Word: jap
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...shore at 8:30. Correspondent Sherrod had been assigned to the fifth wave, commanded by Major Howard Rice, which would reach the beach 31 minutes later, presumably after the first four waves had established comfortable positions. But now it was obvious that H Hour would be delayed because the Jap fire had forced the transports to shift to a safer area...
...small boat came alongside Correspondent Sherrod's party. An officer said: "Half of you men get in here. They need help bad on the beach." Jap shells began peppering the water. Major Rice and 17 men scampered into the small craft, which headed for the beach through a barrage of mortar and automatic-weapon fire. The Higgins boat milled around for another ten minutes, getting its share of near-misses. One Marine picked a half-dozen pieces of shrapnel from his lap, stared at them. Another said: "Oh God, I'm scared...
...year-old crewman on the boat had been shot through the head, and had murmured: "I think I'm hit, will you look?" Now he lay on the beach. A Jap ran out of a coconut-log blockhouse into which Marines were tossing dynamite. As he emerged a Marine flamethrower engulfed him. The Jap flared like a piece of celluloid. He died before the bullets in his cartridge belt finished exploding 60 seconds later...
...Marine beachhead at this point comprised only the 20 feet between the water line and the retaining wall of coconut logs which ringed Betio. Beyond this strip, Jap snipers and machine-gunners were firing. In a little revetment was the headquarters of Major Henry P. ("Jim") Crowe, a tough, red-mustached veteran who had risen from the Marine ranks to command of one of the assault battalions. Near by passed a parade of wiremen, riflemen, mortarmen and stretcher bearers...
...handsome young Marine walked briskly toward Major Crowe's headquarters, grinning in greeting to a pal. There was a shot. The Marine spun around, fell to the beach dead. He had been shot through the temple. A Jap sniper had waited since early morning for just such a shot at a range of less than ten yards...