With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa

E B (Gene) Sledge's memoir of his time in the Pacific War has been an incredibly rich source for for television history. Ken Burns drew extensively upon his account for his brilliant series "The War" particularly in Episode 9 "FUBAR" and his words are read and quoted. Now it extensively figures again in the what will be one of the great series of modern television, HBOs "The Pacific" a 10-part mini-series from the creators of "Band of Brothers" telling the intertwined stories of three Marines during America's battle with the Japanese in the Pacific during World War II. "Helmet for My Pillow" by Robert Leckie is the other key primary source and you may wish to read the reviews elsewhere of that excellent book. It is Sledge's memoir however that in my subjective opinion is the definitive account of this terrible conflict. Gene Sledge was no backseat General or causal observer, he gave up a graduation course leading to a commissioned officer's position to serve as a Private First Class in the Pacific Theater and saw combat at the raging infernos of Peleliu with its controversial airfield and Okinawa. He played others roles such as a stretcher bearer and constantly throughout his service, Sledge kept extensive "unauthorised notes" of what happened in his pocket sized New Testament. If you go over to the US Amazon site you will see that this book has nearly 300 reviews and Sledge is rightly compared to Robert Graves as a war author. This is no American hyperbole. Gene Sledge aside from his military feats is a great writer and remembrancer. This is by no means a "jolly romp" war memoir it is a brutal and often terrifyingly honest account of a soldiers experience and the deep fear and boredom that underpins this. Slegdes account of the first man he kills throws into sharp relief the the unimaginable dread of taking another life. His deep reflections and anxiety about whether he might turn out "yella" are brilliantly articulated. His sheer dismay at the "terror compounded" of being out in the open in an artillery barrage is almost heart rending and you wish he wasn't there. Indeed Joseph Conrad's immortal phrase "Oh the horror" in the Heart of Darkness could be subtitle for this book. Sledge in one sense also prefigures the some of the disillusionment that would be rampant in the later Vietnam War. He talks of the "awesome reality that we were training to be canon fodder", the word "expendable" is used and the sheer ruthlessness of the combat and treatment of soldiers is set out in raw detail. Sledge was deeply religious but combined his faith with sharp intellectual analysis of his own and his comrades precarious situation. "Something of me died at Peleliu" he states in capturing an island which was deemed by the military planners to be a four day "in and out" exercise that eventually took 2 months and thousands of lives. The Japanese were blasted and burned out of these Islands but in turn gave new meaning to the term "never give an inch". The battle rolled onto the mainland but not before the "two scorpions in a bottle" to use Sledge's term went from island to island slugging it out in increasingly brutal combat. Sledge ended up in the the apocalypse at Okinawa in a mortar section which went into battle singing "Little Brown Jug" at the top of their lungs. When you write a review of America's role in World War 11 some British reviewers get upset about the fact that our soldiers are often ignored or written out of history. The failure of British television in particular to undertake contemporary and exhaustive historical TV series of both World Wars and properly recognise the sheer effort/contribution of the British people is a travesty. The Thames production "World at War" is now nearly 40 years old and "The Great War" produced by the BBC in the early sixties. HBO should therefore be thanked alongside with recent American documentary makers for the important role they are playing. The same is true of Gene Sledge's brilliant book "With the old breed" since the messages it contains are timeless and universal, and we ignore them at our peril.

very interesting, couldnt put down... a very brave young man as are the other characters too. well worth reading

This book is a very simple honest look at the life of the US marine in the Pacific campaigns of Peliliu and Okinawa.# This books brilliant narrative is what impressed me the most. I found that the sheer honesty with which Sledge tells his story makes the entire reading expreince very real to the reader. One sees the true thought processes of the Marines as they fought a suicidal and highly tactical enemy, in what must be described as some of the worst campaigns of WW2. Little is known aboout the Pacific theatre of WW2, and it is only now thanks to HBo's The Pacific, that the history of it all is seeing a revival of sorts. This is absolutely necessary to do justice to the men who fought and died and indeed those who like Sledge survived a horrendous ordeal. The book to me tapped into another aspect through its honesty. It engaged in the psycology of warfare. It showed how in fighting a suicidal enemy who showed no respect for their foe, i.e. the US Marines, they then also lowered their moral standards top the point that they too became entirely desensitised to barbarity and cruelty to their enemy the Japanese soldier. This book is not just about the pacific in WW2, it is about the effects war can have on the human psyche and how thankful we should all be that those men gave all they had so that we can live as we do today. A true salute to the bravery of the men of the US Marine Corps. "Semper Fi" !!

This is an easy book to read in that it maintains a brisk, matter-of-fact pace and retains your interest throughout but that doesn't make it a great one. There was no attempt to glorify the Pacific War or garnish it with heroics and, though there is plenty of heroism (and gritty realism), it is all under-stated and I liked that. However, Sledge is not a writer, as such. The prose is bland and not really engaging. The characters are mostly thinly portrayed, almost cyphers, and no-one ever utters a cuss-word. Someone decided (whether the author or the publisher) that the Marines should not swear, so not a single f-word. Does this matter? Well, if you're using reported speech and there is fair amount of it in the book, I would want to get as close to the original sense of what was said. Back to the positives: it is an honest account of a brutal conflict from the point of view of a private who made no effort to conceal the inadequacy and mindless adherence to the rules of some of the junior officers who led men like Sledge and that it is to his credit.

This is the second time I have read this,this time on kindle. Great read.a true account of the horrors of the war in the pacific

Excellent work

Making such a great story out of the hell of the Pacific War required a level of humanity sadly missing today. Excellent read. Having 3 uncles in the Seabees in WWII and myself with 2 brothers serving in Vietnam, we would all agree, War is for the politicians who vote for it.

Never have I read such graphic and detailed accointing of the chaos of battle. What is striking is the warm emotions between these men facing death min by min for years at a time. I was deeply moved by this book as never before. This is a beyond the bounds of Band Of Brothers. While the Army had it bad in Europe...the Marines has it much worse with a sucidial and crazed enemy un like anyone has seen.

Chiunque sia un appassionato di storia, in particolare della Seconda Guerra Mondiale, non può lasciarsi sfuggire questa testimonianza delle vicende e degli orrori del conflitto nel Pacifico. Per quanto esso sia scritto in inglese, la lettura risulta abbastanza scorrevole, coinvolgente e lo stile di Sledge è a dir poco fantastico: cercando di mantenere la lucidità mentre attorno a lui si scatena un inferno di morte e disperazione, l'autore ci permetterà di capire in maniera diretta, emozionante, cruda e analitica ciò che ha vissuto, passando dagli inizi incerti fino alla graduale trasformazione del suo carattere, delle sue abitudini e del suo rapporto con la guerra. Il prezzo di questo libro è davvero poco in confronto a ciò che lascia, senza dubbio la migliore testimonianza di un soldato (periodo WW2) mai scritta.

With the Old Breed by Eugene B. Sledge is widely regarded as one of the most powerful and honest memoirs to come out of World War II. The book chronicles Sledge’s experiences as a Marine during the brutal campaigns of Peleliu and Okinawa, where he served in the front lines. What sets this memoir apart is its unflinching honesty. Sledge does not shy away from describing the horrors of war, the fear, and the despair that he and his comrades faced. His detailed recounting of the physical and psychological toll that combat took on the soldiers offers readers a stark and sobering view of the reality of war, without romanticizing or glorifying it. The gripping style of With the Old Breed is another hallmark of Sledge’s writing. His ability to convey the tension and intensity of combat pulls readers into the narrative, making them feel as though they are right there in the foxholes with him. Sledge’s descriptions of the relentless Japanese assaults, the relentless rain of artillery, and the constant threat of death create a vivid and harrowing picture of the battlefield. His storytelling is both vivid and direct, allowing readers to understand not only what happened, but also how it felt to be a part of it. This immediacy in his writing keeps readers engaged and invested in his story. The narrative structure of With the Old Breed is another aspect that makes it an exceptional memoir. Sledge combines his personal experiences with broader reflections on the nature of war and the human condition, creating a narrative that is both deeply personal and universally resonant. His careful attention to detail, combined with his ability to weave these details into a coherent and compelling story, results in a memoir that is both informative and moving. The book stands as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of unimaginable adversity, making it a classic in the literature of war.