With The Old Breed
By
Eugene B. Sledge
Corporal Peter A. Swigart
31 Area Maintenance, Headquarters Company
Weapons & Field Training Battalion
06/01/26
With The Old Breed by Eugene Sledge is a startling account of World
War II and
was based on his personal experiences as he served as a mortar man
with Kilo Company,
Third Battalion, Fifth Marines on Peleliu and Okinawa. These
battles were known for
their bloody and savage fighting. Private First Class Sledge gives
a straightforward
approach, illustrating the climate, conditions, and describes in
detail the actions of the
Marines as they fought the Japanese.
After enlisting in the Marine Corps, Sledge goes to boot camp in
San Diego.
Corporal Doherty, Sledge’s drill instructor, amplified everything
it meant to be a Marine
and set a positive example for the recruits of his platoon. He
demonstrated the attitude,
character, strength, endurance, enthusiasm, experience, and
determination of a true
professional. He taught his platoon the basics of being a Marine.
Weapons handling,
shooting, marching, and basic discipline were emphasized throughout
the entirety of boot
camp. Sledge would use this basic Marine Corp knowledge as he
furthered his training
and preparation for combat at Camp Elliott. Arriving at Camp
Elliott, Private First Class
Sledge had to make a decision about which weaponry he wanted to be
assigned and He
chose 60 mm mortars. A Non Commissioned Officer taught Sledge his
entire knowledge
of how to effectively operate his weapon, assemble and disassemble,
and how to strike
the enemy when the opportunity came. For Sledge, the opportunity to
apply his training
in combat came earlier than anticipated.
On September 15, 1944 the 1st Marine Division landed on Peleliu.
Peleliu was a
defensive stronghold for the Japanese, who were entrenched in caves
and waiting for the
attack. The 10,000 Japanese covered every square inch of Peleliu
with interlocking fields
of fire and fought using a new defensive style of fighting. The
defense-in-depth tactic
would be used to cover more areas and inflict many more causalities
than previous
strategies. In previous campaigns, a Marine landing would be met
with the bonsai attack,
in which the Japanese would charge in a costly frontal assault. The
defense in depth
tactic was now used with greater effect.
Sledge’s accounts of the battle are a great illustration to the
actual battlefield.
With his description of the fight, the reader can imagine the
nervousness, adrenaline, and
fear of the men. His account details the sound of explosions, the
whistling of rounds
flying down range, and the cries of dying and injured Marines. From
the beach assault to
making landfall, Sledge carefully describes every footstep. Sledge
begins to learn that
war changes a man forever. He witnesses a dead Japanese soldier,
cut open like an
animal carcass at slaughter and how a combat veteran comes upon the
scene and without
hesitation begins to pilfer the personal belongings of the dead
man. Sledge is astonished
at the indifference to a dead human being. He would become hardened
later on as the
battles became bloodier and the loss of friends weigh deeper on his
mind. The Marine
Corps basic disciplines helped Sledge overcome his mental and
physical exhaustion and
emotional pain to maintain his focus of fighting and survival.
Sledge leaves Peleliu a
very different man than when he arrived.
As the American forces drew closer to the Japanese home islands,
the tougher the
fighting was expected to be. The Japanese were expected to defend
their homeland using
every able Japanese soldier to prevent the United States from
winning the war in the
Pacific. The fighting became tougher as the strategy of the
defense-in-depth with
interlocking fields of fire was refined and the number of defenders
increased.
After Peleliu, the Men of Kilo Company, prepared for their next
campaign on the
Japanese island of Okinawa. As the day of the assault drew closer,
fear and worry came
over them as they contemplated the difficult fight ahead. Okinawa
was to become an
even more difficult fight for the Marines. It was even tougher than
previous campaigns
in that it lasted longer and involved larger numbers of men
fighting, more ordinance
expended, resulting in more death and destruction than any other
battle of the Pacific.
The battle for Okinawa was the ultimate test of the fortitude of
men in combat.
Their resolve was tested daily as the fight consumed men and energy
at a rate never
experienced in fighting in the Pacific. For the infantry units, the
losses were hard to
comprehend, when compared to what are considered heavy losses by
today’s standards.
Sledge describes the challenges of climate as the Marines deal with
cold, rain and heat,
all the while engaging the enemy in fierce combat. The sustained
exposure to the stresses
of combat, push the men to their limits and beyond as they fight
for control of the island.
This book reminds all Marines the importance of the basic
fundamentals of being
a United States Marine. Eugene Sledge constantly referred to the
necessities of personal
hygiene habits, rifle cleaning and safe weapons handling, and
maintaining his uniform.
To have an enlisted Marine Private First Class give his perspective
of combat through his
own eyes and how he endured such nightmarish conditions is
something everyone should
know about.
I feel every Marine should read With the Old Breed. As a Corporal
of Marines, I
found the book to be motivating, in that it reminded me of the
sacrifices of my
predecessors and the responsibility I have in maintaining that
standard. Throughout all
the turmoil that surrounded Sledge’s life, he was able to keep his
sanity along with a
compassionate optimism for humanity. No one truly knows how he or
she will handle
combat until they actually experience it. Sledge’s account gives an
idea of the limits to
which a man can go. I found the accounts of Sledge’s experiences to
be instrumental in
my understanding of the battles of the Pacific and the Marine
Corps’ contribution to the
defeat of the Japanese.
