.
The American advance on both the right and the left was next halted
by an enemy machine gun located in the gun pit of Battery Denver
near the water tower. From this commanding position the gun could
hit any movement from the north coast to the south. The gun drew the
attention of Major Williams who personally took on the gun with his
Springfield rifle with no result. At 0730 Lieutenant Bethel B.
Otter, USN, commanding Company T, took Ensign William R. Lloyd and
four volunteers, armed only with hand grenades, to take out the gun.
Under covering fire of the
company, Otter crawled with his volunteers to within 25 yards of the
gun pit and lobbed grenades into the position. For a few moments the
weapon was silent, the gun crew dead. Almost immediately the gun
crew was replaced and all but one member of the assault party was
killed. With the gun still in operation, no movement further east
could be accomplished. Army Captain Calvin E. Chunn of the battalion
staff took over the company and led an advance on a group of
Japanese soldiers setting up a light artillery piece. As the company
moved forward, a shell struck amidst the command group, wounding
Chunn and two other officers. By 0900 the 4th Battalion was stalled
and Williams sent to Colonel Howard for reinforcements and artillery
support to resume the attack. Neither were available.
Photograph courtesy of
61st Infantry Association |