campaign, the CAF was unable to maintain a standing combat air patrol over Henderson Field. Therefore, CAF needed early warnings of incoming Japanese aircraft so their aircraft were in the air during Japanese air attacks. Members of the Australian Coastwatchers, including W. J. Read in northern and Paul Mason in southern Bougainville, Donald Kennedy on New Georgia, and Geoffrey Kuper on Santa Isabel relayed as Japanese airplane formations were heading for the island, giving the defenders on Guadalcanal time to get airborne. On 16 August, Lieutenant Commander Hugh A. Mackenzie of the Royal Australian Navy, the Deputy Staff Intelligence Officer for the British Solomon Islands Protectorate, established a radio station at Henderson Field to monitor coastwatcher transmissions and relay their warnings to the CAF. Admiral Bull Halsey said the coast-watchers "saved Guadalcanal". Several coastwatchers were stationed around Guadalcanal, including Martin Clemens (a local official for the British Solomon Islands Protectorate), Leif Schroeder, Donald Macfarlan, Ken Hay, and Ashton Rhoades. These coastwatchers, with help from native Solomon Islanders, helped rescue and return several Allied pilots during the campaign. Aftermath The Cactus Air Force's dive bombers and torpedo planes sank or destroyed 17 large enemy vessels, including one Japanese battleship, one heavy cruiser (the Kinugasa), one light cruiser (the Yura), three destroyers (the , Murakumo, and Natsugumo), and twelve transports, possibly sank three destroyers and one heavy cruiser, and heavily damaged 18 other ships, including one heavy cruiser and five light cruisers. The largest vessel was the battleship Hiei, which was finished off by the CAF, along with aircraft from the Enterprise'', and B-17s from Espiritu, after being crippled by American cruisers and destroyers during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. The fifteen Marine combat squadrons on Guadalcanal during this time suffered from 94 pilots killed or missing-in-action, with another 177 evacuated with wounds or with sickness (especially severe malaria). Losses for Japanese aircraft during the Guadalcanal campaign are unknown. Japanese records show that several Marine and Army pilots were captured on Guadalcanal after being shot down over enemy-occupied jungle areas, but none of the pilots survived their captivity. Medal of Honor recipients Six aviators who served in the "Cactus Air Force" received the Medal of Honor for their actions during the Battle of Guadalcanal (August 1942 – February 1943): John L. Smith Robert E. Galer Joe Foss Harold W. Bauer Jefferson J. DeBlanc James E. Swett Order of battle All aviation units