Editing Guadalcanal campaign (section)

===Actions along the Matanikau===
{{Main|Actions along the Matanikau}}
[[File:GuadMatanikauMarineRaft.jpg|thumb|U.S. Marines cross the [[Matanikau River]] on Guadalcanal on a raft ferry in November, 1942.]]
Vandegrift and his staff were aware that Kawaguchi's troops had retreated to the area west of the Matanikau, and that numerous groups of Japanese stragglers were scattered throughout the area between the Lunga perimeter and the Matanikau River. Vandegrift therefore decided to conduct another series of small unit operations around the Matanikau Valley. Their purpose was to mop up scattered groups of Japanese troops east of the Matanikau and to keep the main body of Japanese soldiers off-balance, preventing them from consolidating positions so close to the main Marine defenses at Lunga Point.<ref>Smith, p. 204; and Frank, p. 270.</ref>

An attack on Japanese forces west of the Matanikau was conducted between 23 and 27 September by elements of three U.S. Marine battalions. The attack was repulsed by Kawaguchi's troops under Akinosuke Oka's local command. During the action three Marine companies were surrounded by Japanese forces near Point Cruz west of the Matanikau, took heavy losses, and only escaped due to assistance from the destroyer {{USS|Monssen|DD-436|6}} and landing craft crewed by [[United States Coast Guard|U.S. Coast Guard]] personnel. One of those was piloted by [[Douglas Albert Munro|Douglas Munro]], who was killed as he maneuvered his craft to protect the escaping Marines and became the only Coast Guardsman to be awarded the Medal of Honor.<ref>Smith, pp. 204–215; Frank, pp. 269–274; Zimmerman, pp. 96–101.</ref>

Between 6 and 9 October a larger force of Marines successfully crossed the Matanikau River, attacked newly landed Japanese forces from the 2nd Infantry Division under the command of Generals [[Masao Maruyama (Japanese Army officer)|Masao Maruyama]] and [[Yumio Nasu]], and inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese [[4th Infantry Regiment (Imperial Japanese Army)|4th Infantry Regiment]]. This action forced the Japanese to retreat from their positions east of the Matanikau and hindered Japanese preparations for their planned major offensive on the U.S. Lunga defenses.<ref>Griffith, pp. 169–176; Frank, pp. 282–290; and Hough, pp. 318–322.</ref> Between 9 and 11 October the U.S. [[1st Battalion, 2nd Marines]] raided two small Japanese outposts about {{convert|30|mi|km}} east of the Lunga perimeter at Gurabusu and Koilotumaria near Aola Bay. These raids killed 35 Japanese at a cost of 17 Marines and 3 U.S. Navy personnel killed.<ref>Frank, pp. 290–291. 15 of the Marines and the three U.S. Navy sailors were killed when the Higgins boat carrying them from Tulagi to Aola Bay on Guadalcanal was lost. One of the Japanese killed in the raid was "Ishimoto", a Japanese intelligence agent and interpreter who had worked in the Solomon Islands area prior to the war and was alleged to have participated in the murder of two Catholic priests and two nuns at Tasimboko on 3 September 1942. ([http://www.pacificwrecks.com/people/veterans/ishimoto/index.html The Mysterious Mr. Moto on Guadalcanal])</ref>