With the Old Breed

At Peleliu and Okinawa

By: E. B. Sledge

Narrated by: Marc Vietor, Joe Mazzello, Tom Hanks (introduction)

The celebrated 2010 HBO miniseries The Pacific, winner of eight Emmy Awards, was based on two classic books about the War in the Pacific, Helmet for My Pillow and With The Old Breed. Audible Studios, in partnership with Playtone, the production company co-owned by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman, and creator of the award-winning HBO series Band of Brothers, John Adams, and The Pacific, as well as the HBO movie Game Change, has created new recordings of these memoirs, narrated by the stars of the miniseries. James Badge Dale (who portrayed Robert Leckie) and Joseph Mazello (who played Eugene Sledge) bring all the passion and emotion of their riveting television performances to these new audio productions.

With the Old Breed is a modern classic of military history AND has been called "one of the most important personal accounts of war that I have ever read," by distinguished historian John Keegan. Author E. B. Sledge served with the First Marine Division during World War II, and his first-hand narrative is unsurpassed in its sincerity. Sledge's experience shows in this fascinating account of two of the most harrowing and pivotal island battles of the Pacific theater.

On Peleliu and Okinawa, the action was extremely fierce. Amidst oppressive heat and over land obliterated by artillery shells, the combat raged ferociously. Casualties were extreme on both sides, and by the time the Americans had broken through at Okinawa, more than 62,000 Japanese soldiers were dead. Against military policy, Sledge scribbled notes and jammed them into his copy of the New Testament. Those notes form the backbone of what Navy Times said "has been called the best World War II memoir of an enlisted man."

BONUS AUDIO: Tom Hanks, one of the executive producers, has written and narrated an original introduction to With the Old Breed where he describes his appreciation for the book's author, the narrators, and the soldiers who had fought in the cauldron of the Pacific Theater during World War II.

For more from Audible and Playtone, click here.

©1981 E.B. Sledge (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Engaging Account of the War in “The Pacific”

This is a review of two books, “With the Old Breed” and “Helmet for My Pillow.” HBO based its miniseries “The Pacific,” on these books, and Audible Studios and Playtone recently made new recordings of both books. If, like me, you were interested in both, hopefully this will help sort out how they stack up. In short, both are worth the listen, but if you only wish to get one, go with “With the old Breed.”

“With the Old Breed” is the war diary of E.B. Sledge (a.k.a. “Sledgehammer”). Although not an author by trade Sledge is obviously very intelligent and well-spoken. He writes like he was telling the story to his family, which is, in fact, apparently why Sledge wrote the book in the first place. Sledge describes his experiences at the battles of Peleliu and Okinawa, but also describes his training prior to the battles. The scenes are graphic and disturbing at times, but no doubt accurate.

It’s been said before that Sledge’s book is required reading for anyone thinking of joining the Marines, and I think this must be correct. For officers, Sledge’s account as a private depicts and describes the traits of the “good” officers verses the, let’s call them, “not so good” officers. It’s a veritable “how to” earn and command the respect and admiration of your men, which may be useful for any person in a leadership position to know. For the enlisted men, the book is a very real account of the inglorious nature of war. Wars are not fought to win honors, and no-one should join up in search of glory and fame. As Sledge says, often, it’s a “waste.”

As for the narration, Mazzello is a good actor, but a little slow. I’d recommend listening at 1.25% speed at least, or else it just drags on.

“Helmet for my Pillow” is Robert Leckie’s account of his experiences in the war. Leckie fought at Guadalcanal, New Britain, and Peleliu, but also writes considerably about his “debauchery” in Australia between the battles. His prose (and even his poetry) are quite well-written, and you get a good sense of what life must have been like in the Pacific when the fighting was not going on.

The book is also well narrated. Dale tells the story with good pacing, tone, and vocal color throughout. (By the way, Tom Hanks phones in his introductions for both books, which is disappointing).

In comparison, although there are many similarities to the realities of war, the books are very different. Leckie’s book is much better written than Sledge’s, but perhaps not as engaging from a story-telling perspective. Also, these two Marines could not be more different in character. Sledge is a boy-scout, whereas Leckie is a rogue, spending it seems more time in the brig, than in battle. This is not likely a fair comparison, given the horrific things both privates had to put up with, but Leckie comes off as less sympathetic than Sledge.

Overall, if you choose only one of these two books, I recommend “With the Old Breed,” but really I’d recommend both books to anyone, even those not interested in history. These are not stale accounts of dates and locations and troop numbers. These are firsthand accounts of the horrors of war, which is something later generations (such as my own) luckily have not experienced to this extreme. The people Sledge and Leckie describe are real people, not just characters. When they died, or were injured, or went crazy, these things really happened, which is, I think, something worth remembering.

Read the book(s), and thank a veteran when you see one.

Doing One's Duty in the Presence of Danger - EBS

When I was in the Army, there was a cranky civilian worker (who resembled a walking peanut who'd been left to moulder in a damp field until he rose to harass unsuspecting GIs) that used to brag, "I served in the Brown Shoe Army!" It sounded impressive, but the Internet wasn't around to check what he meant. It turned out to be an exotic way of saying he was on active duty after the Korean War and before Vietnam.

In contrast, E.B. Sledge (1923 - 2001) was the real thing. Sledge - or Sledgehammer, as he was known to his combat buddies - dropped out of an officer training program in college to enlist in the Marines. The Marines, then as now and as an entire corps have always been elite fighters - the best of the best. What's touching about "With the Old Breed: At Pelelui and Okinawa" (1981) is it's clear Sledge doesn't think of himself that way - he's referring to the non-commissioned officers who rose in the ranks of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, before the start of the war; the veterans of the battle of Cape Gloucester (December 26, 1943 - April 22, 1944); and the men who served with him and were wounded or killed on Peleliu and Okinawa. I'm sure if you'd asked him if he was one of the "old breed" he would have said, "No, but I knew them."

"With the Old Breed" isn't for the squeamish, and - after 70 years of Japan's military dedicated only to self defense - it's not 'politically correct.' Sledge and his fellow Marines detested Japanese soldiers, and the reasons for the hatred are in the book. There are acts I'd never been told of as part of my military training, and derogatory names for the enemy that - even though I'm old enough to have talked to World War II veterans in my family - I'd never heard before. It's a story of tremendous discipline and esprit de corps, but it's still a disturbing listen at times - it wasn't always the Japanese doing the disturbing things. It's easy to condemn soldiers for battlefield lapses, but "With the Old Breed" shows, first hand, why they happen. This should be required reading for officers from all services, if it is not already.

It helps that there are occasional asides explaining the battles in historical context. The read/listen is like a very long letter from a grandfather explaining the war. It lacks the eloquence of Robert Leckie's (1920 - 2001) "Helmet for my Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific: a Young Marine's Stirring Account of Combat in World War II" (1957), but to be fair, Leckie was a professional writer, and eventually published 3 dozen books, both fiction and non-fiction. Sledge earned a PhD in biology, and carefully and researched and corresponded with other military men years before writing this magnum opus.

When I was researching Sledge to write this review (Audible reviews are a hobby, but a serious hobby), I discovered his field notes while serving with the Marines, correspondence, and photographs, were bequeathed to Auburn University. That's just plain neat. I'd love to actually see the notes he carried with him into combat.

The narration is fine - Joe Mazello narrates most of it, and he played Sledge in the HBO miniseries "The Pacific" (2010).

[If this review helped, please press YES. Thanks!]

Best first person war autobiography I've ever read

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. The details and horror and numbness and waste of war made clear by the author.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

I liked one narrator, but not the other. I was really unsure why it kept skipping back and forth. This is my only major criticism of the book.

Any additional comments?

Sledge does appear to be without flaw in this telling. After awhile, I wondered "What noble thing will he do now?" but it was a great book overall.

Very recommended! Wonderful story!

The story was great the narrator was very talented. Felt like I was really there a must read

Read this!

Its gonna be hard to give 5 stars to a work of fiction after reading this. This is brutal, raw, honest, gory and truthful. This account of WWII will change how a person thinks about war, life and death. This may not be the best book ever written but it could be the one a person remembers forever.

You have not read of war until this one!

As a veteran of the War on Terror, I was left dumbfounded trying to comprehend life on the front lines in the Pacific....This is a MUST read for any citizen of this great country. This freedom we enjoy is not free!

Very good read

An excellent account of war from the front line soldiers viewpoint. A must read for all interested in history or mankind in general.

Excellent

Great writer who speaks from his heart reflecting on his experience, of enduring some of the most vicious combat seen in WWII in the pacific by Marine’s. What incredibly difficult conditions did they endure. My heart goes out to these men who did their duty when their country asked. The mental sounds they would have suffered and endured into the future only further enhances my respect for the men of the greatest generation.

Insightful

The Old Breed gave me a look into an armed conflict like no other book has. The personal recounts of E.B Sledge (Sledgehammer) are truly captivating as they do not censor the horrors of war.

Just Finished-Not Sure How to Put My Feelings Into Words

Well, I’m not sure at this time how to put my feelings into words.

I’ll continue late when I collect my thoughts.