"We are in a mighty tight spot," [Colonel Shoup] is saying. Then he lays down the phone and turns to me. "Division has just asked me whether we've got enough troops to do the job. I told them no. They are sending the Sixth Marines, who will start landing right away. "Says a nearby officer: "That damn Sixth is cocky enough already. Now they'll come in and claim they won the battle."

Tarawa by Robert Sherrod