Guadalcanal is a mountainous island of volcanic origin some 40 miles in length (east to west) and 20 miles in width. On this relatively small land area are several mountains over 6,000 feet high and two or three of 7,000 or 8,000 feet. On most parts of the northern coast, the foothills of these mountains slope down almost to the water’s edge. There are two positions on the northern coast suitable for building an airstrip: the first and more desirable is in the vicinity of Lunga Point where Henderson Field is located. The other is at Aola Bay. An airfield at Aola Bay would save several very useful purposes. It would provide a stand-by field sufficiently far from the center of operations that if we should lose Henderson Field we could maintain an air strength on Guadalcanal to neutralize the Jap control of Henderson. Another practical use of a second field (other than the obvious advantage of having two fields instead of one) was that it would disperse our planes to minimize dam age by aerial bombs and naval bombardment.
Thus the Aola Bay project was undertaken. The combatant ships during the unloading phase wore employed in a manner by this time familiar to us: at night when the transports and cargo ships retired to the south of the Eastern Solomons, the combatant ships, cruisers and destroyers, formed up and patrolled Indispensible Straits—thus ensuring the other ships against possible surface attack by enemy ships approaching from the north and west. It had for almost two months been the practice to stay at our battle stations during all hours of darkness while In the Solomons area. It was a relief when the Task Force completed its assigned task and retired eastward through the slot between San Cristobal and Malaita Islands, and on the southeast to the good harbor of Espiritu Santo. Soon after our arrival at Santo, the Sterett received orders detaching her from her long duties as the South Pacific handy man and placing her once again on the “main team.” It looked like a fighting outfit when we joined the cruiser Task Force 64. (continued)
