Saturday, October 8, 2011

With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by E.B. Sledge (4.5 stars)


Could there be a better surname for a marine? This book got onto my list because it has one of the highest positive ratings on amazon - almost every one of the 466 people who reviewed it gave it 5 stars. It is a great read.

Sledge is a talented writer, and gives us a very heartfelt insight into what it was like to be a marine in the Pacific theatre in WWII. He doesn't talk himself up unnecessarily, give a dry history lesson, or attempt to give all american soldiers hero halos. He recounts some grisly mutilations performed by both sides on wounded enemy soldiers, this one by an American marine:

He put the point of his kabar on the base of a tooth and hit the handle with the palm of his hand. Because the Japanese was kicking his feet and thrashing about, the knife point glanced off the tooth and sank deeply into the victim's mouth. The Marine cursed him and with a slash cut his cheeks open to each ear. He put his foot on the sufferer's lower jaw and tried again. Blood poured out of the soldier's mouth. He made a gurgling noise and thrashed wildly. I shouted, "Put the man out of his misery."

It wasn't simply souvenir hunting or looting the enemy dead; it was more like Indian warriors taking scalps.

The Japanese version of this practice was even more grisly so I won't recount it here, but Sledge says that after he saw it:

From that moment on I never felt the least pity or compassion for them no matter what the circumstances.

Sledge puts you into his miserable, stinking, trench-foot-infected boots. His descriptions of the battlefield and his state of mind are compelling, you can feel his fear as the first beach landing approaches:

I broke out in a cold sweat as the tension mounted with the intensity of the bombardment. My stomach was tied in knots. I had a lump in my throat and swallowed only with great difficulty. My knees nearly buckled, so I clung weakly to the side of the tractor. I felt nauseated and feared that my bladder would surely empty itself and reveal me to be the coward I was.

Sledge is fiercely proud of the Marines (including the Gunnery Sergeant that scrubs his genitals with a shoe brush) and their 'esprit de corps', but also acknowledges the skill of the Japanese on a number of occasions for creating sophisticated mutually supporting defensive positions and their excellent fire discipline. Actually, my only criticism of the whole book is the overuse of the terms 'esprit de corps', 'defense in depth', and 'mutually supporting defensive positions'.

I had marked many quotes about the horrors of war, including a great one about having to dig a defensive position through mud and maggot-ridden corpses, but instead I will leave you with something more thought-provoking but equally depressing.

But something in me died at Peleliu. Perhaps it was a childish innocence that accepted as faith the claim that man is basically good.

4.5 stars

Update:I watched the HBO series The Pacific, which is largely based on this book. At the start of each episode is a 5-10 minute mini documentary that gives the historical context for the episode. The series is fantastic and does a great job of re-creating the horrific events recorded by Sledge.