At 06:30 on 26 July (Jig+2), 1/8 along with the 8th Regiment were ordered back to 2nd Marine Division Control in order to facilitate the day's attack. With the 8th Marines on the left, the 2nd Marine Division began pushing eastward. 8th Marines swept rapidly across the Ushi Point flats. The airfield had been abandoned, but the Marines carefully searched each position to make certain that none of the enemy were lying in wait. By noon Colonel Wallace, the 8th Marines' commander, reported his assault battalions (1st and 2nd BN) on the east coast. 8th Regiment, now designated division reserve, began searching for enemy stragglers west of Objective O-3. 2nd Division's successful 2,500-yard push to the east coast now made it possible for the landing force to attack in a single direction, south. 1/8 and the 8th Regiment remained the division reserve until 31 July.