The 22d Marines, led by Colonel Merlin F. Schneider, was battered by a hail of small arms and mortar fire on hitting its assigned beach, and suffered heavy losses of men and equipment in the first minutes. Private First Class William L. Dunlap could vouch for the high casualties. The dead, Dunlap recalled, included the battalion’s beloved chaplain, who had been entrusted with just about everybody’s gambling money “to hold for safekeeping,” the Marines never for a minute considering that he was just as mortal as they. The 1st Battalion, 22d Marines (Lieutenant Colonel Walfried H. Fromhold), had left its section of the landing zone and moved to the shattered town of Agat, after which the battalion would drive north and eventually seal off heavily defended Orote Peninsula, shortly to be the scene of a major battle.
The 22d Marines’ 2d Battalion, (Lieutenant Colonel Donn C. Hart), in the center of the beachhead, quickly and easily moved 1,000 yards directly ahead inland from the beach. The battalion could have gone on to one of the W-Day goals, the local heights of Mount Alifan, if American bombs had not fallen short, halting the attack.
[Illustration: _Often, in attacking up the ridges, there was very little cover and hardly any concealment as the Marines and soldiers advanced in the face of heavy artillery, mortar, and machine gun fire. Evacuation was extremely difficult under these conditions._]
[Illustration: _Company A, 3d Marines, is in a perilous position on W-Day plus 1, 22 July, as it is held up on Bundschu Ridge on its way to Chonito Ridge at the top. The troops were halted by Japanese fire, which prevented immediate reinforcement._
Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 87396 ]
The 1st Battalion moved into the ruins of Agat and at 1020 was able to say, “We have Agat,” although there was still small arms resistance in the rubble. By 1130 the battalion was also out to Harmon Road, which led to the northern shoulder of Mount Alifan. Even as Fromhold’s men made their advances, Japanese shells hit the battalion aid station, wounding and killing members of the medical team and destroying supplies. Not until later that afternoon was the 1st Battalion sent another doctor.