Said Merrill B. Twining of the Japanese forces deployed on and around Mount Austen, "Theoretically these Japanese did offer a threat to our major force advancing westward along the coast, but as a practical matter these isolated groups were composed of sick and starving men unable to do anything more than die in place.
Merrill B. Twining sagde om de japanske styrker på og omkring Mount Austen: "Teoretisk udgjorde disse japanerne en trussel mod vor hovedstyrkes fremrykning vest på langs kysten, men i praksis bestod disse isolerede grupper af syge og sultende mænd, som ikke kunne gøre andet end at dø hvor de stod.