Eugene Sledge’s With the Old Breed History Essay Paper

Eugene Sledge’s With the Old Breed 
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Eugene Sledge’s With the Old Breed 
With the Old Breed, (Presidio Press, 1981) is a classic first-hand memoir written by E.B. Sledge, a war veteran that served in the United States Marine Corps during the Second World War. His highly graphic and detailed account has since increased in popularity over the years. It was also numerously used as a reference for T.V productions. These include the Ken Burns documentary released in 2007 and the popular HBO miniseries “The Pacific” that premiered in 2010.The memoir comprises of notes he took and kept in his pocket-sized Bible alongside personal accounts from his comrades from the same battles. He mainly focuses on two campaigns fought on the islands of Okinawa and Peleliu, Japan, that had a long-lasting effect on him years after the war. In his words, 1‘Combat leaves an indelible mark on those who are forced to endure it.” The text begins with Sledge getting inducted into the Marines against his parents' wishes, his journey through training, his deployment to Pavuvu, and finally his experience as a front line gunner with emphasis on the moral and mental aspect of the battle. Sledge states his main reason for writing the book as a personal fulfillment of an obligation to his comrades, "In the 1st Marine Division, all those whom suffered for our country. None came out unscathed.” 2
Sledge, during training, talks about his deep hatred of the Japanese as a result of their fighting techniques and brutality. He says, "The attitudes held toward the Japanese by non-combatants or even sailors or airmen often did not reflect the deep personal resentment felt by Marine infantrymen.” 3He mainly attributed it to the " low blow" fighting techniques of the Japanese, where they would play dead and throw grenades or calling for corpsmen and stabbing medics when they came closer to them. However, later on, He seems to admire the Japanese for their technique and determination as he states," The Japanese fought to win-it was a savage, brutal inhumane, exhausting and dirty business." 4Sledge also describes their battle formation on the Island on Peleliu as a “perfect defense-in-depth with the whole island as a front line." 5He acknowledges them as better fighters attributing to their stealth during night time, even stating that their weapons and strategy as superior. Another notable fact is that regardless of how the Japanese desecrated dead American soldiers, he would not take a Japanese life gratuitously or even desecrate the oppositions dead as he still believed in empathy regardless of the soldier involved. He is visibly angry when he observes a fellow marine pulling out teeth from a mortally wounded Japanese soldier while he was still alive.