That night Japanese cruisers arrived off Lunga Point and lobbed 1,400 shells at Henderson, destroying 18 American planes and damaging 32 others. They failed to render the field inoperable, however, and when Japanese Rear Adm. Raizo Tanaka’s Destroyer Squadron 2, better known to his American adversaries as the “Tokyo Express,” escorted 11 transports to Guadalcanal, every Marine and Navy aircraft that could still fly, joined by Enterprise’s planes, attacked. They damaged the retiring cruiser Maya and sank seven of the 11 transports, although “Tenacious Tanaka” ran the four remaining ships aground to land 2,000 troops and supplies, while his destroyers rescued some 5,000 survivors.

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Donahue was part of an eight-plane patrol led by 2nd Lt. James G. Percy northwest of the Russell Islands at 1045 on November 14 when the Marines spotted six Zeros of the 253rd Kokutai, dispatched from Vunakanau airfield on Rabaul, en route to engage the Americans who were attacking Tanaka’s convoy. “They dived from a great height,” Donahue recalled, “and we all shot at them and they kept on diving. I thought we got a couple of them. If you got a good shot into one, it burst into flame—then you know you got him.” Five Zeros were credited to Percy’s flight—including one to Donahue—though in fact only three of the Japanese failed to return to base.

Not long after his eventful combat debut Donahue, like many other Marines at Guadalcanal, fell ill with malaria, but later in November VMF-112 was withdrawn to Sydney for a rest. While the unit was there, as a group of the squadron’s pilots collectively asked an Australian girl for a date, she shook her head and remarked, “You’re a pack of wolves!” That response inspired the Marines to adopt “Wolf Pack” as their squadron sobriquet, and they subsequently designed their insignia around it.

Donahue was still in the hospital convalescing from malaria when VMF-112 returned to Guadalcanal in late January 1943. “It was a beautiful life when they sent me to Australia,” he said, “but as soon as I was well enough to fight again I caught a plane back to Cactus.”

By May VMF-112 had exchanged the last of its F4F-4s for Vought F4U-1 Corsairs. Like most Marines who flew the “Bent-wing Bird,” Donahue fell in love with the powerful new fighter. “You thought you were going to make a round trip in a Corsair,” he said. “That thing was marvelous. Its greatest asset was speed, as far as I was concerned.” It wouldn’t be long before Donahue put the fast fighter to good use.

On May 13, flying F4U-1 Bureau No. 02349, he and his flight encountered Zeros west of Florida Island at 1250 hours. In an hour-long series of dogfights, Donahue was credited with four Zeros and one probable, though he wrote over the latter entry in the report, “[1st Lt. Milton M.] Cook verified the fifth.” Whatever the case, Japanese naval records note the loss of four A6M3 Zeros and the death of three pilots off the Russells. One of three Corsairs shot down that day was flown by Donahue’s wingman, 1st Lt. Otto J. Seifert, who was last seen plunging to earth at a 45-degree angle, trailing a plume of smoke. Donahue remembered little of that moment, except to recall, “I think he saved my life.” Seifert was VMF-112’s second—and last—air-to-air combat fatality of the Solomons campaign.

Eleven Wolf Pack Corsairs escorted Grumman TBF-1s and Douglas SBD-3s on a June 5 raid on Kahili Bay and got into a dogfight with some 40 Zeros west of the Shortlands at 0930. In the ensuing two-hour melee, VMF-112 pilots were credited with 11 victories, including one for Donahue.

Two days later, the Japanese struck back against American units in the Russells with 24 Zeros of the 204th Kokutai and 36 Zeros of the 251st Kokutai, which were hotly engaged by fighters of the Thirteenth Air Force as well as Navy and Marine fighters between 1020 and 1220. VMF-112 was involved in two major dogfights that day. In the first, north of the Russells, Major Robert B. Fraser’s eight-plane flight was jumped from above and behind by 14 Zeros, probably from the 204th. Turning on his assailants, Fraser claimed the first Zero in line. First Lieutenant Stanley T. Synar got the second as it latched onto Fraser’s tail, and 1st Lt. James E. Johnson was attacking the third when another Zero drove him out of the fight with half his rudder, his hydraulic system and a tire shot away. In spite of that damage, Johnson managed to get credit for downing a Zero on his way back to a safe landing at Henderson Field. Percy claimed Johnson’s attacker, but then his controls were shot away by another Zero. Bailing out at 300 feet, Percy hit the water before his parachute could open, but miraculously survived despite a broken pelvis, two sprained ankles and numerous bruises. He managed to swim to a coral reef, and the next day made his way to an adjacent island, from which he was rescued and shipped home.

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