The Old Breed and the Costs of War | Eugene B. Sledge (1994)

"It has been said that the combat veteran has to live through the experience and then, if he survives, he has to live with it the rest of his life. How you handle yourself and what you make of yourself depends a great deal on your upbringing, your discipline, and things of this sort."
Recorded at the Mises Institute's "Costs of War" conference in May 1994 in Auburn, Alabama: mises.org/libr...
Eugene Sledge (1923-2001) is best known for his books chronicling his experiences in the Pacific Theater during World War II: With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa and *China Marine: An Infantryman's Life after World War II*.

[@alanbranch851]

I drove to where Sledge Hammer was layed to rest 2-months ago and rolled down the windows of my truck and played the theme song to “The Pacific” series as my buddy and I put a Marine flag at the head of his grave and shed a few tears of gratitude to say the least. What a great man

[@TechReviewTom]

This is really awesome dude.

[@ronalddesiderio7625]

Excellent 💪🏽

[@johnbailey1168]

AMEN 🙏

[@Jakal-pw8yq]

That was the Beautiful gesture!🇺🇲⚓️💯💖

[@briandesrochers1360]

I'm friends with his son. Saw him the other day.

[@jeffingram9916]

My mom had one brother who was a Marine in WW2. He fought on Iwo Jima at 18 years old and turned 19 before he was in the battle for Okinawa. He told my mom that he didn't take his boots off for 30 days on Iwo Jima. He died in 2009. The Marines sent an honor guard to provide the military portion of his funeral. The Marines take care of their own!

[@jakeandbake8994]

How was bro at 2 places at once iwo was February 19- march 26 1945 and Okinawa was April 1- June 22 1945

[@ernietaylor5376]

@@jakeandbake8994

[@jeffingram9916]

@@jakeandbake8994 The Marines moved him by ship after the Battle for Iwo Jima was finished to the next battle which was for Okinawa. The two battles were sequential so he only needed to be in one place at a time.

[@MarkSmith-js2pu]

The Marines sent my 92 father, a Marine Vet of Korea, an Honor Guard his funeral a couple of years ago. They were so reverent and good at this duty. I was truly touched by them.🇺🇸

[@serpentines6356]

​@@MarkSmith-js2pu That's wonderful. I have seen some of those guys on camera. Quite impressive. Blessings for your family 🙏 💜 🌿 🇺🇸

[@ecolivelihoods]

His book abut the Pacific War is one of the greatest pieces of military literature ever written. A man with a gift with words and the real experiences under his belt. Epic interview.

[@roberthohlt469]

Agree 1000%

[@brianmead6053]

absolutely

[@unbreakable7633]

With the Old Breed stands as one of the finest war memoirs ever written along with Grant's Autobiography, Robert Leckie's Helmet for My Pillow, E.P. Alexander's Fighting for the Confederacy, and Robert Graves's Goodbye to All That. And I forgot George MacDonald Fasier's Quartered Safe Out Here.

[@TomandAmyinthePI]

@@unbreakable7633 And how bout William Manchester's "Goodbye Darkness"?

[@unbreakable7633]

​@@TomandAmyinthePI Forgot that one too, an excellent account, never will forget his description of Sugarloaf Hill. Thanks for reminding me.

[@frogger2513]

This is amazing. I’m an Iraq and Afghanistan vet. God bless this man and the U.S. Marine Corps

[@jdstocco84]

I too, am an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran. Served two deployments in Iraq, and Three in Afghanistan over two enlistments in the Marine Corps from 2002 to 2012, as a Machine Gunner. I loved hearing Cpl Sledge speak here.

[@frogger2513]

@@jdstocco84 god bless you brother. Semper fidelis

[@billandersen1389]

Me too. Afghanistan 2003. I’m humbled listening to this.

[@hamburgermaniscool1405]

Thank you for your service to our great republic. I admire and look up to your strength and integrity. I can only guess each one of you has a story to tell about your military experience and there are few people that could listen and comprehend the first layer of the onion, if that makes sense. I can’t explain it, but listening to this brave man instills a sense of confidence that cannot be faked and that is a very rare quality, especially in 2024. I appreciate the people that have served and are serving in our United States military services. You are our backbone.

[@squint04]

Thank you for your service!

[@gruntforever7437]

What he said about the Japanese not acknowledging WW2 and their atrocities AND THE WORLD NOT MAKING THEM DO SO is absolutely true

[@Outlier999]

Most Japanese veterans went to their graves regretting only one thing: that they lost. They really deluded themselves that they were liberating Asia from the white colonialists, even though they were more brutal than the Americans, British, Dutch, and French combined.

[@tomusmc1993]

Japan has paid a price. It may not have been the price we would have wanted or expected, but they have. As a person who has had some ability to be around and immersed in that culture, in the 90s anyway, it was clear to me that culture was broken, and it was WWII that broke it.

[@quadrasaurus-rex8809]

That’s because the empire needs them. The allies didn’t defeat the Axis, they absorbed it.

[@Jakal-pw8yq]

If you go to Hiroshima or Nagasaki and go to the museums and the shrines their for the atomic bombs it's disgusting. To paraphrase, their plaques basically say, we were minding our own business and out of nowhere the Americans dropped these bombs on us killing everybody. Do I have to even say who started that war in the Pacific? Do I have to say who perpetrated the rape of Nanking, the Bataan Death March, the brutalization of Allied pows, and the brutalization of civilians? My dad was a veteran of World War II, South Pacific, US Navy and he said that back in the day there was a saying that went around. It went: "wherever the Japanese go rape torture and murder follow" No truer words were spoken. The Japanese have much to atone for yet they never will. Unlike the Germans who have made huge strides. The Japanese were not victims and I have zero sympathy for them until they make it right by the World by atoning for the sins of their military during World War ii.

[@Laotzu.Goldbug]

​@@Outlier999I don't think this is necessarily true. maybe the Japanese propaganda Ministry spit out a lot of information about liberating people from colonialism but I'm sure almost every single Japanese soldier knew the truth, that this like all other Wars was a war for dominance and power. they certainly regret losing, not because of some liberal Notions of freedom but because now they are the dominated.

[@johnheart6890]

Every American should listen to this.

[@francopasta3704]

You think those morons protesting on the college and universities care about this or worse, America..

[@michealrcnicholson9342]

Brit veteran here! Every man, where ever he comes from should listen to this.

[@75Prelives]

@@michealrcnicholson9342 Indeed. We few, we happy few. We band of brothers…”. Semper Fi.

[@patrickschneider1289]

Every Student in 8TH GRADE SHOULD Hear this, the young need to know !!

[@patrickschneider1289]

My MOM WAS A WAAC WOMENS. ARMY AIR CORP , IN WORLD WAR 2 , BEING IN LONDON ENGLAND DURING THE. B L I T Z SEVERELY SHELL SHOCKED now it's called. P T S D MY DAD and her were divorced When I was 2. Veterans HOSPITAL ALL THE REST OF HER LIFE, BACK THEN THEY PERSCRIBED THORZINE HEAVY DOSES REST IN PEACE 🙏 AND THANKYOU. MOMMA for your service * 😢

[@tomusmc1993]

I cannot give this enough thumbs up. E.B. Sledge is a National Treasure. Semper Fi Devil Dog!

[@daveyvane9431]

Amazing that societies don’t revolt against war participation.

[@jameseast7966]

If not for these MARINES and all other branches, if we had survived, we would be speaking Japanese or German. Evil cannot be squashed be good intententions. Semper Fi to you anyway.​@@daveyvane9431

[@dantheman9919]

@daveyvane9431 It would have to be nearly unanimous. It really is hard to fathom the idea of millions of people sent into war for a handful of Jack asses that disagree.

[@f.puttroff4470]

Are you saying that we should have surrendered to Japan? Remember that after Japan declared War on us at Pearl Harbor, we declared war on them and Germany declared war on the United States; so, you either fight to survive or surrender. I hate war; but I will defend my life and that of my friends, family and country.​@daveyvane9431

[@tomusmc1993]

@@f.puttroff4470 I think his point was that societies, ALL societies, not just one side.

[@bittnerbs]

I’m so glad to have found this. I was a 60mm Mortarman in the Marine Corps. I receive the PFC Sledge “With The Old Breed” award while in Mortar Division Schools. I met Sledge’s section leader, R.V. Burgin some years ago, and I wept in his presence.

[@GeorgiaBoy1961]

It is astonishing to me - even after a lifetime of studying the war in the Pacific - that giants like Sledge and R.V.Burgin wore so few decorations when they rotated home. These men had done the impossible under hellish conditions no civilian can possibly fathom, and survived difficulties so severe that a mere piece of metal and ribbon seems inadequate to convey the thanks of a nation and recognition for their valor and steadfastness. These men fought at Pelleliu - which was one of the toughest campaigns of the Pacific War - and then made the Okinawa campaign, too, another test too tough for words. Sledge saved his buddies more than once; the series shows us how - when Sledge alone hears the Japanese moving around in a bunker complex everyone else thinks is secure, he saved the lives of his buddies and not just his own. That should have resulted in a decoration, perhaps a Silver Star or certainly a Bronze Star w/ "V" device. He didn't get a thing. Of course, to a man like him, the respect and gratitude of his buddies was probably all that mattered, but it is astonishing that his captain didn't write him up for a decoration, if not Ack-Ack then someone else in the chain of command. Burgin was a real leader of men, if the book is to be believed. Sledge thought very highly of him, and it is evident in "The Old Breed"...

[@Warrior_Stoicist]

The Janet Reno remark was great, God bless him. RIP.

[@oldguyofarizona8602]

Janet Reno, Bill Clinton et al, could not make a patch on this man’s ass.

[@fiend_gaming]

Amazing how sharp he is, I wish I had been born a bit earlier so I could've met men like him. All you can do is just listen and react. I love how he targets his audience, and is a great showman.

[@ronnievanzandt5344]

@@fiend_gaming I hate the timeline I was born in. Should’ve been born in ‘65 not ‘85

[@paulaustin1234]

Mr Sledge never really recovered from his time in the marines. The price he paid as a marine haunted him the rest of his life. Never forget. We stand on the shoulders of giants.

[@lynnmcculloch-m4h]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@GeorgePenton-np9rh]

I was privileged to know this man personally. He was a biology professor at the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Alabama near Birmingham, and I for years sold college textbooks at different schools and got to know him. Very good man, very knowledgeable.

[@cyrusfreeman9972]

The way this man spoke is incredibly powerful. I wish I could've seen it in person

[@nealharbison3174]

No kidding. If only.

[@tomv4408]

I heard about Sledge through the Ken Burns program on WWII. I read his book and found it totally gripping. I admired how he endured the war, and his literary rendering of it. Hearing him speak about it is a privilege.

[@CT-ob2bw]

You ought to hear his 10 part audio book available on KZbin. Gripping 100% “The Old Breed”

[@jimc.goodfellas]

His book is amazing. Highly recommend

[@ryanphillips4218]

One of the things I remember most from the book is how the Navy gladly started sharing chow with the Marines, provided all the Navy personal had eaten first.

[@pattywolford]

I have his book on Audible, and it's very well written.

[@lynnmcculloch-m4h]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@scottkelly7051]

I'm so glad I found this. My dad, may he rest in peace, was with the 2nd Marines during WW2. God bless Dr Sledge for sharing his his experiences. My dad would never say a word about it.

[@garybrown1404]

I read Eugene Sledge's book "With the Old Breed" that chronicles his experiences during the war and have reflected on it often over the years. I highly recommend that EVERY civilian read it and consider the contents when politicians (& armchair warriors) begin "sabre rattling)!

[@davidlotti5407]

We owe these veterans the greatest respect to honor their unbelievable sacrifices they made for us an all future generations to come God Bless everyone of them and THANK YOU!!!!!!

[@DavidWasson-o5i]

My Dad fought with the 1st Marine division on Okinawa. Glad he and Sledgehammer aren't witness to the fall of our great nation. God bless all from the greatest generation.

[@NoName-ml5yk]

It's depressing but we've had rough times before. Keep the faith.

[@writenow5]

Amen. Marine Vietnam vet, 68-70

[@joebannon1522]

I’m glad he wasn’t around to see a president say that his generation were a bunch of losers and suckers!

[@mikemiller5254]

Our "great nation" is falling because of the hideous, ignorant demagogue convincing the gullible that it is.

[@barbarataylor8101]

So greatful to this Marine and his ability to articulate his experience. As a Veteran, I can appreciate his unique sense of humor. Thank you for sharing.

[@mljenk21]

Ditto

[@phlgriffin]

Sledge's book was on the self at our house growing up. My Dad was in the "Old Breed" and his experince was almost the same as Sledges'. Peulie and Okawania was the same. I wish I had read it while he was still alive. He had a bump on his forehead that was a piece of shrapel from Okawania that the skin had healed over it. He never talked about it much, but I always remember as a young kid watching him talking to other guys his age or older, and the respect they show him. They knew the price he had payed. One time when I was with him around guys his parent age, they were working on something in a neighbor's garage. The old man (in his eighties) who owned the property stepped out on to the grass and took a pee, my Dad kidding with him said "can you still pee a good stream Billy" and the guys all laughed. I was surprised because to us kids it was Mr. Kimpson. Later in life he golfed with a group of guys that were all 6'1" or taller, he was 5'9" and joked that he could say whatever wanted to as long as they were with him. He passed in 2017 at 94, I lived him the last 8 years to help out, I wish I had talked to him more, but he was able to put the war behind him and was a great father!

[@cpawp]

His book is a must-read ...

[@donaldsmith6814]

I first read his book at Cherry Point, NC while I was serving with the 2ndMarine Air wing. I lost that copy & did not find another copy till Pacific came out. Semper Fi "Sledge!"

[@williamturner1517]

I have an autographed copy.

[@donaldsmith6814]

@@williamturner1517 I am Marine Corps Green with envy!

[@francie1953]

Sledge and Fussell fan forever. God bless both of you and RIP

[@EricFapton]

Wait who is Fussel? There is stories I never heard. Kevin F- Former US Army InfantryMan

[@donaldshotts4429]

Paul Fussell. Outstanding writer, wrote a great memoir about his experience in the Euro theater fighting the Germans

[@janetcohen9190]

"The greatest enemies will hide in the last place you would ever look." - Julius Caesar

[@dc-wp8oc]

Which is usually oneself.

[@MichaelWitt-tx5zv]

That's funny, because when I lose my keys, they always turn up in the last place I look!

[@Americal-v6r]

Julius was a very intelligent man!

[@drmodestoesq]

@@Americal-v6r Really? Then why was J.C. stabbed to death. Why didn't he see that coming?

[@mikejohnson2098]

Maybe he's meaning his own govt.

[@marcbentley7839]

His book ought to be absolutely required reading for every university classroom in the U.S.

[@stone8597]

My dad carried a BAR in the 3rd Marine Div, 21st Marines. He would talk about his experiences...telling us the both the bad and the good. I remember him saying in simple words..."What a waste".

[@danmiller2523]

Yea my dad would say that as well. He was a BAR men in the 4th Marine Division he was at the battle of Iwo Jima. Thank God we had men like those fighting for us.

[@VimyScout]

Eugene Sledge (Sledge hammer) documented his own personal account of his time on the pacific island of Peleliu fighting the Japanese in WW2. He kept his own personal stories of that campaign hidden among the sheets of the Bible he carried with him. 'With The Old Breed' is the book of his story.

[@RivetGardener]

One of the best books to come out of WW2.

[@ronalddesiderio7625]

I listen to this every time I think I’m having a bad day. RIP Sledge ❤🇺🇸

[@michaelsuber5182]

You are SO right!!

[@wattsnottaken1]

I think about the living hell that these brave Marines and Army dogs went through on Peleliu and Okinawa every morning when I wake up for work. So happy to be alive. My older brother died when he was 27 years old In 2016 another reason I’m happy to be alive and clean from hard drugs been clean for 4 years now. Never going back. EVER

[@rexracernj7696]

This man's a profound resource. I've never been in service but Sledge's honesty, complete candor, & sense of honor are invaluable.

[@AndthenthereisCencorship-xc6yi]

Probably the best diary of a soldier in the second world war. I read his book, "With the Old Breed on Peleliu and Okinawa" when I was 35. It was eye opening to say the very least. Just cut across my ideas of what the soldier endured in WWII.

[@SeattleMarinerMan]

Marines are not soldiers

[@wittwittwer1043]

Sledge died March 3, 2001. Paul Fussell, to whom he refers a number of times, was a captain in the US Army, who fought in the ETO during WWII wrote at least one book about his war experiences, but the one that I found most interesting was the one he wrote about WWI: "The Great War and Modern Memory." "Wartime" was about some of his own experiences.

[@d.annejohnson5631]

Thank you for this. This is the first time I've heard him speak..... The only thing Burns Pacific series missed was being able to include Dr. Sledge in person. We are all blessed that he left his voice so vividly in his book.

[@andymckane7271]

Between 1983 and 2002 I read over 200 books cover-to-cover on the subject of the Pacific War. I've read a good number of additional books dealing with the Pacific War in the years since 2002. The single greatest book I've ever read about land combat in the Pacific or in the European Theater over the course of my seventy-six years is E.B. Sledge's With the Old Breed on Peleliu and Okinawa. This book, and Professor Sledge describe the land fighting in the Pacific just the way it was. I strongly recommend WITH THE OLD BREED to anyone and everyone who wants to study warfare. Thank you for your service during World War II, Dr. Sledge. And thank you for your life's service. You are a great tribute to humanity. Semper Fidelis, Marine! Andy McKane, 8 August 2024, Maunaloa, Molokai, Hawaii.

[@katathoombz]

Never would've guessed I'd ever hear Sledgehammer speak. Thanks for this!

[@lynnmcculloch-m4h]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@gruntforever7437]

There were not many of the old breed at the start of the war. The vets from the banana republic wars and bar fights in China and elsewhere. Veterans of the stockade and having zippers on their stripes. Just enough of them to leaven the regiments. The necessary leadership that let the Marines do what they needed to do. My father was wounded at Cherbourg and saw a lot of hard fighting. My uncle fought with the US Army at Okinawa. They both did not talk a lot about it; but said that they lived with it because that is what they had to do. Greatest generation indeed

[@warrenpuckett4203]

You understood why, when it became your turn. Mostly because you don't want to review it. The other because they think you have to be making that s==t up. I have been on Wake and Midway. If you step off the concrete on the runway. You step on a spent round. Way worse than anything I experienced.

[@gltff]

A couple of friends had Dr. Sledge for biology class at Montavallo. Said he was a great teacher

[@janetcohen9190]

Eugene Sledge is among numerous people never mentioned, written about, recognised, interviewed, by politicians, bureaucrats, financiers, elites, bankers, pharma, MIC, big-bus, msm 😮 Similarly wondering why also omitted are older generation people such as: Smedley D. Butler, Maj General USMC, his book "War is A Racket" , his speeches. William Guy Carr, naval Cmndr, his book "Pawns in the Games" and his speeches. Harry Patch, WW1 combat veteran, his writings, speeches The three people above were born in late 1800s. A generation before Eugene Sledge was born.

[@GeorgiaBoy1961]

@janetcohen9190 - Re: "Eugene Sledge is among numerous people never mentioned, written about, recognised, interviewed, by politicians, bureaucrats, financiers, elites, bankers, pharma, MIC, big-bus, msm..." There are a lot of reasons for that lack of recognition. First, the fact that men like Eugene Sledge represent the old America, one which is now a part of the past. The Second World War is now as distant in the past compared to the present - eighty or so years ago - as the American Civil War was to those men during WW2. Second, our country no longer teaches history and civics as it ought to do. I am a historian, and years back when the National D-Day Museum (now known as the National WW2 Museum) in New Orleans had just opened, I traveled there to see it. My spouse could not accompany me, so I dined alone on Bourbon St. the night before seeing the museum for the first time, and decided to conduct an experiment. The restaurant where I was - had staff composed almost uniformly of young people, college age mostly, plus a few later in their twenties. I quickly devised a list of five fairly simply questions about WW2 and D-Day and then asked them around the place to various staff members as the opportunity arose. It was a weeknight and it wasn't too busy. Well, long story short, not one of those young people knew the answers to any of the questions, things like (1) Where did the D-Day invasion take place? (2) Who was the prime minster of Britain in June, 1944? (3) Who was Dwight D. Eisenhower and what role did he play in D-Day? And so on... Now, perhaps my off-the-cuff quiz wasn't fair, and the young people were working, but I was crestfallen and depressed by the result. But later, I came to realize that it is just how things are - only a few people in any group have interest in history, and fewer still care enough about it to learn anything in detail. Especially for something which amounted to ancient history for most of them. Eugene Sledge at least lives on through his tremendous memoir, and the mini-series "The Pacific." Only one person in a thousand today knows any of the others on your list, Smedley Butler, Carr, Patch, et al. Maybe one in ten-thousand. Another difficulty is that even if one is interested in that time period, WW2 is such an immense subject that you could spend a lifetime studying it and not even come close to knowing everything there is to know about it. Call me cynical, but the last reason today's world and the powers-that-be don't bring up men like General Butler is that their message about the business of war isn't what profits them. Butler correctly identified many/most wars as rackets - in other words, unnecessary wars started simply to line the pockets of the rich and the war-profiteers, or to benefit some other special interest - and there are a lot of special interests around today that don't want that message heard. Butler in particular was difficult to criticize militarily; his credentials were above reproach. How do you smear the reputation of a two-time recipient of the Medal of Honor who retired as one of the most-decorated Marines in history?

[@janetcohen9190]

@@GeorgiaBoy1961 Thanks for your response, and sharing awareness. Yes, learning history is vitally important there are many sources one can learn from older folks in family, community, formally during school years, and from everywhere on Earth. History is among tools useful to help cope during life. As to in formal education history is likely omitted, censored, sanitised, selected, slanted, toward conditioning young into agendas driven contex, blended with marketing so to help suffocate critical thinking, to easily manipulate masses. Related: All major problems are caused by politicians, bureaucrats, financiers, elites, bankers, MIC, big-agri, big-bus, pharma, msm, 1,2,3, ABCs....basically the ~5% both domestically and internationally their MO was and is; Private Profits & Lucre paid by Socialised Loses in cascade of various, numerous ways and means by 95% no matter which side(s) they are duped to be on.

[@jhardycarroll]

He wrote the greatest combat memoir of the war. Fussell and Audie Murphy wrote good ones, as did Bob Leckie, but Sledge is in a class of his own.

[@dave3156]

I read the book but hearing it from the man takes it to a whole new level. Semper Fi Marine!

[@brewster46]

I read the book. then my wife and I travelled to Peleliu to see the battle sights.. about 15 years ago. very eerie. no one there but us . there was a museum of sorts.. just a shack with some kodak camera prints from WWII. rusted tanks. must have been hell

[@GeorgiaBoy1961]

@brewster46 - What I find unfathomable about those island-hopping campaigns is how ill-prepared the Navy and Marine Corps were for some of them, yet the attacks went in anyway. When the Corps went ashore at Guadalcanal in August, 1942, each Marine was issued with one canteen of water - just one. Navy medical personnel - the doctors and corpsmen (the U.S.N. supplies all the medical needs of the Corps) wanted to issue each Marine with two, but there weren't enough canteens in whole Pacific Theater to do that. And even by the time of the Peleliu invasion in Sept. 1944, they were still inadequately supplied with water. Those men not only had to survive the worst the Japanese defenders could throw at them, but had to endure water deprivation and dehydration, too! Talk about tough! And what a charlie foxtrot on the part of the planners.... inexcusable mistake for them to make.

[@jeremyperala839]

​@@GeorgiaBoy1961I met a man who was a rifleman in k3/5 pelelieu. He said the water available for them tasted like diesel fuel.

[@GeorgiaBoy1961]

@@jeremyperala839 - Man, that's brutal!

[@BeautifuLakesStreamsBiologists]

@@jeremyperala839 Yes it was contaminated and undrinkable. The Navy sent a lot of canned fruit ashore to help with this. Dad and his buddy Barret found a case of peaches. Dad told us Barret and he were in better shape than most of the men just because of those peaches.

[@williamtaylor4863]

Amazing that he was able to chronicle his experiences. He has my respect.

[@jimmyb5498]

i usually get bored after the first few minutes. i could not move listening to this man. commentors are right, every one should be made to listen to this!! amazing.

[@mikelonde9567]

This should be required listening for every politician.

[@joehowarth8093]

Read his book, watched the movie…..so honored to hear his voice and listen to him speak!!

[@mattbeckelhymer1669]

Me too

[@wordword6039]

My home Division. I was in the First Marine Division for 14 years before I knew any other home. IMO of course I loved that Division with its history. I came and went to other Divisions but the 1st Division was my home and I kept requesting to go back which I did.

[@artisaprimus6306]

Im glad Dr Sledges experience was used the series " The Pacific" created by Tom Hanks. His narrative was very personal and it really tells the story of the cost of war. The toll it takes on the men and women that go to war. RIP, Dr Sledge.

[@smittysmitty481]

Semper Fi Sledge! You Marines of that era were tough as nails!

[@lynnmcculloch-m4h]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@patnoble1914]

I have read his book but to hear the mans voice was powerful. My Dad was also a Marine and my hero. We owe a debt to these men that can never be paid. Most are gone now and we lose hundreds everyday. I am ashamed at what our country has become. It is an affront to the sacrifices these men made.

[@GraemePayne1967Marine]

Thank you for this talk, from a Vietnam combat veteran. I was also in 1'st Marine Division. Semper Fi!

[@robamaral9089]

forever grateful to Eugene Sledge for shedding light on the Marines of WW2. Honoring my Godfather : Gunnery Sgt Eddie Amaral, Squad Leader , Marine Assault Rifle Co B., 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division-- Peleliu Island. Sept 1944.

[@lynnmcculloch-m4h]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@ronalddesiderio7625]

I’m just listening to this again. And the story of his lumberjack friend just hit me so hard. What a Great Friend to give his buddy Hope. Regardless of the reality ❤

[@jdw174]

My uncle was a Marine Lt. on Guadalcanal. In a small room of his house on one wall was a Japanese flag...complete with some lettering and full of bullet holes and old blood stains. In one corner was a Japanese sword. I was a youngster of about 12 at the time, and naturally I drew it from the scabbard. To me, it was quite heavy and seemed to me to be very thick across the top of the blade. I said something to the effect that I didn't know how anybody could swing it. My uncle just looked at me and said, "If you ever saw a Japanese Marine, you wouldn't say that". End of conversation.

[@pigpaul]

Thank you for posting this. Hello from Las Vegas Nevada. May grandpa, I called him “Tata” he was 14 years old when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. God bless the greatest generation!

[@carguy1979]

Amazing interview. Thank you for posting.

[@alangil3493]

My Uncle John was a Marine on Iwo. He was a quiet man and a wonderful man. We miss him. I read Sledge Hammer's book. Great book

[@patrickridge9616]

There is a scene in the book where he is knocked down a hill and comes up with human flesh, blown to shreds by artillery, and filled with maggots all down his front. He says that he felt his mind going, he had seen it happen to others, and he used all his mental effort to retain his sanity.

[@charleskosmerl2504]

This interview certainly explains why most combat vets of WW2 refused to ever discuss what they saw and did.

[@neilreynolds3858]

There's no point it telling your story to anybody who hasn't seen the elephant - they don't believe you.

[@ketchman8299]

His books were eye opening and starkly true.

[@1960Sawman]

With the Old Breed By E.B. Sledge Page 91: “The conversation with Hillbilly reassured me. When the sergeant came over and joined in after getting coffee, I felt almost lighthearted. As conversation trailed off, we sipped our joe in silence. “Suddenly, I heard a loud voice say clearly and distinctly, ‘You will survive the war!’ “I looked at Hillbilly and then at the sergeant. Each returned my glance with a quizzical expression on his face in the gathering darkness. Obviously they hadn’t said anything. “‘Did y’all hear that?’ I asked. “‘Hear what?’ they both inquired. “‘Someone said something,’ I said. “‘I didn’t hear anything. How about you?’ said Hillbilly, turning to the sergeant. “‘No, just that machine gun off to the left.’ “Shortly, the word was passed to get settled for the night. Hillbilly and the sergeant crawled back to their hole as Snafu returned to the gun pit. Like most persons, I had always been skeptical about people seeing visions and hearing voices. So I believed God spoke to me that night on the Peleliu battlefield, and I resolved to make my life amount to something after the war.”

[@HTX991]

Glad I found this one.

[@jeremydoud4885]

Sledgehammer, you Snafu and all your fellow Marines are the TRUEST HEROES WHO EVER LIVED!!! What you and your peers went through as young men exemplifies the American Spirit. I think about what you men experienced and wonder how I would’ve handled living through the same situations. SEMPER FI…and RIP WW2 HEROES….

[@clippership8381]

I am always impressed by how Eugene B. Sledge kept his humanity, especially after it was over. We should All be so strong and resilient. Thank the Lord for men like Eugene B. Sledge. .

[@M-nq7lt]

I am profoundly grateful for the men who did what Sledge did. I'm not a veteran, though my grandfather served in World War II in the European theater with the American Army. Growing up with the stories of war, I was in awe of what I had heard but wanted no part in that experience if it was possible. Don't get me wrong, if I were called to serve - even as old as I am - I'd like to think that I would go because that is what I have to do. I'd be scared shitless, but I guess that's par for the course. To all our members in the armed forces, thank you.

[@etherdetroit1977]

I've read his book 4 times. This imo is the best presentation I've ever heard.

[@Bay0Wulf]

I had an uncle (more than 1) who fought in WWII in Europe but never spoke about it … ever … with anybody. During a move to his children’s house they found a shoebox sized metal box stuffed full of medals and citations. At 89 he finally told his story to his kids and allowed them to record him … about three hours all the while sounding like he was apologizing for having lived. He died a couple weeks later. In all the time I’d known him he was a quiet, calm and gentle man. None of us, including his family, except maybe my aunt, ever imagined or suspected his military past.

[@uneven5]

I'm reading "With the Old Breed" right now!

[@ryanphillips4218]

Great book. Good lord it describes gruesome war can be.

[@davidkreutzer4778]

I read both his books and they are must read books . When he talks about his friends getting blown up or shot , you can tell he's still seeing them as young men , some 50yrs later .

[@luz1939]

I love the way he mentioned his buddies

[@georgehorner1578]

RIP. American warrior.

[@TheC1kabar]

He spoke to us when I attended Sergeants Course at 29 Palms, and I was in awe. A majority of the class was unaware of who this man was, let alone the book he had written, which I had read. After serving 26 years in uniform and serving during the First Gulf War, Kosovo, Iraq in 2003-2004 and then Afghanistan, I always cherished his words of wisdom which I attributed, in part, to my survival.

[@michaelcasey5155]

God bless Eugene Sledge and the men who served with him…RIP. Semper Fidelis.

[@BluMecker-ox6sx]

This is an absolutely incredible talk

[@jonathankenton7182]

“Hey douche bag, You wanna get your dress and cover?” SSgt Skinner. I still remember that like it was yesterday 35 years later. I would not trade my 21 years for all the riches in the world.

[@CT-ob2bw]

Just curious, was that Ssgt a short stocky guy?

[@jonathankenton7182]

Yes he was. 18 Aug 1989. SSgt Grimm was his #2.

[@CT-ob2bw]

@@jonathankenton7182 Just a wild hair of a thought but a man (friend of my family years back) last name of Skinner. He was a Marine Sgt - 30 years, retired. Chewed tobacco like a crack addict. He was in the end of wwii in Korea and in Vietnam. I believe he was gunney but maybe one rank up by retirement

[@robertdownie6135]

This is a very moving testament, what a very ordinary very great human being

[@geraldmeskun85]

I joined the Marines in 1967 . Went to Vietnam , spent 19 months over there with the 12 th Marines . I thought we had it tuff . I came home and read Sledgehammers book . Vietnam was like a piece of cake compared to the Marines who fought the Japanese.

[@dougdownunder5622]

With respect, your experience wasn't the same as every other person.

[@cdk68]

I hope the 12 years after you returned and the book was published went quickly

[@johndoppleguard]

Outstanding!! Thank you brother for giving such a detailed account, the human side. Your a true blue marine. American!! Wow compellingly telling of your story . You can feel it in your gut.

[@drmodestoesq]

I have to take issue with Mr. Sledge saying that Japanese atrocities are forgotten. Maybe in the United States. But the Chinese and the other South East Asians are extensively informed from a young age what the Japanese did to them during WW2.

[@spambotfodder]

Thank you so much for uploading these important stories of our shared past. it's chilling how for western society has fallen since 1994

[@BamaFanUSMC]

As a Marine veteran from Alabama (2003-2007) Iraq War veteran, I can proudly say that I admire this man. And damn proud to be from the same land as this Old Marine Hero. My first duty station was in Okinawa 2004-2005, those Marines that fought in Okinawa were the best.

[@Swampytheroot]

USN Veteran. Thank you all for what you do.

[@rd1084]

This man and his fellow Marines were giants. The horrors they faced and still maintained their courage and pushed forward is amazing. We owe them so much for their sacrifice. Semper Fi! Cheers to the old breed.

[@danmiller2523]

My father was at the battle of Iwo Jima and it was a terrible fight. From what I have heard from him and others there is no way to describe it so they just didn’t talk about. God Bless all those men

[@melvindenny8962]

I hope you find peace in your mind . Bless you for speaking for those who cannot.

[@johnbonbright4169]

I love this man. I listen to this speech daily.

[@chrishay8385]

How wonderful to put a voice to the face,amazing soldier his book is an amazing piece of work.

[@jimfesta8981]

My good friend Neil Buckley lied about his age and joined the Marine Corps at age 14 and fought on Guadalcanal with the 1st Marine Division. He had his 16 th birthday near Henderson Field.

[@jackburkhart873]

Islands of the Damned is another great book. Burgon was Sledges corporal!

[@michaelellis4935]

The most poignant memory I carry from reading his book, is how broken he was right after the war. It’s amazing that in this talk, he can so casually speak of the unendurable misery they went though as if it was a regular everyday occuranceu

[@otiebrown9999]

Probably the best book on the horrific Japanese war on the islands.

[@jeffrey7938]

I have read Sledgehammer's book at least 4 times and if God allows me, I'll read it a few more.

[@grayman618]

Greatest generation plain and simple.

[@TomandAmyinthePI]

My Uncle (Mom's Brother) was in the Marines at Okinawa and My Dad was in the Army infantry in the Philippines in WW2..... My Dad did not talk about it to Me until I was about 16 YO and in his later life (He lived to 92 YO) He talked about it alot more and could never understand how He survived it while so many of his friends and comrades did not

[@harryknickerbocker9889]

I served with the Marines in Vietnam and I have the greatest respect for the Marines who waged the war in the pacific. I really don't know how they did it, how they not only survived, but defeated the Japanese. The word heroism doesn't do them justice.

[@martincahill5954]

God bless Eugene....

[@HeatGeek1]

The old breed is definitely worth reading, but it's also not for the faint of heart. His description of war is unflinching. If you read the book you'll not only see the blood you'll smell it. By the time you finish the book you may have some on your clothes.

[@helenel4126]

God bless him and his fellows for their sacrifices. It's disgusting that we don't deserve what they did for us.

[@harrykrebs]

Thank you.

[@alancooper6815]

Excellent

[@Maryland_Kulak]

I am a former US Army infantryman. I never went through anything like Sledge described. I was acutely aware of what it was like to be an infantryman in combat from training and reading though. I remember being in graduate school in the mid-90s being forced to read books about how rough it was to be a black lesbian going to Harvard. Suffice it to say, I wasn’t impressed. Imagine if any other group besides White men had been drafted and put into situations like this. We’d still be paying reparations.

[@travisp5747]

There were many Blacks that were drafted that held their own just as vehemently as “the white man” The tone of your comment portrays a white man filled with a ridiculous amount of racism tbh. I’m a white man myself, and I know sometimes tones inside text can be misread, but that’s what you put off in yours.

[@Maryland_Kulak]

⁠In World War II, “colored troops” were relegated to combat service support roles. The infantrymen who were let out on Omaha Beach to die in the Nazi meat grinder and then fight all the way to the link up with the Soviets on the Elbe River were exclusively White men. The Army and Marine infantry who fought in the Pacific were White. I guess they didn’t teach you that in your history classes. I’m curious; why did you capitalize Black and not White? It comes across as racist.

[@edmundcharles5278]

What sort of country would r it, if every politician, judge, and magistrate- had to go through and experience the WW II Pacific War?!??? Yep -totally different mindset, attitude, and country!

[@danielsimmons7397]

I love listening to Sledgehammer, he reminds me of talking to my Granddaddy & his Brother with that accent ❤

[@kenmauge8032]

What great man you were sledghammer.