On D+2, _Chicago Daily News_ war correspondent Keith Wheeler released this dispatch from Tarawa: “It looks as though the Marines are winning on this blood-soaked, bomb-hammered, stinking little abattoir of an island.” Colonel Edson issued his attack orders at 0400. As recorded in the division’s D-3 journal, Edson’s plan for D+2 was this: “1/6 attacks at 0800 to the east along south beach to establish contact with 1/2 and 2/2. 1/8 attached to 2dMar attacks at daylight to the west along north beach to eliminate Jap pockets of resistance between Beaches Red 1 and 2. 8th Mar (-LT 1/8) continues attack to east.” Edson also arranged for naval gunfire and air support to strike the eastern end of the island at 20-minute interludes throughout the morning, beginning at 0700. McLeod’s LT 3/6, still embarked at the line of departure, would land at Shoup’s call on Green Beach. The key to the entire plan was the eastward attack by the fresh troops of Major Jones’ landing team, but Edson was unable for hours to raise the 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, on any radio net. The enterprising Major Tompkins, assistant division operations officer, volunteered to deliver the attack order personally to Major Jones. Tompkins’ hair-raising odyssey from Edson’s CP to Green Beach took nearly three hours, during which time he was nearly shot on several occasions by nervous Japanese and American sentries. By quirk, the radio nets started working again just before Tompkins reached LT 1/6. Jones had the good grace not to admit to Tompkins that he already had the attack order when the exhausted messenger arrived. [Illustration: INTELLIGENCE MAP BITITU (BETIO) ISLAND TARAWA ATOLL, GILBERT ISLANDS SITUATION 1800 D+1 NOTE: LINES ARE GENERAL INDICATION ONLY. GAPS WERE COVERED BY SMALL GROUPS AND BY FIRE. SECONDARY LINES WERE ESTABLISHED WHERE POSSIBLE BEHIND FRONT LINES. TAKEN FROM 20 MAR DIV SPECIAL ACTION REPORT]