The war on the distant Pacific Front is most often known from numerous games or a TV movie. Eugene Sledge’s memoirs are the very special case due to which the reader has the opportunity to learn about this war firsthand, not politicized or embellished. After so many years (as With the old Breed was written back in 1981), it is hardly worth counting on perfect reliability, but many of the smallest facts, including documented ones, are credible.
Eugene Sledge’s memoirs are very useful in many ways. The reader has the opportunity to look at everyday military life through the eyes of a simple marine. The author does not embellish anything, but tries to honestly convey the feelings experienced at that time. At the same time, With the old Breed are not dry memories (Sledge, 2007). Together with the marine, the reader experiences the bitterness of the losses of his many friends, sniffs the specific smells of war in the face of burning sulfur, decomposing corpses, falls into dull despair or even feels dumb indifference to everything that is happening around. More than once or twice Eugene Sledge writes about ridiculous accidental losses in his own troops: from games with weapons which were considered unloaded, crossfire of the second line, short-range mortar mines, disobedience of orders during the offensive, and finally – from inattention of the night watch.
The reader is most shocked not by the description of the battles and the staggering numbers of losses on both sides, but by the difficulties faced by the Marines during the development of the offensive. The author, not paying attention to the ranks, writes about the ridiculous mistakes of the command from the young replenishment, which almost cost the lives of seasoned veterans, for example, the case of a mortar strike in a crevice in Okinawa, a trip with a medic, etc., misunderstandings among the staff, often costing someone their lives, and mutual assistance (Sledge, 2007). In general, With the old breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa is a very interesting and useful book that describes the important battles of the Asian front of World War II. Although Eugene Sledge himself bitterly wrote that in military terms, the battle for Peleliu did not have crucial significance.
Reference
Sledge, E. B. (2007). With the old breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa. Presidio Press.