On 7 December 1941, USS McFarland, operating out of Pearl Harbor, was conducting antisubmarine maneuvers off Maui. Receiving word of the Japanese attack, she patrolled to the southwest, returning to Oahu on the 9th. For the next 7 months she operated from Pearl Harbor, completing several voyages to Palmyra Atoll and Johnston Islands. On these missions she carried marine reinforcements to the islands and returned with civilian personnel. McFarland sailed for the South Pacific 2 June 1942. She arrived at Noumea on the 16th and within a month she made her first contact with an enemy submarine in Bulari Pass, 15 July. In August, as the Guadalcanal offensive neared, she assumed tender duties in the Espiritu Santo – Santa Cruz Islands area. Assigned to keeping the supply lines open, McFarland carried supplies to the embattled island and evacuated wounded marine personnel while the planes she tendered performed scouting and fighting missions. On 16 October, McFarland was unloading cargo and embarking wounded personnel in Lunga Roads when she was attacked by nine dive bombers. While the first seven scored no hits, the eighth hit a gasoline barge in tow alongside the tender’s starboard quarter. The blazing barge was cut loose as the ninth plane made its run. At least one bomb hit McFarland's stern, knocking out her rudder and steering engine. Her crew shot down one plane, but lost eleven of its members in the fight; five killed, six missing, with an additional 12 critically wounded. For this action, the ship was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.

Raymond H Moershall