Transcript
Jocko Willink (0:00)
This is Jocko, podcast number 491 with Dave Burke and me, Jocko Willink. Good evening, Dave.
Dave Burke (0:04)
Good evening.
Jocko Willink (0:07)
In the early morning light, word was passed that they had to move out and attack across the airfield. Quote, many of us had no water and ammunition supplies were low. We hoped supplies would come up before the attack. We were thirsty and we could not go much longer without water. A concentration of heavy machine gun fire swept over their gun pit. First, I distinctly heard three separate shots. Crack, crack, crack. As the bullets passed over, quickly followed by the report of the gun. That's a Hotchkiss, said Snafu, as we ducked our heads. No sooner had he uttered the remark than the gun fired a long burst and tracers streaked over us and the slugs cracked as they went over not more than a foot above ground level. Whether those Japanese heavy machine gunners were laying down harassing fire supporting another counterattack, or whether they actually observed our position by the muzzle flashes from our mortar or sauced by the light of the star shells, we couldn't know. End quote. My father knew that as soon as this machine gun fire ended, they were going to have to prepare to attack across the airfield. The thought of this filled him and all the Marines who would have to do it with dread. And that right there is an excerpt from a new book. The new book is called the Old Breed the Complete Story Revealed and is written by a man named W. Henry Sledge. And if the name Sledge rings a bell, it should. Henry Sledge is the son of the legendary Marine Eugene Sledge Sledgehammer, a mortar man from 35 Marines who fought the battles at Pelelu and Okinawa, which were some of the most brutal, savage and bloody warfare in history. Thousands of men were killed. Tens of thousands were wounded. The Japanese Imperial Armored army did not believe in surrender, so they fought to the death. And the Japanese rarely took prisoners. They executed our troops and mutilated their bodies. And in the face of that horror, some of our troops escalated their ferocity as well. And some committed acts that were outside the bounds of what is considered acceptable behavior by civilized society. And yet, through all that, Eugene Sledge, son of a doctor from a good family, fought with tenacity, yet he maintained his humanity. And he wrote about his experiences in combat in a book called with the Old Breed at Peleliu, an Okinawa book lauded by some as the best memoir of World War II and some as the best memoir of war ever written. It was one of the first books that we covered on this podcast, and that book is One of the books used as the basis for the incredible HBO series called the Pacific, which I always explain to me is the best movie about war. Eugene Sledge also wrote a book called China Marine. And this was a book that was about the time after the fighting had ceased, where he served in post war China and then his return home to Alabama and the challenges of reintegrating with his family, with his friends, with civilian life. And we covered that book on podcast 82. So Eugene Sledge passed on many lessons before he died in 2001, but there are more lessons to learn. There are more experiences to share. And in this new book, the Old Breed, the complete Story revealed, his son Henry has assembled notes from his experiences with his father and sections from drafts that did not make it into the final version of the book with the Old Breed. And these experiences, these conversations, these memories of Henry's father give us a better understanding of war, of leadership, and truly of life. And it is an absolute honor to have Henry Sledge here with us tonight to discuss his new book and discuss his father, Eugene Sledgehammer. Sledge. Henry, thank you so much for joining us. It's an honor to have you here.