Bombs Away

In mid-August, Coastwatchers Martin Clemens and Lt.Cmdr Hugh Mackenzie set up a coastwatcher radio station in a little dugout at Henderson Field. This proved timely, as the Japanese had begun sending bombers against Henderson just about every day the weather held. The Coastwatcher warnings provided the Americans enough time to launch their fighters (which took about 45 minutes to reach an altitude to get a jump on the Zeros), and the Japanese bombers took a heavy beating. But so did Henderson. Constant bombardments from the Japanese naval ships and artillery did not help to make life on the island any more comfortable.