Has anyone read the book called, With the old breed at Peleleiu and Okinawa by Eugene.B.Sledge?

Question

I know this should probably in the books section, but its about ww2. If youv'e read it, Please give opinions what you think it would have been like to have fought there.

Answer 1

Look at the author's photo in the book taken after the Okinawa battle: he's utterly devastated, worn out, lifeless--and he's 19 years old.

The most remarkable aspect of his account is its direct honesty with sufficient detail to justify his silence about much else, and worse, that he had to endure. It is one of the most memorable accounts of battle ever written.

Answer 2

I've read it a number of times.  I have also done oral history interviews with men who fought on one or the other (ansd sometimes both!) or those islands.  The men I interviewed, however, were decidedly NOT the old breed.  They were young wartime Marines.  

Peleliu was a nasty fight.  Moreover, there's been a lot of controversy over why the island needed to be taken in the first place.  Proportional to the number of men involved, the fight had the highest casualty rate of any in the Pacific war.

It was hot, (average daytime temps around 115 F) the coral was particularly difficult to move in and live in, the Japanese were very well dug in, and there was virtually no water on the island at all.  It made the fighting especially draining on the men who fought there.  Japanese emplacements on "The Point" were especially hard to deal with, and nearly managed to kill Chesty Puller.  The fifth Marines were able to push to the airfield on the first day but were driven back by enemy tanks (not all that common in the Pacific war).  The battle raged on for over two months, with the 1st Marines eventuially being withdrawn and replaced by the Army's 81st Infantry.

Okinawa was very different, and still pretty horrifying.  At Peleliu, the Japanese defenders hit the landing craft coming in, and fought for every inch of the island.  The Okinawa landings went on almost without a shot fired.  It was the largest amphibious operation of the entire war.  The Japanese defenders choosing to defend good ground inland instead.  There were many more Japanese forces engaged on Okinawa, and the local citizens were pressed into military service.  The Japanese defense was especailly fierce (they considered Okinawa to be home turf), and the battle for Shuri was especially fierce, with hand-to-hand combat breaking out on numerous occassions.  

It's an excellent book.  I strongly recommend it as a narrative overview before further research on primary wource documents.  I would also recommend Henry Berry's "Semper Fi, Mac."

Answer 3

Chances gives a good answer.

Having read for 40 years on the Pacific War, let me add William Manchester's "Goodbye, Darkness" to your list