The sea around and skies above Guadalcanal were still contested when the Marines made their landing. The nearby Japanese airbase at Rabaul was able to stage attacks on the landing force and inflict losses both at sea and in the air. Anxiety over losing precious planes and ships caused Admiral Fletcher to withdraw his covering force, which in turn required the supply ships to also withdraw. This meant that not all of the supplies were put ashore--not even half.

The Marines were then left short on rations, and many became ill with dysentery. The following days and weeks witnessed a rather strange occurrence in modern warfare in that possession of the sea changed hands roughly every twelve hours. The Americans were able to operate more successfully in the daylight while the Japanese were able to operate their forces successfully at night. Frequent clashes in the air and at sea made losses mount (and resulted in a nearby body of water to become nicknamed "Iron Bottom Sound" due to the number of ships lost there). This left precious little time for the Americans to resupply Guadalcanal. Relatively few planes were able to be operated from Henderson Field (the airstrip on the island). Fighting for their lives on an island far from home without the visible presence of the Navy, it isn't shocking that many Marines became resentful of their situation. It took months to wear down the Japanese air forces at Rabaul and other nearby bases as well as to finally exert control over the sea. During that time Marine resentment grew.

Richard B. Frank's Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle covers the battle in exquisite detail (so much so that the Marine that I lent my copy to never returned it). Robert Leckie's Strong Men Armed: The United States Marines Against Japan summarizes the battle. Leckie was also a Marine who was present on Guadalcanal, so his memoir Helmet for My Pillow gives a personal account of his experience.