[158] Unless otherwise cited, the remainder of this section is derived from: ComPhibGru-1 _OpnO 14-50_, Item, V-VI; 1st MarDiv _SAR_, Annex Peter Peter; 2/1 _SAR_ and _OpPlan 1-50_; Sutter-Codispoti interv, 25 Jan 55; and Capt B. F. Cunliffe interv, 24 Aug 54. “Wave 5 cleared the 802 about 1630. We had been told that a wave guide would pick us up and lead us to the line of departure.... Time was passing and we were feeling desperate when we came alongside what was apparently the central control vessel. I asked the bridge for instructions. A naval officer with a bull horn pointed out the direction of BLUE Two, but nothing could be seen in that direction except mustard-colored haze and black smoke. We were on our way, and our path crossed that of another wave. I asked if they were headed for BLUE Two. Their wave commander answered, ‘Hell no, we’re the 2d Battalion headed for BLUE One.’ We then veered off to the right. I broke out my map, but the LVT driver had no compass.... With no confidence in its accuracy within a steel hull, I got out my lensatic compass and made a best guess as to the azimuth of our approach line.”[159] [159] Simmons ltr, 28 Mar 55. The nine LVT(A)s leading off for Lieutenant Colonel Alan Sutter’s 2d Battalion thrashed through the gloom and crawled ashore on BLUE One at 1730, on schedule. Meeting no opposition at the beach, they rumbled northward to the road skirting the knoll in order to penetrate the interior. The exit was blocked by an earth slide resulting from the naval bombardment of the high ground, and the column of amphibious vehicles ground to a halt. At H-plus 1, most of the eleven LVTs of the second wave crunched ashore with elements of two assault companies. The remainder, with troops of Fox Company embarked, had grounded in mud about 300 yards offshore. The Marines had to wade to the beach, and they lost several pieces of communications gear in potholes en route. Company D, on the left, was to have remained aboard the tractors for the drive inland, while the troops of Company F debarked at the beach, cleared the knoll, and continued overland on foot. The latter scheme of maneuver unfolded as planned, and the Marines encountered no resistance when they swept to the top of the high ground. Dog Company, meanwhile, had also dismounted because of the blocked road.