Henderson Field on Guadalcanal was the most miserable fighter base in the world: mud, malaria, nightly naval bombardments, and daily raids from Rabaul. Yet the "Cactus Air Force"—a mongrel mix of Marine F4F Wildcats, Army P-400 Airacobras, Navy SBD Dauntlesses, and carrier squadrons diverted from damaged flattops—held the line from August to October 1942. Between August 20 and October 16, MAG-23 and attached squadrons shot down 244 Japanese aircraft. Marine pilots Joe Foss, John Smith, and Robert Galer became household names. Foss alone scored 26 victories. The medical officer reported that after five weeks, only three pilots remained unscathed; seven had been killed, three wounded, and the rest were physically and mentally shattered. But the Cactus Air Force denied Japan the air superiority it needed to retake the island—and that denial changed the Pacific War.