The 2/8th Battalion’s Company G, charged with taking Afetna Point, had been given all of the regiment’s shotguns (while retaining their M1 Garands). This would hopefully help avoid friendly fire casualties since 4th Marine Division troops would be advancing from the opposite direction. The M97 pump shotgun could be slam-fired, allowing a Marine to keep the trigger pulled and fire all six rounds as quickly as the he could chamber a fresh round. That yielded enormous close-range firepower, that would not travel more than 50 yards.

The Marines fought their way slowly forward, repelling numerous Japanese counter-attacks. The shotguns proved extremely useful in short-range combat, despite many of their shells having warped in the salt sea air so that they no longer could be loaded. The Marines failed to take their objective, and there would be another day’s fighting before the Japanese were cleared from Afetna Point.