The Old Breed

Iwo Jima was known for one of the most bloody battles in not just the Marine but American history too. The battle began on February 19, 1945 as part of the campaign of the Pacific theatre, and lasted for thirty-six days. Around twenty six-thousand Marines were wounded, which caused Union losses during the battle at Gettysburg. Near the beginning of summer of 1944, American B-29 bombers were ruining the islands. “Iwo Jima proved itself an indispensable asset to the Pacific command.” “Thousands of fighters took off from its runways, and this ‘stepping stone’ served as a staging ground for countless Allied advances.”

Conditions were perfect, sunshine with a little cloud cover the Americans were expecting strong opposition as soon as they touched down on the beaches but there was little opposition to meet them. Weather considerations were minimum, heavy rain was the only key factor in the battle which made the ground muddy and troop movement and resupply at times could become difficult. Okinawa is 60 miles long and 18 miles wide. The terrain in northern Okinawa is extremely mountainous with elevations of 1,000 feet or more usually with steep cliffs associated with them. With such uneven terrain troop movement in the north was very difficult. With poor road conditions vehicle movement was not much better. The southern part of Okinawa where the main part of the fighting took place had a number of different terrain obstacles. Rolling hills, with the majority of this half under cultivation and contained three fourths of the population of the island. The terrain gave the Japanese Army a slight advantage with natural caves and burial tombs that they turned into underground positions. There are more roads in the south due to the increased population but still not suitable for military vehicles.

During boot camp, we were taught about the Battle of Fallujah, but after reading this book, I was able to understand so much better. I was able to picture their tactics, strategies, their emotions, and why the Marines were called the “Greatest Generation.”

My opinion on this book is that it is a great and interesting read that captures the attention of the reader and ties in ideally to our Marine Corps values. It depicts perfectly on what it is to be a warrior whether it is past, present, or future. I think that every Marine should read this book or at least look into the history of the Spartans and their dedication to their way of life and culture of war fighting. I strongly believe the book

“With The Old Breed” begins with the start of the author’s military career. Eugene Sledge was a freshman at Marion Military institute, his family pushing for him to eventually become an officer in the United States Army. But the authors desire to serve his country in battle with the enemy before the war was over was strong enough to make him end his college career and begin anew in the Marine Corps.

10. I believe that every marine should definitely read this book. This book tells about true commitment and courage is about there is a lot to learn from this book. I agree with all the points that the author gave in his writing and think that this book should remain in the commandant’s reading list.

The battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa were two of the most important American operations in the Pacific Theatre against the Empire of Japan during World War Two. The goal of the two operations was to secure strategically important islands close to Japan to use for bombing campaigns. The battles for Iwo Jima(February-March 1945) and Okinawa f(April-June 1945) killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians and helped to win the war for the United States.

I would defiantly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a realistic account of the Marines who fought in the final stages of the Vietnam War. This book is extremely powerful to anyone who knows someone who fought in Vietnam. My uncle was a Corporal who fought in Vietnam so it defiantly hit home for me. James Webb did an amazing job of capturing just how violent and different this conflict was, and makes it personal with his development of the books two protagonist. It is obvious that the events described in this book were directly influenced by Webb 's personal experience as a combat veteran and Marine officer in the Vietnam War. Webb 's credibility is unquestionable due to his experiences and level of realism. This book is a must read if you know any USMC Vietnam veterans, or just want to know more about the Vietnam war. I highly recommend this

There were 26,000 casualties and 6,800 dead Americans at Iwo Jima, with 20,000 casualties and 1083 dead Japanese. (1. "Battle for Iwo Jima, 1945." The Navy Department Library) At Okinawa there were 65,000 American casualties and 14,000 dead, while the Japanese lost 70,000 soldiers out of the 130,000 stationed on Okinawa. (2. "Battle of Okinawa." History.com) The bloodshed from these two battles gave the Americans a taste of the militaristic Japanese, and that a battle for the homeland of Japan would be astronomically worse. The Japanese were prepared to use any means necessary to stop the Americans because of “Yamato Damashii”, which was a virtue of the samurai that went hand in hand with the Bushido code, and it made the Japanese value the country and the emperor above all else, and that fighting to the death was greater than surrender. and it came in the form of Kamikaze attacks, suicide troops, and guerilla warfare. At Okinawa, 193 kamikaze attacks were launched at the Americans damaging 368 ships and destroying 36. (3. "The Battle of Okinawa." History Learning Site) The Japanese were prepared to sacrifice everything they had to destroy American ships and troops. The Japanese also used their own people to fight against the Americans.

I felt that reading All Quiet on the Western Front was an intense book to read. Throughout the course of the book, the many

"Ghost Soldiers" by Hampton Sides is a marvelous novel. It was composed shrewdly well while giving realities and dates that accompany the story. His focuses are depicted from what he saw as it was a true to life book. The points of interest experience the sixth Ranger Battalion going past adversary lines in endeavor to save Americans and British POW's, the camp of numerous U.S. troopers in Japan, the Bataan demise walk, and how they all wanted to get away. It goes to detail on how Japanese warriors carried on through the tormenting of Americans and Philippines, how the Embargo set by the U.S. constrained the Japanese to take extreme measures in infantry.

Once a person dedicates their life to something, everything unknowingly changes. Becoming a marine was more than just a career for Sledge. Sledge definitely changed from the time he went to boot camp until the end of his combat experience in Okinawa. E.B.’s nickname was “Sledgehammer”, it didn’t particularly match his physical appearance though. He was a shy college student, who would not have been expected to enter any type of war scene, but Sledge had in fact chosen this path for himself. Even though his family had begged him to stay in college as long as possible and avoid the dangers of the war scene, he had not only decided to join the Marines, but when he was put into officer training, he intentionally flunked out in order to enlist as a private. His goal was to see combat before the war was over. Sledge begins his memoir admitting, like many men of the other men joining him that he was "prompted by a deep feeling of uneasiness that the war might be over before [he] could get overseas into combat..."(5) so he joined the Marines. This shows that he was a little hesitant about the whole ordeal. Sledge described his feelings as being anxious and on the edge. The book 's most evident theme is the feeling of being of a Marine, what Sledge calls "esprit de corps." Sledge provides many examples throughout the book about how the Marines regularly exposed themselves to fire to retrieve

Okinawa island was subtropical , hot , muggy weather year round causing it difficult to maintain the weapons and gears under such conditions. Physical effects on the soldiers was it increased disease while decreasing operational efficiency by increasing the prevalence of mud preventing any sort of mechanized support.

With the population of adults 65 and over steadily climbing, medical professionals and the healthcare system are struggling to keep up. One major issue concerning the healthcare system is that it is not set up properly provide care for these older adults. The physicians today, who regularly see patients, focus mainly has been; diagnose—usually in a 15-20 minute office visit, treat, and cure. Many of these senior citizens have multiple chronic illnesses or diseases, which require time to manage and treat. The problem is that they may not be able to explain what the real problem to a doctor in that time.

Do you know Okinawa war was so miserable? I did not know what was how miserable until now you did not investigated this. First, why Okinawa was a with the U.S. military. It is, when the U.S. military occupation of Okinawa, because I marine transport route of Japan was thought eliminated. In 1945 March 26,part of Okinawa US army landed on Karema island, western held a tragedy or April 1, it arrived at Okinawa or April 16,the attack stolen Orient airfield on the far east. They invaded Naha on 22nd and was almost occupied on 27th. On May 29, they invade Shuri castle. Epidemics called malaria were popular without enough food, and medicine. When they rebuilt a school, the United States armed forces government was earnest because they prohibited