Rear Admiral Clifton Sprague wrote to his colleague Aubrey Fitch after the war, "I ... stated that the main reason they turned north was that they were receiving too much damage to continue and I am still of that opinion and cold analysis will eventually confirm it."
Kontreadmiral Clifton Sprague skrev til sin kollega Aubrey Fitch efter krigen, "Jeg ... udtalte at hovedårsagen til, at de drejede nordpå var, at de fik for mange skader til at fortsætte, og det mener jeg stadig, og kølig analyse vil til sidst bekræfte det."