Sledge used the term “The old breed” to refer to the marine veterans of the first Marine World War. The marines were expected to undertake proper training before going to the Pacific War in Peleliu and Okinawa. During this war, most of the corps exposed themselves to fires, all to save those who were wounded. For this, the sledge was proud of their commitment towards one another. He viewed them as a brave lot as they preferred to suffer for their nation, giving up their lives, health and sanity. Theirs was to ensure that their motherland enjoyed peace, which the old breed was willing to achieve at all costs.
Sledge kept his notes secretly in the copy of the New Testament that he carried around. These notes described his stay in the Pacific War that would later aid in compiling his memoir. With the notes being around for so long, he finally felt it was his responsibility to write his experiences as recorded.
There was a particular night when a group of the Marines “lost it”. The combats were exercising in readiness for their enemies. Some of the boys traced the boondocks of the bivouac of the big red and the instructors and stole it. When their time for their offense approached, they started to yell like the Japanese while at the same time throwing a few concussion grenades while still in hiding. On realizing that the instructors had not acted as they expected, the officers reproached the instructors for being so sure. Later, they all sat around a fire and took coffee and K rations while at the same time singing war songs. The reader’s reaction to this would be to run away as they would think that the Japanese had lastly managed to pull an attack on the Marine.
Sledge used many quotes in his memoir. The first, “Courage meant overcoming fear and doing one’s duty in the presence of danger” (Sledge, 1981, p. 91) was used while he was having a conversation with Hillbilly, one of the men he highly admired. The two talked about their experiences about how they felt about the war. It was at that point when Sledge confessed to Hillbilly that he feared the war. The officer went ahead to explain that everyone experienced fear with the difference being that sledge was honest enough to admit his. Sledge aimed at informing the reader that fear dwelt in every cop during the First Marine War but courage meant overcoming this fear to perform each person’s duty when faced with danger. This is true as, without courage, one can find it hard to face their duty. Courage is needed in the American society to ensure that citizens stand up for the country in times of need without fear.
Another of his quotes was, “War is brutish, inglorious, and a terrible waste. Combat leaves an indelible mark on those who are forced to endure it” (Sledge, 1981, pg. 315). The Japanese committed despicable atrocities against the Americans. The war was utterly horrifying and the descriptions unsettling. The author described the events citing the horrible smell of the rotting bodies, the constant rain that made the roads difficult to use, maggots and flies on the decaying bodies, psychiatric breakdown, lack of sleep, and the nighttime infiltrations from the Japanese. The author explains that the only positive thing during the war was the bravery among the combats and their devotion to one another. The Marine Corps among other things had been trained to love and be loyal to each other. Loyalty and love for one another are traits that every American should adopt to allow a peaceful existence in a nation full of diversity.
Lastly, “If the country is good enough to live in, it’s good enough to fight for” (Sledge, 1981, pg.315), was applied by Sledge when he went ahead to describe his stay in the most elite division during the period of extreme diversity. The troops were fond of using the particular quote as they believed it was their love for their country that had brought them to fight for peace and prosperity. Each of them was expected to be willing to accept their responsibility towards America and make great sacrifices for it. Love for America is should be a slogan for every American citizen today, as it will motivate him or her to be better citizens.
Sassoon in his poem, Suicide in Trenches, signifies that the combats on going to war change their attitudes. Sledge and his fellow marine corps went to the battlefield a place best described by Sassoon as hell, dark, evil and depressing. The public should realize that the battlefield is not a glorious place and cheering the soldiers on arrival is not enough patriotism. The lives of those of those who survived such as Sledge were somehow destroyed as they had to watch their fellow men dying. They are almost driven insane, and most of them experience trauma for the rest of their lives. Their once happy faces that were filled with laughter are never recovered.
In conclusion, Sledge does an excellent job of describing how participating in the world war felt like for a marine corp. He recorded his experiences in the form of notes that he kept in his copy of the New Testament. He felt that he had the responsibility of paying tribute to the old breed who sacrificed their all to fight for peace. Loyalty, love, courage and bravery were qualities every marine needed to have to survive during the Pacific war against the Japanese.
Reference
Sledge, E. (1981). With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa. New York: Presidio Press.
