening until about five to six
the next morning, and I couldn’t get through to Kelly Turner by radio and
get details in regard to the Japs. One or two of my staff recommended that we
go back. I said if I was a Jap, I would have planned on all our carriers coming
back and would hit them with all my land based air.
If I had it all to do over ~glin th;lt morning and know about our losses, I
would leave one carrier group behind to fuel, and would move two carrier
groups up to attack and to continue to provide air support to Kelly Turner.
This did not occur to me at the time as being sound,’”’
Rear Admiral Harry Smith, USN, Fletcher’s Flag Lieutenant and Signal
Officer in August 1942, stated in May 1963:
For some reason the Saratogu did not or could not copy CTF 62’s blind desp~tches
sent that night, and it wmn’t until other ships sent us the news by
blinker or infrared that we started to get the word ~bout the Battle of Save.
SUMMARY
Considering all these fundamentals, and particularly Admiral Nimitz’s
instructions, Admiral Fletcher, in 1963, still thought:
A defensive decision was in order on 8 August although perhaps not exactly
the one I made at the time.los
‘mKinkaid.
“oIbid.
‘0’Fletcher.
‘WFletcher.