This book deserves that sixth star. It should share the spotlight with the likes of Iron Coffin. E.B. Sledge paints a true picture of war with all of it smells, gore and humane reactions and personalities. As a Viet Nam vet I can relate to the authors story and realize that the conditions of WWII and WWI were exponentialy worse.

It would be a foolhearty attempt on my part to attempt to add any superlatives not already offer by other highly favorable reviews of this book. Like any great work, I did not want it to end. ----RIP Mr. E. B. Sledge; scholar, gentlemen, Marine.

This book was highly recomended to me and it was an eye opener for me as I haven't read much about the pacific war, and this certainly was just that. The conditions that these guys lived and fought under were appalling,I always felt that the bulge fighting was tough, but the island fighting seemed like endless misery both from the elements and the fighting.I think comparisons with the Band of Brothers are not fair in the sense that BoB was a combined story of an entire company, a lot of personalities,events and the like making it a richer narrative,Sledges book is the perspective of one mans experience and observations and is more gritty as a result.
This book gets five stars in my opinion.

Recommended by Nathaniel Ficke, author of "One Bullet Away," and it is one of the most compelling war biographies I have ever read. His humanity couldn't be overwhelmed by the "abyss" of combat.

EB Sledge survived one of the bloodiest and most brutal campaigns in world history, nearly being killed a number of times. This account provides a ground-level narrative of just what that experience is like. Later in life he becomes a research scientist, and the book is written very matter-of-factly, from that kind of detached observer viewpoint. Yet the humanity comes through powerfully; the descriptions are vivid and detailed, confirmed by historical research, making the story that much more compelling. If you've ever wondered what combat is really like, this is it: week after week of grinding fear, friends dead and maimed, inhuman acts performed daily by ordinary people. The author describes it as a pestilence on the human landscape, like a vision of hell. I'll go out on a limb and recommend that every American should read this book or one similar, to have a taste of what the common soldier may experience while serving the interests of the nation.

An honest and very well written memoir from an enlisted marine who fought on the first lines in the WWII Pacific island battles of Peleliu and Okinawa.
John Master's memoir, "The Road Past Mandalay" covers the Burma war against the Japanese from the British side (and is a great book), but Sledge's "With The Old Breed" is better, since he was at much greater personal risk and describes the psychological effects of this long exposure. It's the best personal military account that I've read.

I read several book about "the war"; this gave me a different feeling. I read about the Italian Partisans resistance, about concentrations camps, the Russian Campaign, etc. Eugenie Sledge campaigns in Peleliu and Okinawa surpass reality itself.
His simple and factual narrative makes you present in the combat and still removed from comprehending. At the same time.
Eugene Sledge classic is written in simple unassuming language.
The stories are tangible, real, and honest. The un-interfering and corroborating footnotes make the book also reliable as a reference.
The reader must be aware of the back-to-back brutalities, told with simple, unsophisticated, direct language. His genuine innocence is guilt-free. Every "unbelievable" story is followed by another "unbelievable" just as intense. Eugene Sledge uncomplicated and gifted writing will easily transports you into the reality of "the war".

This book is about the WWII. We were watching a program on TV & this book was named so I looked up on Amazon.com to see if we could buy it was it was published about 50 years ago. It is a Christmas present for my husband and I can see him not putting it down until finished. My husband is looking forward to reading it. Thank you Amazon.com for having this book in stock.

This is an epic memoir about the author's time with the 1st Marine Div (K Co, 3rd Bn, 5th Marine Regt) on Peleliu and Okinawa. In a word, it is outstanding! It is a true war memoir in that it is virtually entirely about the authors combat experiences. The first 40 pages or so recount his basic background and then his training. The next 100 pages are entirely about the combat on Peleliu. The next half of the book is almost entirely about Okinawa. There is combat on virtually every page but it is never overblown. There is a great deal about the front line conditions, digging foxholes, being thirsty, being miserable, about living beside the dead.

Most of the text though recounts the authors involvment in combat. At times there is a breathtaking story on every page. Some of these I'd read them before - they were so momentous they'd been selected in others peoples books as quotes. Many of these are not for the faint hearted. Sledge spares no one in terms of the awfulness of many of the events. His view that the war was an awful waste is very strong and he has chosen to detail things like they were to prove his point. He is also concious though that regardless of this the war had to be fought. He is exceedingly proud to have been a member of the 1st Marine Division. He also had a great hatred of the Japanese, given what he'd learned of them in combat. He comes to the conclusion that "To defeat an enemy as tough and dedicated as the Japanese, we had to be just as tough. We had to be just as dedicated to America as they were to their emperor." (Pg 156) A very profound observation for a 20 year old to make.

Above all, one is left with his deep sadness about buddys lost. His unit landed at Okinawa with 235 men, received 250 replacements and departed only 50 strong. The fighting before Shuri is ferocious and it sickens him. We read of Japanese infiltration at night, mutilated bodies and mistakes by fellow Marines that cause 'own' deaths. The idea of a terrible waste is revisited again and again. As is the authors disgust and fury towards the Japanese in the way they fought the war.

This book has been described as a classic and I agree. Another reviewer compared "With the Old Breed' to Sajer's 'Forgotten Soldier'. Given the scope of Sledge's writings and the revelation of his deepest thoughts, I'm inclined to support that. This book is one of the top three memoirs of war that I have ever read. Very Highly Recommended!

Book as promised from the seller. Interesting read for sure. Part of the basis of the next BOB 'series' which will concentrate on the Marines and the Pacific War. Looking forward to it.

If you have a desire to know about the war in the pacific and what a front line Marine had to endure, Sledge's book will give an incite that nothing short of being there will. And IF you happen to be some nut case peace nick who thinks the use of a nuclear weapon on Japan was wrong, read this book first and call me. Thank God we had men like the Sledgehammer, and thanks to him for telling his story.

This book is a compelling first hand account, from a U. S. Marine private's view, of the hourly and daily horrors American Marines suffered when in battle in the Pacific during WWII. Frankly, I am surprised anyone could endure the strain, both physical and mental, imposed upon these American soldiers. After reading this relatively short, but detailed book, you will reach several conclusions: first, the Pacific campaigns were absolutely hellish; second, the Japanese WWII soldier was fanatical and bestial--virtually devoid of any humanity; third, after Okinawa, the U.S. was absolutely right in using the atomic bomb to end this war; and fourth, we can never repay the men (primarily U. S. Marines) who made the sacrifices necessary to conquer the evil that was Imperial Japan.

The book is centered on two battles, Peleliu and Okinawa: the former fought in 100 degree heat on a coral island lacking any shelter or cover, while the latter was fought in mud on a battlefield reminiscent of trench warfare in WWI Flanders. Both battles were fought against a determined, merciless, and barbaric enemy who fought virtually to the last man and were more than willing to sacrifice their individual lives if they could trade it for the life of but one American. For example, on Peleliu the Japanese committed approximately 11,000 soldiers to the battle and only about 200 surrendered, yet of that number approximately 180 were Japanese sailors, or civilians forced to assist the Japanese. The rest died to a man. The price for their lives and this miserable island was approximately 1800 American dead and another 8000 wounded.

The book explains the Japanese strategy of "defense in depth" adopted after the fruitless banzai charges of Guadalcanal and Saipan. This strategy entailed the construction of mutually supportive tunnels, caves, and other defensive positions that the Japanese defended in a prolonged, organized retreat. Essentially, they knew they could never win these battles, but hoped, through attrition, to convince the Americans that it was too costly in blood and treasure to conquer Japan. E. B. "Sledgehammer" Sledge lets you experience what fighting against this strategy was like as he watches his friends and comrades die day after day during these long campaigns. He especially relates, in an immediate manner, how taxing the fighting conditions were--intolerable heat, knee-deep mud, the constant stench of decaying bodies and the innumerable flies and maggots attracted to them, the poor food, undrinkable water, malaria, dysentery, constant rain, and filth each marine had to endure in wresting these islands from the Japanese. Yet that is only the beginning, for the true horror was the Japanese themselves. Nightly they sent out raiders to try to infiltrate American lines, willing to die just to kill one American in his foxhole. Every night these marines were shelled, and everyday they were forced to move out against an enemy who would never surrender and wanted only to kill them.

You are left with an unshakable belief of this war being worse than hell itself, worse than anything you can imagine. The stories of discovering the mutilated bodies of fellow marines, and the cold-blooded nature of the enemy, explains why this enemy had to be defeated and why these marines had absolutely no pity for them. And once you read the nature of the battle for Okinawa, and learn how the U. S. was forced to sacrifice over 12,000 of its young men to kill 110,000 Japanese who refused to surrender in a battle hopeless for Japan from the start, you should have no reservations about the wisdom of using atomic weapons against Japan. If they were willing to fight like this for an island hundreds of miles from their homeland, you realize they would have fought even harder for their own islands and homes.

Wow. If you want to read a book from the soldier's point of view: this is the book. Loved it.

This is a painfully honest account of the agony, fear, and overall misery that the infantry experience in any war. In telling the history of the Peleliu and Okinawa campaigns of WWII from the grunt's perspective, E. B. Sledge recounts how the brutality of war erodes the moral standards of both friends and enemies. He does not preach; he simply observes with regret.

His book is particularly timely with the US having a large number of battle weary troops returning home from war. The adjustment back to civilian life takes time and understanding. The service member who comes home is not the same person who shipped out a year or two earlier.

Without a doubt, this is the most engaging war memoir that I have ever read.

Sledge has no literary pretension nor ambition of any kind, so what he creates is something akin to Remarque's inimitable All Quiet on the Western Front.

With the Old Breed reads like a novel because of the brutal honesty with which the narrator, Sledge himself, relates his experiences from a profound Humanism--a genuine, and not inchoate, Humanism. This is direct story-telling: in first person and terrifyingly candid, untarnished, nor emended by the passing of time. (The book was first published in 1981.)

A young man, who climbs out of "the Abyss", to use Sledge's description of the Peleiu and Okinawa campaigns, survives with his humanism intact if not generated to greater empathy.

Read this.

Sledge's account of his time as a young soldier fighting in the Pacific is heartbreaking and harrowing. It is one of the better memoirs to come out of the Second World War. I recommend this along with William Manchester's "Goodbye Darkness."

This is an engaging account of a marine who participated in the epic battles of the Pacific Campaign of WWII. Highly recommended.

This book was for a history class, and it arrived before my class started. Which is why I think this seller care about its customers. I loved the book and got a terrific customer service overall. Thank You!

Very good read. He gives a very honest account of combat and the fear and depression he faced during his time in the Pacific Island Campaigns of WWII. I liked the book.

I have read so many books in this genre, but few capture the raw truth of the battlefield like Sledge. Shocking but necessary truth about the war in the Pacific. Read it, you won't regret it.

This book should be required reading for everyone especially those who make the decisions about whether we wage war or not. I'm not into the logistics of troops and such. Rather the descriptions of daily living conditions and mindsets were haunting.

Outstanding first account of Marine Corps actions during WWII. Great to visit that place after so many years.

This book lives up to all the praise it has received from reviewers such as Paul Fussell. It goes a long way in diminishing the romanticized and fictional idea of war, usually held by those who never go to fight it.

Over the last decade, I have given several copies of this book to friends who did not know about the horrible fighting that took place at Peleliu. A Marine whose brother died there, first told me about the battle and loaned a copy of this book. I found E. B. Sledge's account of what happened there and at Okinawa to be told with compassion and humility. The Marines who fought there overcame impossible obstacles and paid dearly. We owe them our respect and gratitude.

I was fortunate enough to serve in W. Germany during the "cold war," with the US Army. Although there was the threat of combat, luckily it didn't happen for us. However, what these guys went through was pure man made hell on earth. It's not just the combat, but more so the stresses of unrelenting heat, humidity, decay, exhaustion, fear, etc. I think taking a bullet through the head would have ended up the easy way out, it was those who survived that in some respects had it the toughest. This country can never fully repay these Marines. Hopefully, they all found their peace with God.

Just finished reading and am now circulating to my sympathetic CMP Forum buddies. A must-read for anyone interested in first-hand history.

While reading this book I could feel the heat, and the sweat running between my toes when Sledge described the climate on Peleliu. One could sense that he was there in combat fighting right next to him. I could smell the rotting human flesh and see the maggots clinging to their clothing while he fought on Okinawa. If you enjoy reading about the war in the South Pacific, this is a must read. From what I have read, no one has ever written a more accurate day to day account of the hell that the American Soldiers experienced on Peleliu.

As one of the Less-Than-5-Star raters said, there are a few parts of this book that are a little slow, mainly in the first third or so. Aside from that, this is a book everyone should read to understand more about war. Even the mundane events are somehow fascinating and his vivid depictions of the horrors of war are heartbreaking. Read this book and you'll rush to hug a war veteran. After you stop crying.

Obviously, almost everyone who has reviewed this book has found it to be exceptional, and I am in total agreement -- so I won't rehash their praise.

I just cannot imagine a better telling of this story; the author does it with absolute perfection. He conveys the trials of the Pacific War with precision, down to every element of its brutality, filth, and sacrifice.

Anyone who wants to develop some understanding of why they're called "The Greatest Generation" should read this book.

This truly is an excellent first-hand account of two of the bloodiest battles fought by the marines in WW2. No strategy or whole-picture chronicles here, however it gives an insight of the daily life of soldiers I never found in other books. Sledge tells us of the real face of war and focuses on some aspects we never think of when reading about battles, such as life in the rain and mud in Okinawa, or the smells and noises of battle, the stripping of enemy dead, and most of all the fear and moral decay of frontline troops. It is also very well written; it's neither falsely "politically correct" nor "gung-ho-smash-the-nips". overall a very good book, I highly recommend it.

this is probably an outstamding book. the only problem is that the sample includes the books 3 forewards .... in short you can only read a few paragraphs of the book rather than a few pages.........grr

This book was OK. There were several boring parts. It was certainly not the 5 star book that everyone raved about. Band of Brothers was much better by far. I was disappointed in my expectations of it being a hard to put down book.

Every time I read about the war in Europe and the fighting that took place on the Eastern Front and how that trumped all the other fronts and theaters of war I am oft reminded of this book. The brutal and vivid descriptions of combat on these Pacific Islands is amazing. In the Pacific US Forces lost, per capita, three times as many men compared to US Forces in Europe. Out of all the books on WWII I have read only two that have received no 1&2 star ratings. This book and "Stopped at Stalingrad: The Luftwaffe and Hitler's Defeat in the East, 1942-1943".

i watch alot of history channel and am i ww2 history buff.if you dont have this book you need it! if you wanna see a peak they have a awesome little taste of it on youtube.same title. this book is awesome, i wish they would make this a movie. great story and tale of peleliu,okinawa, and how it was at that time, and how war is. keep up the reviews peeps, get great stuff for the dollar. thank you.

WWII as it really was in the Pacific! I could almost feel the bullets and shrapnel. High recommend!

I have read Eugene Sledge's With the Old Breed (WTOB) several times, starting back in the 1980's, and I've found it a rewarding experience each time. We see the transformation of the mild-mannered nineteen year old as he becomes a well-trained, then a battle-hardened Marine, known by the deceptively tough-sounding nickname of Sledgehammer. He sees fellow Marines maimed and killed, the ruthlessness of his enemy, who must be answered in kind, and the wearing away of the veneer of civilized life. Sledge describes in uncommonly vivid detail the degrading conditions he and his comrades must endure for weeks on end as they confront a foe who neither grants nor expects quarter. Among the many memorable scenes are the nights on Half-Moon Hill on Okinawa, with constant rain falling, and star shells illuminating the corpses in the hellish, devastated landscape. All of that is certainly memorable stuff, but if that were all there were to WTOB, we would have an excellent memoir, but one better than others only by degree.

I find what sets WTOB apart from the rest, however, is the capacity on the author's part for sober and honest self-examination. Sledge tells us bluntly that as his landing craft approaches Peleliu that he is afraid of losing control of his bladder. When he sees his first dead Marine up close, he says he is glad the Marine's mother can't see him. Perhaps the most revealing episode about Sledge is when he is forced to shoot a Japanese soldier at close range, after the Japanese emerges from a bunker and tries to throw a grenade. As Sledge's first bullet strikes the soldier's chest, Sledge sees the man's face "contorted in agony." Sledge first feels revulsion that he just killed a man at close range, then shame that he feels that way, given the situation and is glad his comrades can not read his thoughts. That type of self-revelation is rare, and stands in contrast to more swaggering, self-serving memoirs. It may also explain why Sledge, although he breaks down a few times, sobbing, he never becomes unhinged, and is able to continue under the most appalling conditions during his time in combat.

In a recent edition of Military History magazine (Nov/Dec 2008), the writers were polled to each give their top-ten best military history books of all time. When the results were tallied, the name of Eugene Sledge stood next to those of Clausewitz and Thucydides. No less a military historian than John Keegan has called WTOB, "one of the most arresting documents in war literature." No higher recommendations are needed. But before you read WTOB, do yourself a favor and find a Sledge interview on Youtube, and listen to the audio files of his interview at the Studs Terkel website, and browse the Eugene B. Sledge collection at the Auburn University digital library. Hearing Sledge talk, with his gentle, mellifluous southern accent, and seeing his mild-mannered nature, will give a "voice" to the narrative of WTOB that will enrich your reading experience.

This is a timeless work. I have read recent, exhaustive treatments of Okinawa, which are very worthwhile, but the Old Breed transmits a flavor of the real experience of battle that is lacking in other works.

This is without a doubt an amazing book. EB Sledge's complelling tale of his experiences with the Marines of K/3/5 will put you right there with him and his buddies in the Pacific Theater of Operations. This book is a must read for WWII enthusiasts. I also highly recommend reading this book to any young person considering to join the armed forces, in particular the Marines. Organizationally, things may have considerably changed within the forces but the cruel and savage nature of war will always be the same. The book is also an excellent prelude to HBO's upcoming WW2 miniseries, The Pacific.

I've been a student of military history for 50 years and have read countless books and almost all of the classics. This is the best book to describe all the aspects of hell that combat entails. A must read.

I can only say that this is possibly the best book on war I have read..... EVER!

December 29th, 1980, I arrived at the same Marine Corps boot camp which welcomed EB Sledge nearly 40 years before. With the Old Breed (WTOB) makes it perfectly clear why the stress and hardship of the Marine Corps boot camp experience is necessary. Thankfully, my generation was spared the subsequent horror that Sledge and his fellow marines witnessed on the islands of Peleliu and Okinawa.

Unlike other WWII books, WTOB truly brings home the misery and insanity of the Pacific theater slugfest. Death is imminent on nearly every page. The broken, shredded, mangled bodies of friend and foe are always close at hand. The filth, the stench, the mania of combat are unapologetically laid bare. There are passages so unforgettably gruesome that any romantic view of warfare is crushed beyond recognition.

WTOB reads as a personal journey through hell from which EB Sledge emerged against extraordinary odds. One marvels that he wasn't emotionally scarred beyond recovery. These were impressive men, iron-willed warriors, all of whom deserve our undying gratitude. We benefit from their unbelievable bravery and would be mistaken not to read this book. 5+ stars.

I have highly enjoyed this work. Sledge's book is a must-read for anyone interested in WWII battles against the Japanese. Sledge does not aim too high - no words are wasted trying to impress the reader. Instead, this is a first-hand account of an enlisted soldier's harrowing battle experiences. It does not get any more personal and straight forward than this. I had a great deal of fun reading this book with my laptop near by: I Googled every mountain, island, ship name, etc. for an immersing reading experience. You can even use Microsoft's Flight Simulator to fly around these islands, and land at the airfields Sledge describes.

Haunting.
Mr. Sledge"s reminisces of WW2 Pacific combat is one of the 3 best memoirs in that genre. The other two being William Manchester's Goodbye Darkness, and Robert Leckie's Helmet for my Pillow. War is ugly, messy, misery and a terrible thing, but the courage and sacrifice of the warriors is the beauty of it all. It is utter madness that muddles the mind, yet brings clarity of thought to a razor's edge. It dulls one's sensibilities yet heightens the senses to maximum perception. With the Old Breed is gritty realism, that will assault one's reality with the true nature of combat without philosophical metaphors. It is love, hate, disgust, kindness, sympathy, revulsion, and understanding wrapped in the simple prose of one who has seen the utter madness of combat up close and personal. Mr. Sledge graphically brings the sounds, sights, stink, and corruptions of the battlefield to the written page and slaps the reader in the face with the reality of it all. At times it is revolting but yet it is ALL true. The ambivalence of combat is the true mystery of its schizophrenic nature: To be drawn to it and repulsed at the same time its mystique. To use Mr. Paul Fussell's own words, "It is about the mystique of killing to avoid being killed, torturing to avoid being tortured." The front line is both a place of passion and madness. As Mr. Sledge said, "[combat] made savages of us all. We existed in an environment totally incomprehensible to men behind the lines..." And so it was at Peleliu and Okinawa, where Mr. Sledge, "tasted the bitterest essence of war, the sight of helpless comrades being slaughtered, and it filled me with disgust. Furthermore, Mr. Sledge opines, "We were surrounded by maggots and decay . Men struggled and fought and bled in an environment so degrading I believed we had been flung into hell's own cesspool."
And yet, "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."
Maximum recommendation for anyone interested in actual combat in general and/or WW2 Pacific combat in particular. BE WARNED this is an extremely graphic memoir. It is NOT for the squeamish or faint of heart. It is maximum realism and it is ugly at times. Nevertheless is probably the best book ever written on the realities of war in the Pacific during WW2.
Finally, to sum up, "If the country is good enough to live in, it's good enough to fight for. With privilege goes responsibility." And as Wilfred Owen's poem "Insensibility" states, "those who feel most for others suffer most in war." Mr. Sledge suffered a great deal.

I had been meaning to read "With the Old Breed" for some years but, as a committed thrift-store book shopper, had been unable to find a used copy. Finally I sprung for a new copy and, after having read it, I understood exactly why I had been unable to find a secondhand copy: this book is so phenomenally awe-inspiring that I will never part with mine.
Sledge has quite probably written the single best American war memoir EVER. From the jagged coral ridges of Peleliu to the fetid quagmire of Okinawa, Sledge vividly transports the reader into the searing hell that was the average Marine's lot in World War II. That said, he also somehow manages to convey one of the most profound anti-war messages ever put to paper, equal only to Guy Sajer's "The Forgotten Soldier", Robert Graves' "Good-bye to All That" or Erich Maria Remarque's "All Quiet on the Western Front."
As a former Marine, I may be somewhat biased in my assessment of this book, but I feel that this book is certainly something to be revered and remembered by generations to come whenever the subject of war comes around.

The late Mr Sledge 'hammer' wrote this compelling and often brutal account of his experiences during the grim and bloody battles on Peleliu and Okinawa. He was one of a scant handful of Marines that made it through both battles without a wound. His first hand account draws the reader into the daily routine of Marine life but also splashes mud and blood into your face when he lands on the two contested islands. Although a 60mm mortarman, he shared many of the same brutal conditions the infantry did: enemy snipers, artillery, personal misery, mud and incredible filth. Sledge writes in a straight forward style and a few times, he himself mentions that we was confused and puzzled about just where he was during advances and barrages, bringing this story to an even more personal level.
One of the best WWII related memoirs you will read, right up there with 'Storm of Steel' and 'Goodbye, Darkness'. Powerful, gripping, head-shaking and amazing are a few words to describe his experiences amid slashing shrapnel, Nambu bullets, artillery fire, carrying loads of ammo and hauling wounded Marines in knee-deep mud. Some scenes are horrific and brutal, just as they happened to him and his buddies. Well worth reading and you will not soon forget his book.
Sadly, Eugene Sledge passed away in 2001.

This is one of the most intimate and exceptionally written books about combat I have every read. Eugene Sledge portrays the war in the Pacific in such a way that you feel the pain and suffering of the men who sacrificed everything for eachother in combat. You will be humbled by Sledge's memoirs. A must read for all.

There are so many reasons to pan a book like this, writting, viewpoint, historical accuracy, but this book gets 5 stars in all catagories. So true, so full of action, so sad, so much to say. My true interest lies on the Eastern Front between Germany and Russia, but this was so good it is my favorite of WW2 in spite of the subject matter. Wow.

I have told people that war is the Second worse thing that could happen to a human. The first? Slavery - which is the battlefront against Hitler's National Socialists and the Imperial Japan in World War II.

That's where this story takes place. I have read few books that convey the realism and horror of war so well, without reservation. This is one.

Eugene B. Sledge, an Alabama boy, heads into War in the Pacific as a member of the U.S. Marines. He lands with the famous 1st Marine Division - 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines. His training was concentrated and intense - but still nothing prepares one for the onslaught of Pelilieu. He was a vet when he hit Okinawa where the fighting got even tougher. The image that sticks with me about Okinawa is a Marine who has to head back to get ammo. He slips in the mud and slides down the hill, rising to discover that he was covered in the maggots uncovered by his slid that were gnawing away at the dead bodies in the mud. This Marine, inured to death and destruction, is rattled badly. That image has stayed with me to understand the horror of this generation's sacrifice and their quiet acceptance of Duty.

By the time Sledge hit the hell of Okinawa, he was a combat vet, still filled with fear but no longer with panic.

I can't go into detail since I didn't read it myself, but my dad enjoyed it a lot.

I have told people that war is the Second worse thing that could happen to a human. The first? Slavery - which is the battlefront against Hitler's National Socialists and the Imperial Japan in World War II.

That's where this story takes place. I have read few books that convey the realism and horror of war so well, without reservation. This is one.

Eugene B. Sledge, an Alabama boy, heads into War in the Pacific as a member of the U.S. Marines. He lands with the famous 1st Marine Division - 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines. His training was concentrated and intense - but still nothing prepares one for the onslaught of Pelilieu. He was a vet when he hit Okinawa where the fighting got even tougher. The image that sticks with me about Okinawa is a Marine who has to head back to get ammo. He slips in the mud and slides down the hill, rising to discover that he was covered in the maggots uncovered by his slid that were gnawing away at the dead bodies in the mud. This Marine, inured to death and destruction, is rattled badly. That image has stayed with me to understand the horror of this generation's sacrifice and their quiet acceptance of Duty.

By the time Sledge hit the hell of Okinawa, he was a combat vet, still filled with fear but no longer with panic.