My old man flew FM’s off of a CVE in the final months of the war. The Wildcat actually had a great reputation with the Japanese who considered it a comparable fighter to their own Zero. As @Llarry notes, it was the American ability to innovate tactically that secured the South Pacific during the first 24 months of the war while flying soon-to-be surpassed fighters like the F4F and P-40. On an interesting side note, the glamorous P-51 was not highly regarded in the Pacific, where pilots and ground crew found it too picky and flimsy for the harsh environment.