A squadron of Marine F4U Corsairs flew into the airfield on September 19 and commenced ground-support operations against Japanese positions on the nearby ridgeline. They dropped 500-pound bombs and napalm, often from very low altitude. These may have been the shortest bombing runs of the entire Pacific War. The Corsairs took off, banked right immediately, and flew low over enemy-held positions in the hills. They dropped their payloads, banked right again, and landed. A typical bombing run lasted less than two minutes; the pilots did not even bother to retract their landing gear.
