You know how this works
[Heads up: Parts of this story are rated R]
Humble Beginnings
In 1942, Eugene Sledge (and several of his classmates) intentionally failed out of the Georgia Institute of Technology and enlisted in the Marines. The U.S. had been at war for over a year, and Sledge, stricken with war fever, was afraid of missing the fight.
After boot camp, Sledge was assigned to K Company, 3rd Battalion of the 5th Marines, and quickly rose to the rank of Corporal. He was a trained 60mm mortar-man. But also saw combat as a rifleman and stretcher-bearer.
When he finally got his chance to join the fight, Sledge found that he'd bitten off more than he could chew.
Assault Into Hell
Corporal Sledge, known as sledgehammer, saw some of the most horrific combat of WWII. On the islands Peleliu and Okinawa, he saw men blown to pieces, tortured, burned alive, stabbed to death, fall to disease, dehydration, dysentery. If a horrible way to die exists, Sledge saw it.
One traumatic account from Peleliu details an assault on a Japanese airfield. The order came for Sledge and his fellow Marines to cross an open field towards the edge of the runway. As they moved low and fast, the Japanese unleashed a downpour of artillery and machine-gun fire.
Sledge was out in the open with no cover. Concussive explosions ripped apart the landscape to his left and right. One explosion sent a sharp fragment of coral (Peleliu is just a big coral reef) into the side of Sledges foxhole buddy, Snafu.
Luckily, Snafu's thick pistol belt deflected the shrapnel, saving his life.
Another account serves as perhaps the starkest example of the brutality waged throughout the Pacific theater. Sledge tells the story of coming across a dead Marine that had his p*nis cut off and stuffed into his mouth by the Japanese... Simply barbaric.
The Aftermath
We have the stories above because Sledge kept detailed notes of the fighting he endured. During breaks in combat, he would journal about his experiences while the memories were fresh. Thanks to his efforts, we have one of the most historically accurate war memoirs of all time.
His memoirs inspired the HBO series The Pacific. Starring Joe Mazzello and Rami Malek, The Pacific reenacts just some of what Eugene Sledge lived through during his time in combat.
It's miraculous that Sledge made it out alive. Operation Stalemate (the battle for Peleliu) and Operation Iceberg (the battle for Okinawa) saw a combined rough estimate of 60,000 American casualties... 60,000 Americans who were either killed, injured, or went missing.
While many combat veterans struggle with reintegration into society, Sledge adjusted well enough. In 1949, he graduated with a b.s. Degree and in 1960, achieved a Ph.D. in Zoology. He went on to teach biology at the university level until retirement.
Eugene Sledge passed away in 2001 at the age of 77. He was vocal in his disapproval of how unnecessarily savage war can be in his writing.
He is one of the few that has journeyed to the extremes of the human experience and returned. His journey is a warning for all of us who might forget what humans are capable of.
Peace
Credit
Supernova in the East: A multipart Podcast by Dan Carlin
With The Old Breed: By E.B. Sledge (and the introduction written by Victor Davis Hanson)
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