I highly recommend "With the Old Breed" by Eugene Sledge. The book was in part adapted by the mini series "The Pacific". The book details Sledge's time in the marines from when he signed up, to the battle of Peleliu and the battle of Okinawa.
One of the things that struck me about the book was how genuine Sledge seemed to tell his story. He didn't exaggerate or try to make him and his buddies out to be heroes, he simply told his story how it was. I got the sense that he didn't really want to publish this story, but he felt an obligation to do so. Which makes it more impactful because there are plenty of moments in the book where he describes something truly horrid or insane and you believe him.
I've read a review of that book, said it was quite excellent. Peleliu was a literal nightmare for all concerned. Did the US Army learn from their many mistakes? A little bit :/ But repeated others over and over. (Mostly their overconfidence in neutralizing Japanese defenses with aerial and naval bombardment.)
I highly recommend "With the Old Breed" by Eugene Sledge. The book was in part adapted by the mini series "The Pacific". The book details Sledge's time in the marines from when he signed up, to the battle of Peleliu and the battle of Okinawa.
One of the things that struck me about the book was how genuine Sledge seemed to tell his story. He didn't exaggerate or try to make him and his buddies out to be heroes, he simply told his story how it was. I got the sense that he didn't really want to publish this story, but he felt an obligation to do so. Which makes it more impactful because there are plenty of moments in the book where he describes something truly horrid or insane and you believe him.
I read Sledge's book and Helmet For My Pillow back to back and the differences are quite stark.
The latter is a book about Marines at war, the former is a memoir of a young man going to war, surviving combat, and dealing with returning home.
I've read a review of that book, said it was quite excellent. Peleliu was a literal nightmare for all concerned. Did the US Army learn from their many mistakes? A little bit :/ But repeated others over and over. (Mostly their overconfidence in neutralizing Japanese defenses with aerial and naval bombardment.)