With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa

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Jun 16, 2010 05:52:58

In The Wall Street Journal, Victor Davis Hanson named With the Old Breed one of the top five books on epic twentieth-century battles. Studs Terkel interviewed the author for his definitive oral history, The Good War. Now E. B. Sledge’s acclaimed first-person account of fighting at Peleliu and Okinawa returns to thrill, edify, and inspire a new generation.

An Alabama boy steeped in American history and enamored of such heroes as George Washington and Daniel Boone, Eugene B. Sledge became part of the war’s famous 1st Marine Division–3d Battalion, 5th Marines. Even after intense training, he was shocked to be thrown into the battle of Peleliu, where “the world was a nightmare of flashes, explosions, and snapping bullets.” By the time Sledge hit the hell of Okinawa, he was a combat vet, still filled with fear but no longer with panic.

Based on notes Sledge secretly kept in a copy of the New Testament, With the Old Breed captures with utter simplicity and searing honesty the experience of a soldier in the fierce Pacific Theater. Here is what saved, threatened, and changed his life. Here, too, is the story of how he learned to hate and kill–and came to love–his fellow man.

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±1±: Best Buy I began reading Eugene Sledge's personal memoir after I received it as a birthday gift from a friend. I am a big World War II buff, and am proud to have knowledge of all the major actions and events that took place. As a result, I went into With the Old Breed thinking that I knew it all. Boy was I wrong. Yes, Sledge depicts two of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific Theatre, Peleliu and Okinawa, but he goes far beyond that. From describing the constant fear of being killed at night by Japanese infiltrators, to grimacing in fear under enemy artillery fire, and to bear the sight of dead Marines, Sledge truly reveals the horrors of combat. One of the main accomplishments in his writing is proving that combat is much more than a simple John Wayne movie. It is a test of will that can push any man to the limit, no matter how strong he may be. Sledge's story is also one of friendship and camaraderie, forming strong ties with his fellow marines who will risk anything to save their buddies. This is also a story of hate however, and Sledge does an excellent job pointing out the fact that the Marines were not the sophisticated soldiers of western society, but often times sink down to the level of their own adversaries. Sledge's war was one where anyone was a target on the battlefield, even stretcher bearers and medics. The Japanese were a ruthless enemy, and Sledge time and time points out that the only way to defeat them is to "root 'em out one by one." The most remarkable part of the memoir is Sledge's transformation from a scared recruit wading ashore on Peleliu to a combat veteran who came to the realization that war is not pretty, and that he has to do unspeakable things in order to survive. Read this book as a testament to all Americans who died fighting in the deadliest conflict in human history. on Sale!