With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa is a World War II memoir by United States MarineEugene Sledge, first published in 1981. The memoir is based on notes Sledge kept tucked away in a pocket-sized Bible he carried with him during battles he fought at Peleliu and Okinawa. The book formed part of the basis of the material covered by Ken Burns' PBS documentary The War (2007), as well as the HBO miniseries The Pacific (2010), in which Sledge was portrayed by Joseph Mazzello.
By his own account, Sledge began writing the memoir in 1944, "immediately after Peleliu while we were in rest camp on Pavuvu Island" and continued working on it "as soon as I returned to civilian life" in 1946.[1] Nicknamed "Sledgehammer" by his comrades, Sledge experienced combat during the battles of Peleliu and Okinawa as a 60 mm mortarman while part of K Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division (K/3/5).
The book's working title was A Marine Mortarman in World War II, which Sledge later changed to Into The Abyss. The book was first published under its final title by the Presidio Press in 1981.
Sledge's memoir gives a firsthand perspective on the Pacific Theatre. His memoir is a front-line account of infantry combat in the Pacific War. It brings the reader into the island hopping, the jungle heat and rain, the filth and malaise, the fear of potential banzai attacks, and the hopelessness and loss of humanity that characterized the campaign in the Pacific. Sledge wrote starkly of the brutality displayed by Japanese soldiers during the battles and of the hatred that both sides harbored for each other. In Sledge's words, "This was a brutish, primitive hatred, as characteristic of the horror of war in the Pacific as the palm trees and the islands."
Sledge describes one instance in which he and a comrade came across the mutilated bodies of three Marines, butchered and with their severed genitals inserted into their mouths. He also describes the behavior of some Marines towards dead Japanese, including the removal of gold teeth from Japanese corpses (including, in one case, from a severely wounded but still living Japanese soldier), as well as other macabre trophy-taking. He details the process and mechanisms that slowly strip away a combat infantryman's humanity and compassion, in a manner accessible for a general audience.
Sledge describes in detail the physical struggle of living in a combat zone and the debilitating effects of constant fear, fatigue, and filth. "Fear and filth went hand-in-hand," he wrote. "It has always puzzled me that this important factor in our daily lives has received so little attention from historians and is often omitted from otherwise excellent personal memoirs by infantrymen." Marines had trouble staying dry, finding time to eat their rations, practicing basic field sanitation (it was impossible to dig latrines or catholes in the coral rock on Peleliu), and simply moving around on the pulverized coral of Peleliu and in the mud of Okinawa.
ReceptionEdit
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2020)
Describing it as an example of "the American procedure at its best, unashamed of simplicity," Paul Fussell said that With the Old Breed "is one of the finest memoirs to emerge from any war."
New York Times writer and editor Dwight Garner describes the book's depiction of war as "surpassingly vivid", adding, "What puts 'With the Old Breed' across is, oddly enough, Sledge's sensitivity. He offers many small, artful portraits of men he admires. (And a few he despises.) He chronicles small kindnesses and profound acts of friendship."[2]
^"With The Old Breed draft foreword". Eugene B. Sledge Papers, RG 96, Auburn University Libraries Special Collections & Archives Department. n.d. Retrieved 2008-11-18.
^Garner, Dwight (2017-04-20). "'With the Old Breed,' an Intimate Look at Terror in World War II (Published 2017)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
External linksEdit
With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa. at the Internet Archive
"Eugene B. Sledge Collection". Auburn University Digital Library.
Hanson, Victor Davis (July 25, 2007). . victorhanson.com. Internet Archive. Archived from the original on November 20, 2007. Retrieved November 20, 2007.
Hiatt, Brian (July 25, 2005). "Book Review: With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa". World War 2 Database.
Terkel, Studs (Interviewer) & Sledge, E.B. (Sledgehammer). . The Good War: An Oral History of World War II. The Studs Terkel Radio Archive: Conversations About America. Archived from the original on August 9, 2002. Retrieved August 9, 2002.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link) 6-part Interview, ca. 1979-1983
October 15, 2023
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With the Old Breed At Peleliu and Okinawa is a World War II memoir by United States Marine Eugene Sledge first published in 1981 The memoir is based on notes Sledge kept tucked away in a pocket sized Bible he carried with him during battles he fought at Peleliu and Okinawa The book formed part of the basis of the material covered by Ken Burns PBS documentary The War 2007 as well as the HBO miniseries The Pacific 2010 in which Sledge was portrayed by Joseph Mazzello With the Old Breed At Peleliu and OkinawaOxford University CoverAuthorEugene B SledgeCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishGenreWar MemoirPublisherPresidio PressPublication date1981Media typePrintPages326 p ISBN0 19 506714 2OCLC22653690Dewey Decimal940 54 26 20LC ClassD767 99 P4 S55 1991Followed byChina Marine An Infantryman s Life after World War II This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources With the Old Breed news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Contents 1 Origins 1 1 Synopsis 2 Reception 3 Printings 3 1 Translation into Japanese 3 2 Translation into Thai 3 3 Translation into Czech 3 4 Translation into German 3 5 Translation into French 3 6 Translation into Korean 4 Adaptations 5 References 6 External linksOrigins EditBy his own account Sledge began writing the memoir in 1944 immediately after Peleliu while we were in rest camp on Pavuvu Island and continued working on it as soon as I returned to civilian life in 1946 1 Nicknamed Sledgehammer by his comrades Sledge experienced combat during the battles of Peleliu and Okinawa as a 60 mm mortarman while part of K Company 3rd Battalion 5th Marines 1st Marine Division K 3 5 The book s working title was A Marine Mortarman in World War II which Sledge later changed to Into The Abyss The book was first published under its final title by the Presidio Press in 1981 Synopsis Edit This section contains content that is written like an advertisement Please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view May 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message Sledge s memoir gives a firsthand perspective on the Pacific Theatre His memoir is a front line account of infantry combat in the Pacific War It brings the reader into the island hopping the jungle heat and rain the filth and malaise the fear of potential banzai attacks and the hopelessness and loss of humanity that characterized the campaign in the Pacific Sledge wrote starkly of the brutality displayed by Japanese soldiers during the battles and of the hatred that both sides harbored for each other In Sledge s words This was a brutish primitive hatred as characteristic of the horror of war in the Pacific as the palm trees and the islands Sledge describes one instance in which he and a comrade came across the mutilated bodies of three Marines butchered and with their severed genitals inserted into their mouths He also describes the behavior of some Marines towards dead Japanese including the removal of gold teeth from Japanese corpses including in one case from a severely wounded but still living Japanese soldier as well as other macabre trophy taking He details the process and mechanisms that slowly strip away a combat infantryman s humanity and compassion in a manner accessible for a general audience Sledge describes in detail the physical struggle of living in a combat zone and the debilitating effects of constant fear fatigue and filth Fear and filth went hand in hand he wrote It has always puzzled me that this important factor in our daily lives has received so little attention from historians and is often omitted from otherwise excellent personal memoirs by infantrymen Marines had trouble staying dry finding time to eat their rations practicing basic field sanitation it was impossible to dig latrines or catholes in the coral rock on Peleliu and simply moving around on the pulverized coral of Peleliu and in the mud of Okinawa Reception EditThis section needs expansion You can help by adding to it November 2020 Describing it as an example of the American procedure at its best unashamed of simplicity Paul Fussell said that With the Old Breed is one of the finest memoirs to emerge from any war New York Times writer and editor Dwight Garner describes the book s depiction of war as surpassingly vivid adding What puts With the Old Breed across is oddly enough Sledge s sensitivity He offers many small artful portraits of men he admires And a few he despises He chronicles small kindnesses and profound acts of friendship 2 Printings Edit1981 Novato California Presidio Press 12197607 1983 Paperback Toronto New York Bantam Books ISBN 978 0 553 23055 0 82912620 The Bantam war book series dd dd 1990 New York New York Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 506714 9 22653690 New introduction by Paul Fussell dd dd 1990 Novato California Presidio ISBN 978 0 89141 119 2 21718513 1996 Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press ISBN 978 1 55750 747 1 35132407 Classics of Naval Literature series introduction by Joseph H Alexander dd dd 2001 Prince Frederick Maryland Recorded Books ISBN 978 0 7887 4879 0 48064872 Audio 10 cassettes dd dd 2006 Princeton New Jersey Recording for the Blind amp Dyslexic 70684214 Audio CD dd dd 2007 New York New York Presidio Press New introduction by Victor Davis Hanson dd Trade paperback 8 2 x 5 5 ISBN 978 0 89141 906 8 124046079 Mass market paperback 6 8 x 4 2 ISBN 978 0 89141 919 8 175295688 dd 2010 London England Ebury PressTrade paperback ISBN 978 0 09 193753 9 0091937531 dd Translation into Japanese Edit 2008 講談社 学術文庫 Kōdansya gakujutu bunko Kōdansya Academic books title ペリリュー 沖縄戦記 periryu okinawa senki a record of the war at Peleliu and Okinawa size of 文庫本 bunkobon poket size paperbook 14 8 x 11 x 2 cm ISBN 978 4 06 159885 0Translation into Thai Edit 2010 aepsifik smrphumiedntay shayrwmrb by Matichon pressISBN 978 974 02 0614 9Translation into Czech Edit Se starou gardou na Peleliu an Okinawe Universum translation Michal Ulvr ISBN 978 80 242 2922 5Translation into German Edit 2013 Vom alten Schlag Der Zweite Weltkrieg am anderen Ende der Welt Erinnerungen riva VerlagISBN 978 3 86883 332 4Translation into French Edit 2019 Freres d armes Les Belles Lettres translation Pascale Haas ISBN 978 2251448893Translation into Korean Edit 2019 태평양 전쟁 펠렐리우 오키나와 전투 참전기 1944 1945 열린책들ISBN 978 8 93291 990 4Adaptations Edit2007 Ken Burns drew considerably from With the Old Breed for his World War II documentary The War citation needed 2010 HBO used With the Old Breed along with Robert Leckie s Helmet for My Pillow as the basis for the miniseries The Pacific the successor to Band of Brothers during which Sledge played by Joseph Mazzello is seen occasionally writing notes in his pocket bible References Edit With The Old Breed draft foreword Eugene B Sledge Papers RG 96 Auburn University Libraries Special Collections amp Archives Department n d Retrieved 2008 11 18 Garner Dwight 2017 04 20 With the Old Breed an Intimate Look at Terror in World War II Published 2017 The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 2021 03 05 External links EditWith the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa at the Internet Archive Eugene B Sledge Collection Auburn University Digital Library Hanson Victor Davis July 25 2007 Introduction to E B Sledge s With the Old Breed victorhanson com Internet Archive Archived from the original on November 20 2007 Retrieved November 20 2007 Hiatt Brian July 25 2005 Book Review With the Old Breed At Peleliu and Okinawa World War 2 Database Terkel Studs Interviewer amp Sledge E B Sledgehammer Interview with E B Sledgehammer Sledge The Good War An Oral History of World War II The Studs Terkel Radio Archive Conversations About America Archived from the original on August 9 2002 Retrieved August 9 2002 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint uses authors parameter link 6 part Interview ca 1979 1983 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title With the Old Breed amp oldid 1178379542, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
