Customer Reviews

With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa

5 star:		(95)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a gripping account of combat on Peleliu and Okinawa during World War II, without embellishment, without literary flourish. The narrative is simple, unadorned, raw. Sledge--a "fugitive from the law of averages" who survived some of the Pacific War's bloodiest battles--doesn't allude to Hemingway or Remarque, doesn't reference past wars (except fleetingly in discussing the martial tradition of the Corps); he's not interested in connecting his experiences to the ancient line of wars and warriors. Instead, he describes combat as it was, as he saw it and participated in it. Sledge takes readers onto those bloody islands--the relentless fighting on Peleliu, the stinking hell of Okinawa.

Sledge stresses over and over again that war is a waste, "a terrible waste." Young bodies are ripped and torn apart; young men are struck down in their prime and stripped of decades of potential life. Mentally, it is a waste, too. Exposed to brutal combat, civilized men quickly become savage themselves and, for example, pry gold teeth from dead--and, on at least one occasion that Sledge mentions, from wounded and still living--Japanese. There are many other moments throughout the book where the reader winces. And yet, while war is not glorious, there are qualities that men can show under fire, that shine brightly in comparison to the brutality: love, loyalty, bravery, esprit de corps, compassion. Sledge stresses those, too.

This is not an antiwar book, though. Sledge entered the abyss of war, endured hardships, confronted death, saw men torn down. He knows war is not pretty, not fun, not romantic. And yet he also knows that it is sometimes necessary and that, as citizens, we must sometimes sacrifice for our country. He concludes: "With privilege goes responsibility." So it does.

This book takes war for all it is. War is brutal and Sledge does not hide any of it. He brings the war to you clearly and plainly. He is not an author, he is a writer simply writing about what he say, felt, and experienced. After reading this book there is no way you will not have a whole new appreciation for "The Big Red One" and all military units. This is the best book recounting WWII out there. It has a clarity and honesty that no reporter could get, this book is from a front line solider and shows what he saw. Absolutely superb.

After reading a few other war memoir books I was prepared for a semi-interesting but overall dry account full of dates and names...but this book was different. E.B. Sledge writes so vividly you feel like you were his foxhole buddy. So many memories of little every day things that you never hear about in other books or movies. As soon as I finished it I wanted to read it again. This book really opened my eyes to the Pacific campaign as it doesn't seem to get as much attention as the European side. This book really makes you realize what war is like for the guys on the front line, the horror and the lasting effects its amazing...and heartbreaking. A must read.

Although the cover and the title may not sound that eloquent or poetic, make no mistake, Sledge's elegy stands along perhaps 10 other wartime biographies written this century. He not only recounts war and the charnel houses of these two battles, but does it in a way that is both extremely moving in a prose style that is very reminiscent of the Robert Graves' WWI "Goodbye to all That" or Farley Mowat's "And No Birds Sang."

Sledge, who is not a professional writer like the above gentleman but writes, in my opinion, equally as well. As such Sledge has written the quntissential experience of the Marine in the Pacific War. it is one of the best, eloquent, haunting, and poetic reads I have every come across as any war memoir and very, very scary.

I think that one should be able to read through it quickly. I also liked it cause I ended up clawing through the jungle in the Horseshoe region on Peleliu and seeing nothing but gun positions, caves, and small human shaped holes in the coral landscape with Sake Bottles and used and unused cartridges in the holes.

I took this book to Peleliu in 1998. The Jungle has mostly come back and there are few tourists on the Island,and none off the very few trails. The caves are littered with broken Japanese Army helmets, some rusted badly, others with the green in good condition.

One can see nothing but jungle cleaved coral. After passing the usual "squidd pots" (what the Japanese called the small coral caves and holes the dot the island). Suddenly I was standing on an old oil drum, now rusted the same colour as the brown moss of the jungle. Then another drum.... Rows of drums filled with coral. About at least 50 of them lined to a depth of 3 of four deep covered the entrance to a coral cave. The front of the drums were torn and shredded by large calibre fire -- probably .50 calibre I surmise by the size of the holes. Despite its layers of armour I could not help but think that the Marines probably knocked the position out early, though it would have done them little good.

Sledge describes the caves and squid pots all up to the top of the ridge. Day after day the Marines in Sledges unit went into this horror. Okinawa was Peliliu magnified 10 times, and were dehumanised by the entire experience to a degree that those who have never, perhaps today few ever can, experience such a degree of fighting.

It should be noted that the Marines and, later, the Army siezed the ridge after 4 months of fighting. 20,000 Japanese soldiers and about 2000 Americans died on this island 3 Miles Long and 1 mile wide. I came across their bones --- femurs, skull shards, and shredded bodies all over the island. All along I had Sledges book to keep me dark company.

And so I recommend you the book. In the same way that Robert Graves kept me company in my wet soujourns to Vimy Ridge and Ypres in Belgium, so too did Sledge keep me company in that hot hell in the South Pacific.

As usual, I'll use my standard WW2 biography rating system for this review of Private First Class E. B. Sledge's story of his experience fighting as a Marine in the Pacific during WW2.

1- Tactical: As a member of a mortar team, Sledge wasn't specifically on the very front line of combat. That's a rifleman's position. Still, he was usually only a few dozen feet back, meaning he saw plenty of action. Add to the fact that mortar positions were often targeted at night by Japanese infiltrators, and you get up-close action added to his mortar work. As a private, E. B. wasn't privileged to or responsible for tactical decisions. So there's not a lot of discussion of tactics here, other than by example of what actually happened. He does give good commentary on the effectiveness of various small-unit leaders (sergeants, lieutenants, and captains). Sledge is involved in some of the heavier fighting the Marine Corps was engaged in, so there is more than enough death and action to read about.

2- Strategic: there's even less discussion of strategies beyond blunders. This isn't unusual, as private first class is about as low a rank as you can have in the military. But that's not really the focus of this book, so it's not really a problem.

3- Moral: Sledge pulls no punches here. This is one of the most morally honest WW2 books I've ever read. He doesn't hesitate to praise and blame the enemy, nor his fellow marines. He admits his biases, which are reasonable. He discusses specific actions of soldiers, both heroics, and atrocities, in depth from practical and moral viewpoints. Sledge also makes it clear what his moral view of war in general is. If you want a really frank and honest discussion of the ethics and morals of combat, this is an excellent book.

4- Personal: Once more, Sledge pulls no punches. Fighting on tiny islands, with limited water, food, clothing, and most of all, space, meant that fighting conditions grew nasty. Very nasty. Rotting corpses, human waste, screams of the wounded, bursting shells, mud-filled trenches, etc. all add up to a very unglamorous portrait of war. This wasn't pretty, it was base savagery. He also comments on the few positive experiences of the war. The simple clean smell of a stand of pine trees. A momentary hot meal, or a quick shower. This book really takes the reader into Sledge's world. His experiences, his thoughts, his actions, and his emotions.

As you can tell from the general reviews for this book (almost all 5 stars), this is not an ordinary WW2 autobiography. Sledge is a good writer, who's greatest asset is his ability to bluntly tell the truth about his experiences. Vivid, powerful, and often awful, these experiences are definitely worth reading about so that we can understand, and thus avoid, the true hell of a war like the one he fought.

After watching HBO's series "The Pacific" I wanted to know more about the madness that many men endured. It is so very rare in history that we get a chance to see monumental events through the eyes of those on the front lines. More people should read this book written by an average citizen who found himself in circumstances that pushed him to the edge of insanity. We are so lucky that he wrote this book. It will haunt me in a good way. I think it would have been better to read the book before watching the excellent HBO production.

EB Sledge's account of his experiences as a Marine in a Rifle Company at Peleliu and Okinawa is a must read for amateur and professional military historians. Even though I watched The Pacific, which itself is excellent, the HBO TV Series cannot show the depth and breadth of combat as described by Mr Sledge. It is a great read.

"With the Old Breed" chronicles Dr. Sledge's life as a Marine in the Pacific Theater of World War II. The book is divided into two sections describing the campaigns that Sledge took part in: Peleliu and Okinawa.

Sledge's writing style is straightforward and his descriptions are vivid. The thing that impressed me most was his ability to convey the mindset of himself and his fellow soldiers throughout the war. The progression of fear, horror, confusion, disgust, and resolve are all described in a way that you will understand exactly what he felt.

Sledge gives just enough coverage of the high-level progression of the campaigns to give the reader context for the story he is telling. At first I wished for a more complete description, but I came to realize that this information was rarely available to the soldiers at the time. To include it would detract from his objective: to show what war is to a front-line soldier. "With the Old Breed" accomplishes that objective better than anything else that I have read.

As an aside: I would recommend skipping the Introduction. I felt that it revealed several key events out of context, and thus lessened their effect when I reached them in the book.

Shows how savage the war in the Pacific could, and did, become.

I was amazed at what I was reading. Not for the facts of war, which were crude enough and don't need any more telling; I was amazed at how well this man could write. The fact that he could take notes during that action, that he could reveal so openly and humbly his thoughts and fears, his human nature. I believe didn't become insane thanks to his writing.

The importance of this book, what makes it the best book in his genre, is the honesty and humbleness of this man.

More than glad for having read this book, I am glad for knowing that people like Sledge have populated this Earth. God bless Sledge.