His Story and History

Catherine Resella
Professor Morales
13 November 2014

No one can ever be completely prepared for war, no one can imagine the hardship
and blood until they actually experience it. In the novel, With the Old Breed, by E.B.
Sledge, is about Sledges experience through World War II. He writes about his hard
times in the marines with all of the physical and mental training he went through. Then
he writes about his experience in the war of Peleliu and Okinawa. Everyone in the war
went through tragic events and life changing experiences. Sledge is able to show his
readers his experience through this first-person account of the war. There were various
themes throughout the book. Sledges experience with the training, psychological effects,
and culture of the war, all are connected to larger contexts of history.
Before any war, one needs to get prepared by going through intense physical and
mental training. Although nothing could ever prepare someone for what actually goes on
the battlefield. The training is meant to be as harsh as it can to break the soldiers spirit
and to harden them. At first, Sledge was excited to go to war and just wanted to fight.
People tend to forget that war is not all about the glory but about the gore. Soldiers were
trained hard; In a system that combined esprit de corps, technical instruction, rote
memorization and hands-on learning, boot camp was the engine which took raw civilians
and turned them into basically trained Marines.i Sledge was a nave, young man that
wanted to defend his country, who was unknowingly entering the gates of hell. He didnt
know what he was getting himself into. As Sledge states in the book, The fact that our
lives might end violently or that we might be crippled while we were still boys didnt
seem to register.ii People that were joining the war were young boys, nave and just
wanted to fight for their country. They trained with enthusiasm and faith they would
make a difference on the battlefield to win the war. I think they prepared these soldiers

for the war better than the soldiers in World War I. The military advances were also a big
advantage with the invention of the tank and the fighter jets. The Marines did a pretty
good job preparing them for the war and put them through hard tasks. In Sledges
Marines Corps, his general told him to bayonet him and Sledge hesitated. He worried that
he was going to kill his general and was going to be put in jail. His general was upset that
Sledge did not follow orders so he told him, if he did not follow orders he will beat his
ass. This is teaching them in order to survive; they will have to kill anyone that gets in
the way of that. Soldiers of World War I were not as prepared as the soldiers of World
War II. They could prepare their soldiers better for World War II because they knew what
to expect.
Many of the soldiers went through psychological effects of the war. It was
traumatizing to the young men and no matter how much training they went through, it is
not enough to prepare them mentally. Many of the soldiers, after the war, were diagnosed
with PTSD, which is posttraumatic stress disorder. From an article titled, A Short
History of PTSD says, While its true that we detach ourselves from war in order to
survive, its also clear that the act of detachment is itself a kind of willed destruction.iii
Sledge struggles with the psychological effects of the war when he is trying to survive it.
Sledge sees many dehumanized events that his comrades go through and even comes
close to it himself. For an example, Sledge sees one of his comrades trying to cut out a
gold tooth of a Japanese soldier. The Japanese soldier is still conscience and is being
tortured by this soldier because he wants his gold tooth. Sledge yells at him to stop but
the guy tells him to mind his own business. Then, another marine comes up and kills the
Japanese soldier. After all of this, Sledge then tries to get the gold tooth but then a medic

tells him to stop because of the Japanese germs. But in reality the medic was really
saving his mind from being dehumanized because once Sledge starts to do dehumanized
acts then his moral will eventually fade away all together. This was a struggle of war.
Having the struggle to survive just like Darwinism, the survival of the fittest, which is
when the strongest survive. The question that is always asked with war, is it justifiable to
murder? People contemplate whether it is justice to kill people when it comes to war.
Many of the soldiers had this issue. Just like Sledge when he asked himself, Would the
war dehumanize me so that I, too, could "field trip" enemy dead with such
nonchalance?iv Sledge and his men went through tough situations and saw things that
can never be unseen. The war plays with the mind and confuses people on what is
morally right. Having to constantly be on guard and the worry to survive plays a major
role on the future lives of the soldiers. Sledge said that he always had nightmares of war
and that they never went away. Living with PTSD will always affect them and they could
never live a normal life.
The culture of the war on the island of Peleliu with the Marines had to deal with a
completely different world than what the states were dealing with. Throughout the book,
Sledge always talks about the hygiene of the men. They were filthy and they could not do
anything about it. The conditions that they were living in were just awful and it was no
wonder the soldiers got jungle rot. Sledge describes the sheer physical struggle of living
in a combat zone. Sledge states, The personal bodily filth imposed upon the combat
infantryman by living conditions on the battlefield was difficult for me to tolerate.vThe
soldiers lived in constant fear, fatigue, and filth. The marines had trouble staying dry,
finding enough time to eat, trouble finding a place to use as a bathroom, and getting used

to the foreign terrain. There was a part in the book when the soldiers had to use the rain
for a source of water to shower in. This was the only way they could clean themselves on
Pavuvu. Then back at home, the states do not have to subject to washing in the rain. They
had running water. The soldiers were living a completely life in the war. The Marine
Corps was a subculture in itself. They had their own way of living compared to the lives
of people in the United States. The soldiers always had to worry about surviving and
lived in fear of being shot at, so they never got enough rest. Meanwhile back in the states,
families could sleep at ease. Also, it was impossible for the marines to have good hygiene
when they constantly lived in filth. It was impossible to dig latrines in the coral rock on
Peleliu so they were subjected to living in their own feces and rotting body parts. But all
of the soldiers hardship did not become unnoticed. After all of their hard work, they won
the war. All that suffering and deadly violence paid off and, The United States emerged
from World War II as a military superpower, with new moral and strategic reasons to stay
engaged in world affairs after its victories against Germany and Japan.viFrom all that the
soldiers went through, it brought the United States power and respect all around the
world. All of these mens effort, made a big difference on the country.
Sledges experience with the training for war, the psychological affects of the war
and the culture of the war all played an important role throughout his story and in the
history of the United States. The significance of Sledges story to the history of the
United States shows what everyone in the United States went through to become what we
are today. Many were sacrificed to become the superpower we are today. Sledges story
just gives a glimpse to the people of what the soldiers went through to fight for their
country. World War II was the mightiest struggle humankind because it killed more

people, cost more money, damaged more property, affected more people and caused
more far-reaching changes in nearly every country. It was such significance to the United
States because it showed military dominance and gave America something to fight for
again. Sledges story shows how far someone would go for his or her country. As Sledge
quotes at the end of the book, If the country is good enough to live in, its good enough
to fight for.vii I completely agree with this quote because we should be proud of our
country and want to fight for it.
i

Flowers, Mark, Recruit Training in World War II.Last Modified 2004,

http://www.ww2gyrene.org/bo ot_camp.htm, n.p.
ii
Sledge, E.B., With the Old Breed, London: Ebury, 2010, 19.
iii
Bentley, S. The VVA Veteran--A Short History of PTSD." The VVA Veteran--A Short
History of PTSD. Last Modified 2005,
http://www.vva.org/archive/TheVeteran/2005_03/feature_HistoryPTSD.htm,n.p.
iv
Sledge, E.B., With the Old Breed, London: Ebury, 2010, 169.
v Ibid, 92.
vi
Keene, Jennifer D., Saul Cornell, and Edward T. ODonnell. Visions of America: A
History of the United States, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2009, 715.
vii Sledge, E.B., With the Old Breed, London: Ebury, 2010, 315.