With the Old Breed Book Analysis Essay Example

In Eugene Sledge’s book, With the Old Breed, Sledge experiences a lot during his time fighting in World War II. During his time in combat with the Japanese soldiers his view towards them changes. When Sledge returns from the war his experience fighting in the Pacific really affects him. You also look at how the effects of the war affect us today. 

Sledge joined the war shortly after the Japanese attack on Peal Harbor. At first, he was going to join officer training however, he realized he would need to take classes for two years. Instead, he imminently enlisted as an infantryman. He says, “…prompted by a deep feeling of uneasiness that the war might end before I could get overseas into combat, I wanted to enlist in the Marine Corps as soon as possible.”1 Sledge didn’t want to miss his chance. 

When it was time to go to Peleliu, Sledge began to wonder if he would survive the war after having a conversation with Oswalt. Sledge had trouble sleeping after the day and the conversation they had. 

I thought of home, my parents, my friends-and whether I would do my duty, be wounded and disabled, or be killed. I concluded that it was impossible for me to be killed, because God loved me. Then I told myself that God loved us all and that many would die or be ruined physically or mentally or both by the next morning and in the days following.The next day, D Day, Sledge realizes that the Japanese changed their tactics. 

In earlier battles, the Japanese had exhausted their forces in banzai charges against the Marines once the latter had firmly established a beachhead… But on Peleliu the Japanese commander, Col. Kunio Nakagawa, let the Marines come to him and the approximately 10,000 troops of his proud 14th Infantry Division. From mutually supporting positions, the Japanese covered nearly every yard of Peleliu from the beach inland to the center of Nakagawa's command post, deep beneath the coral rock in the center of the ridge system. Some positions were large enough to hold only one man. Some caves held hundreds. Thus the Marines encountered no one main defense line, The Japanese had constructed the perfect defense-in-depth with the whole island as a front line. They fought until the last position was knocked out.3 Through this Sledge sees the cruelty of the Japanese. He sees what they have done to American corpses and how mutilated they were. 

After Peleliu, Sledge heads to Okinawa. There he’s less panicked due to his previous combat experience. However, he’s still scared and angry. He got through it with the help of some of the other soldiers. Even though Okinawa was different from Peleliu they were still on high alert. 

Most nights on Peleliu we had to keep a sharp lookout to front, rear, right, and left. But that night on Okinawa we had to scan even the

dark sky for signs of parachutes. We lived constantly with the fear of death or maiming from wounds, But the possibility of being surrounded by the enemy and wounded beyond the point of being able to defend myself chilled my soul. They were notorious for their brutality.

This all really affected Sledge after the war.  After and during the war many soldiers developed PTSD. One time this was shown was when they were in Peleliu. We heard someone moving and thrashing around in the CP… Help! help! Oh God, help me!" shouted the wild voice. The poor Marine had cracked up completely. The stress of combat had finally shattered his mind. They were trying to calm him down, but he kept thrashing around… Someone pinioned the man's arms to his sides, and he screamed to the Doberman pinscher, "*Help me, dog; the Japs have Bot me! The Japs have got me and they're gonna throw me in the ocean." I heard the sickening crunch of a fist against a jaw as someone tried to knock the man unconscious.

PTSD was seen a lot after the war was over and during. A lot of the soldiers had psychological damage. “More than half a million service members suffered some sort of psychiatric collapse due to combat. Alarmingly, 40 percent of medical discharges during the war were for psychiatric conditions.”6  To this day some of those soldiers still suffer from their experience at war. 

People are now more aware of effects war can have on soldiers and others. Soldiers now also seek out help and talk about what they went through. “30% of soldiers develop mental problems within 3 to 4 months of being home… 55% of women and 38% of men report being victim to sexual harassment while serving in the military.”7 Now we have many support groups in place and other facilities. We also have new medicine and therapists that are trained in these fields. 

In conclusion, Sledge learned and experienced a lot while going to war. You see his views change on how the Japanese fight and how brutal they are. You also see the effects of war that the soldiers deal with daily. Many of them develop psychological damage. Now we are more equipped with dealing with the effects of war on soldiers and others.

References 

1. Sledge, E. B. With the Old Breed: At Pelelui and Okinawa. London: Ebury Press, 2010, 5

2. Sledge, E. B. With the Old Breed: At Pelelui and Okinawa. London: Ebury Press, 2010, 50

3. Sledge, E. B. With the Old Breed: At Pelelui and Okinawa. London: Ebury Press, 2010, 53

4. Sledge, E. B. With the Old Breed: At Pelelui and Okinawa. London: Ebury Press, 2010, 220

5. Sledge, E. B. With the Old Breed: At Pelelui and Okinawa. London: Ebury Press, 2010, 101

6. Malloryk. “WWII Post Traumatic Stress: The National WWII Museum: New Orleans.” The National WWII Museum | New Orleans. The National World War II Museum, June 26, 2020. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/wwii-post-traumatic-stress. 

7. “11 Facts about the Mental Health of Our Troops.” DoSomething.org. Accessed April 3, 2022. https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-mental-health-our-troops.