Rating: 
Summary: This book on combat ranks in the very highest tier.
Review: This account by E.B. Sledge, a Marine PFC who landed on Peleliu and
Okinawa, details the violence and brutality of these two battles so
realistically that it is a disturbing and haunting book. Peleliu was
supposed to last 3 to 4 days, but went on for 2 months and cost the
Marines 1,262 dead and 5,274 wounded. The statistics from Okinawa
contain a action, and 26,221 neuropsychiatric "non-battle
casualties." At Peleliu, Sledge "had tasted the bitterest
essence of war, the sight of helpless comrades being slaughtered, and
it filled me with disgust." Peleliu was a jagged coral island
which caused cuts and tears on contact with human flesh, and there was
a lot of such contact. "It was almost impossible to dig a
protective foxhole in the rock." Once inland one's senses were
overwhelmed by the sight and smell of corpses filled with maggots,
human excrement on top of coral everywhere, dysentery, rotting
American and Japanese rations, huge flies, knee deep mud, rainstorms,
tropical oven heat, snapping bullets, and exploding shells. More than
once Sledge saw a Marine slide down a ridge into rotting Japanese
corpses to find himself covered with maggots and vomiting from the
smell. Peleliu was an "assault into hell;" the landscape
"hell's own cesspool." After the landing, with Marines
suffering from heat prostration, even the water came from hell --it
came in old oil drums, and the oil residue caused the troops to retch
in the broiling sun. When Sledge sees his comrades cutting gold teeth
from the Japanese--some while they are still alive--he is disgusted
and sickened. But war, Sledge notes, made savages of them all, and
one day Sledge finds himself bending over a Japanese corpse with a
knife to cut out gold teeth. A corpsman tries to dissuade him, first
with one argument and then another, finally succeeding by pointing out
the threat from germs involved. Relentlessly, Sledge and his comrades
move steadily forward, forward into the "meat grinder,"
losing more and more men to injury and death, the grim
"inevitable harvest." The sight of dead Marines who had been
tortured and mutilated by the Japanese hardens Sledge and his comrades
against the enemy. Sledge tells of the terror of walking across an
open field facing Japanese machine gun fire while at the same time
receiving friendly fire from the rear from a Marine tank. But there
was something "Artillery is hell," and of all the terrors,
"the terror and desperation endured under heavy shelling are by
far the most unbearable." Sledge learned to steer clear of any
and all second lieutenants, who invariably did not know what they were
doing and were highly dangerous to the troops. Sledge made two
amphibious landings on Peleliu and one on Okinawa. The rule
recognized among the troops was that if you made more than two
landings you had used up your luck. Even so, Sledge was one of less
than 10 in his company of 235 men to escape alive and
unwounded--thereby beating the "mathematics of death."
("Statistically," Sledge tells us, "the infantry units
had suffered l50 per cent casualties in the two campaigns.")
Dr. Sledge, who is now a college biology professor, writes: "War
is brutish, inglorious and a terrible waste. Combat leaves an
indelible mark on those who are forced to endure it. The only
redeeming factors were my comrades' incredible bravery and their
devotion to each other." From Sledge's viewpoint, Peleliu and
Okinawa were very close battles. His experience showed him that the
success of the Marines was grounded on their discipline, esprit de
corps, tough training, the ability to depend on one's comrades, and
boot camp, which developed an expectation to excel, even under
stress. Of all the books on combat, this ranks in the very highest
tier. Reading it is an experience--a new and terrible experience--of
what Marine infantrymen went through during and after an amphibious
landing in the Pacific in World War II. Without Marines like
Dr. Sledge, who put their arms and legs and lives on the line in these
savage battles, history would have taken a far different course. I,
for one, am profoundly grateful for what he and his comrades did, and
want to thank him for what he endured. We owe him and his comrades
more than we realize.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful book about men in combat
Review: "With the Old Breed" works on two very different levels. One is an outstanding first-hand account of the campaigns for Peleliu and Okinawa from the perspective of the United States Marines. The second, which is what makes this book so special, is the tale of the of fear and abject horror that those young Marines had to deal with."With the Old Breed" isn't just about two military campaigns in the Pacific, it's about the emotional "campaign" that each soldier had to fight just to keep going. With an unflinching pen, Sledge takes the reader on a descent into the maelstrom of lead and blood that was these campaigns. The reader feels the terror, the cold and heat, the filth, the sorrow...and is also offered a glimpse of the extraordinary courage those young men showed. "With the Old Breed" is a superb, moving account of men in combat. It is a must read for anyone who knows the operational history, but not the personal history, of WWII.
Rating:
Summary: ¿kaleidoscope of the unreal¿
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended!
Review: "With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa" by Eugene B. Sledge was highly recommended by a graduate student in Military History who insisted on this is the best memoir book on World War II available. Eugene B. Sledge or known as Sledgehammer by his fellow Marines provided a detailed account of the battles in Peleliu and Okinawa which was both horrifying and insightful. Sledge started off the book with his boot camp training and how he discontinued his officer training program to participate in the war as an enlisted man. The descriptions that Sledge provided was unbelievably vivid. He described the terrified feeling of being constantly shelled by the enemy while staying in the foxhole, of running in the open space while being shot at and having to live in a dirty, and muddy condition. The part that really got my attention was when he described the dead bodies of men, deteriorating beyond recognition and the stench that filled the air. "With the Old Breed" is written in a simple way to tell a very complicating story. Sledge did not use too many military jargons that might confused the average readers. This book provides a very detailed description of life during war. In addition, the book also revealed the close bonds that were formed among the marines and how they came to value each other. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about a soldier's life during World War II, particularly the pacific theater.
Rating:
Summary: No W.W.II library is complete without this book.
Review: A sensitive and perceptive young college freshman from south Alabama, Eugene B. Sledge volunteered for Marine Corps officer training school during the middle of W.W. II. However, such was Sledge's desire to join the fighting before the war ended, he purposefully flunked out of school and promptly joined the ranks of the enlisted Marines. Upon reporting to boot camp in San Diego, Sledge was introduced to his Drill Instructor with this eye-opening greeting: "If any of you idiots think you don't need to follow my orders, just step right out here and I'll beat your @ss right now. Your soul may belong to Jesus, but your @ss belongs to the Marines. You people are recruits. You're not Marines. You may not have what it takes to be Marines." Fortunately, Sledge did indeed have what it took to be a Marine, and he has written WITH THE OLD BREED: AT PELELIU AND OKINAWA, an engaging personal chronicle of the horror of war as seen through the eyes of a young Marine grunt. Though this book is a personal account of historical events, it reads like a novel. Sledge is able to transform the course language of a salty Marine and the brutality of war into unembellished passages whose honesty have a lyrical beauty all their own: "The situation was bad enough, but when the enemy artillery shells exploded in the area, the eruptions of soil and mud uncovered previously buried Japanese dead and scattered chunks of corpses. Like the area around our gun pits, the ridge was a stinking compost pile. If a Marine slipped and slid down the back slope of the muddy ridge, he was apt to reach the bottom vomiting. I saw more than one man lose his footing and slip and slide all the way to the bottom only to stand up horror-stricken as he watched in disbelief while fat maggots tumbled out of his muddy dungaree pockets, cartridge belt, legging lacings, and the like. Then he and a buddy would shake or scrape them away with a piece of ammo box or a knife blade. We didn't talk about such things. They were too horrible and obscene for even hardened veterans. The conditions taxed the toughest I knew almost to the point of screaming. Nor do authors normally write about such vileness; unless they have seen it with their own eyes, it is too preposterous to think that men could actually live and fight for days and nights under such terrible conditions and not be driven insane. But I saw much of it there on Okinawa and to the me the war was insanity." WITH THE OLD BREED does not concern itself with a the strategic and tactical campaign of the Pacific Island hopping campaign. Rather, it is a a fascinating portrait of an sensitive young man's baptism under fire -- a first hand narrative of an ordinary young man's extraordinary bravery on a few remote Islands in the Pacific Ocean. No W.W.II library is complete without this book. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A soldier's mindset
Review: "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.
Rating:
Summary: The most detailed and pogniont recounting of any war
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: The best book about war from somebody who fought it
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: put this book in the canon of American literature!
Review: That Mr. Sledge's book is a classic, among the best of war memoires, is widely acknowledged. It is about time it also was fully admitted into the canon of American literature. This book should be mandatory reading in college level American lit surveys. Mr. Sledge is an unpretentious storyteller, but an utterly masterful one. He has a consistent eye for the perfect detail. And it is not just the horror and the pity that grabs you, but the moral and intellectual honesty, above all the decency of spirit that informs his desperate attempt to make sense of his experience. The book nicely divides itself into two parts: the first, Peleliu, deals with the narrator's experience of fear and confusion; the second, Okinawa, deals with his revulsion and disgust, the first part takes place on burning hot coral, the second in cold mud. But the whole book is characterized, more than anything, by a Mr. Sledge's love: for life, his fellows, for a special commander, and for his corps and country. You want authenticity? Real authenticity, not the fake "authentiticy" served up by so much of the literature of confessionalism? Read Mr. Sledge.
Rating:
Summary: A One Day Read
Review: I have read many combat veterans accounts of battle. This book is the most compelling so far. Sledge has a way of telling a calm and sane story that could never be calm nor sane. The fact that this was written by a frontline Marine is what makes it so unique. This is a great book for anyone but especially someone interested in becoming a Marine.
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