With the Old Breed

Sledge and other survivors board a ship, the Sea Runner, and are immediately depressed to see how few of their friends remain. Pavuvu, part of the Solomon Islands, looks like an appealing sight after the fighting at Peleliu. Sledge is shocked to find a Red Cross woman giving out juice and grapefruit there. K Company is praised by Sergeant David P. Bailey for their hard fighting. The men spend Christmas in a palm-thatched regimental chapel and have roast turkey. With warm beer and song, they celebrate New Year’s Eve.

Later, Sledge is called to report for an interview for an officer’s position, one that has the potential to move him out of imminent danger. During the interview, however, Sledge admits that he would not be able to command other men to fight in a battle in which he knew they would be killed. His friends tease him about botching the interview but Sledge insists he simply wants to be the best mortarman that he can.

Hepatitis breaks out among the troops and Sledge comes down with a serious enough case to take on lighter tasks. Drafted Marines begin arriving, causing some tension between those who enlisted and those who were conscripted. The mortar section acquires a new leader, Mac, who is given to boasting about how bravely he intends to face the Japanese. After enduring a series of vaccinations, the troops shove off to their next fight, Okinawa.

Before being sent over to Okinawa, the troops engage in tactical drills at Guadalcanal, a large base near a Naval construction battalion. Guadalcanal, like Pavuvu, is part of the Solomon Islands, a chain of islands northeast of Australia. Upon realizing that the midshipmen have better chow, many Marines begin getting in the Navy chow line and enjoying their rations. Sledge notes appreciatively that the “Seabees” knew that the Marines were slipping in their chow lines and instead of kicking them out offered them good food and treatment.

Sledge’s division is assigned to regimental reserve at Okinawa, having served in the assault wave at Peleliu. The sea is rough and K Company’s shallow draft boat is almost cut off from the rest of the transport going to Okinawa. They wait at Ulithi, an atoll in the Caroline Islands, to be briefed about their upcoming battle. Finally, they are told to move in off the beach as quickly as possible. Before dawn, the troops are fed steak and eggs. They hear Japanese planes overhead and are almost relieved to exit the ship when the moment comes, rather than being hit from the sky.

Though Sledge expects a scene similar to Peleliu, their landing at Okinawa is unopposed. No Japanese fire is immediately directed against them. They dig in for the night, nearby to a well-tended Okinawan farmhouse. They go over to explore. While still waiting for and expecting imminent attack, the troops instead encounter elderly Okinawans and a nursing mother with two young children. They pass villages and farms while led by Mac, who repeatedly makes a big show of shooting the jaws off of long-dead animals. Sledge is disgusted when Mac repeatedly uses the mouths of dead Japanese corpses as toilets to urinate into.

Japanese fighter planes pass overhead and are chased away by Marine corsairs. The troops learn of the death of FDR and are saddened. They wonder how Truman will handle the war. Upon being told that it is time to move out, to gather rations and ammo, Sledge takes a moment to enjoy the final cup of fireside coffee from this brief time of peace. It is only spoiled by Mac, who tosses a grenade primer cap as a joke and almost injures others in the process. Fragments zip past Sledge’s leg, almost granting him a “million dollar wound.”