Sledge

With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa by E. B. Sledge (1981)

With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa is the memoir of a Marine veteran of the Pacific Theatre of World War II — and was one of the primary sources for the HBO television series The Pacific (2010). Private Eugene B. Sledge is not interested in cheerleading the War, nor does he romanticize his experiences. This book is about as real, brutal, and personal a story gets and is told by someone who was in the foxholes and on the front lines in two of the most ferocious battles of that vicious war.

Sledge begins his account with the excitement of a green replacement in an already battle-tested unit. He relates his feelings about his treatment as “the new guy” and his annoyance and boredom with the everyday, mundane tasks while at camp during the unit’s downtime. The mood of the book changes considerably, however, once he finally sees battle on Peleliu, a small island in the Palau Island chain. Sledge describes the terror he felt and unbearable conditions in which he fought. He tells us what it was like to watch his buddies die, and what non-stop fear, vileness, and death does to one’s soul over time. His description of the first day of Peleliu is mesmerizing.

The story within With the Old Breed is narrowly focused, telling only what Sledge experienced. Because of this, it is easy to follow. Every so often, Sledge interrupts the main narrative with short sections consisting of general background and facts that orient the reader within Sledge’s main story and provide context of what was going on elsewhere in the War. I found these very helpful to really understand what he and his fellow Marines went through and why. Maps of troop movements and holdings are also included.

This book is honest — brutally so. He describes what he experienced as he saw it. The reader watches Sledge slowly evolve from naïvety to stone-cold rage to cope with his situation. Sledge loved being a Marine but hated how he thought his comrades were treated and wasn’t afraid to criticize anyone for their commands and decisions. But even more honestly, he doesn’t hold back criticism of himself. He saw what he was turning into and there was nothing he could or would do to stop it. It’s probably why it took him almost forty years to finally write this book. I would think that what these types of memories do to a person would have to take a long time to heal.

This is as raw of a war memoir as you’re going to find. According to one source I read, military historians consider With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa to be one of the best war biographies in existence. It is one of the few not written by someone with authority or in command. The author was one of the guys in the trenches and foxholes, who took the orders, was not involved in strategy, dodged the bullets and artillery, lived in the blood, gore and filth, and got the job done. That visceral reality is in every word on every page and makes the account feel authentic.

World War II is everywhere in American pop culture – TV, movies, YouTube, etc. It had been popularized and many times romanticized over the decades since it ended. Recently, TV shows like The Pacific have tried to bring this destructive war back to reality. With the Old Breed does this in a way no TV show or movie can. It is not actors pretending, was not written by a scriptwriter based on stories he heard. In With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa, the bullets, bombs and blood are real; the terror, rage, and hate are real; the enemy is ruthless, cunning, and deadly. Private Sledge holds our heads in his grip and makes us look at it and he doesn’t let go until the story ends.