The assault troops experienced a universal shock during the
ship-to-shore movement. In spite of the dire intelligence predictions
and their own combat experience, the troops found the landing to be a
cakewalk--virtually unopposed. Private First Class Gene Sledge’s mortar
section went in singing “Little Brown Jug” at the top of its lungs.
Corporal James L. Day, a rifle squad leader attached to Company F, 2d
Battalion, 22d Marines, who had landed at Eniwetok and Guam earlier,
couldn’t believe his good luck: “I didn’t hear a single shot all
morning--it was unbelievable!” Most veterans expected an eruption of
enemy fire any moment. Later in the day General del Valle’s LVT became
stuck in a pothole enroute to the beach, the vehicle becoming a very
lucrative, immobile target. “It was the worst 20 minutes I ever spent
in my life,” he said.
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