マリアナ沖海戦
Blanchard put into Majuro in the Marshall Islands on 15 July. He was praised for an aggressive patrol and received credit for damaging (not sinking) a "Shōkaku"-class carrier. American codebreakers from had lost track of "Taihō" after the Battle of the Philippine Sea and, while puzzled, did not realize she had gone down. Only months later did a POW reveal her sinking. "Months and months went by," Blanchard recalled. "Then they picked up a POW someplace who said "Taihō" went down in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Even then intelligence was doubtful. So I said, 'Keep him alive until he convinces them.'" After confirmation was finally obtained, Lockwood upgraded Blanchard's Navy Commendation Medal to a Navy Cross.