Promoted to lieutenant colonel on 1 March 1942, Carmichael was director of bombing at Allied Air Forces, Southwest Pacific Area from 26 March 1942 until 7 July 1942, when he became commander of the 19th Bombardment Group. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for another raid on Rabaul on 7 August 1942. This time the commander of the Allied Air Forces, Major General George Kenney, wanted a maximum effort to support the landing on Guadalcanal. He was hoping for twenty aircraft, but only 16 were operational. One bomber cracked up on takeoff from Port Moresby at 07:30, and two more had to abort with electrical or mechanical problems. The remaining thirteen bombed the target. They were then jumped by fifteen Japanese fighters. Both Carmichael's side gunners were killed, and his airplane was heavily damaged by hostile fire. The oxygen system was knocked out, forcing him to descend to low level. One bomber, flown by Captain Harl Pease was shot down. Kenney nominated Pease, who was later executed by the Japanese, for the Medal of Honor. Kenney was pleased with the results of the raid; he believed, and wrote in this post-war account, that as many as 120 Japanese aircraft might have been destroyed. In fact, damage to the target airfield was superficial, not a single Japanese plane was lost on the ground, and not one fighter was shot down, although a dozen were damaged.
