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China Marine: An Infantryman's Life after World War II

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E. B. Sledge's "With the Old Breed" is by common consent one of the finest -- if not the finest -- account of the life of a combat infantryman in World War II. At Pelieu and Okinawa, Sledge was one of only 10 men in his Marine company of 240 to escape being wounded or killed. "China Marine" is the follow-up to "With the Old Breed," a lesser work but one that tells of what happened to Sledge after the war.

With Sledge's experience, one would have thought that he would have been among the first among the military to be demobilized after the end of the war with Japan -- but no, he and his colleagues were sent to China to disarm the Japanese soldiers there and to maintain order in several northern Chinese cities. This is Sledge's account of the six months he spent in China. His view is that of a Private First Class -- but an educated and sophisticated PFC, the son of a medical doctor from Mobile, Alabama, and an outstanding writer. He delighted in Peking, fresh food, a clean bunk, light duties, and friendship with the sophisticated Soong family -- but the danger from attack by communist armies was always there.

Sledge goes on to tell of the trauma of his discharge from the Marines and homecoming to Mobile and, briefly, his long years of struggle with what we call today Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It's a small book, only 160 pages, and an interesting, beautifully written, account of the decompression of a combat soldier and his return home.

Sledge died in 2001 but he was often quoted in Ken Burn's recent PBS series on World War II. Sledge is a true American hero.

Smallchief

China Marine: An Infantryman's Life After World War II is the powerful World War II memoir of E. B. Sledge and the sequel to his "With The Old Breed: At Peleliu And Okinawa". Sledge is a veteran of the physical and psychological scars of war, and this former Marine narrates the end of the old China and the rise of the Communist state through the eyes of someone who was there and saw it all. Sledge also presents the troubles of having to adapt to civilian life when the era of combat had faded. A moving true story of balancing life with the immense demands of nobly serving one's country, China Marine is a welcome and recommended contribution to the growing library of World War II era biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs.

China Marine Gene Sledge is an old friend although I've never met him. Any book by him is more than worth the few dollars it would take to own it. Most Americans have no knowledge of the fact that immediately following WW II 60,000 U. S. Marines were sent into North China. Their real purpose was to keep that area from falling into the hands of Mao Tse Tsung's 8th Route Army when the Japanese withdrew. We Marines were to fill the gap, and then turn this critical ground that contained much of the coal available in China. The Russians raised hell in the UN about the US not repatriating the Jap troops to their mainland. The US objective was to maintain them in place as additional insurance in order to keep Mao's ChiComs in Manchuria the caves of Yemen where they had been kept in check by the Japs during WW II. With pressure from the UN, the last of the Japs and Koreans were sent home by about June of 1946, leaving a dwindling number of Marines to literally "hold the fort." Essentially, this is what Sledge writes about. Imagine to have survived the battles for Peleliu and Okinawa only to be sent to North China where too many Marines were to be killed. Sledge, because of his time overseas, was able to leave China early in '46, as I recall. Those of us who had arrived late to the Pacific Theater during WW II would remain guarding the railroads and bridges that moved the coal. And so, you say: "How come I haven't read anything about this? It was not mentioned in my History classes in high school or college."
I have a story on my web site that may interest you: http://www.sullyusmc.com/Hsin%20Ho/Hsin%20Ho.htm This story concerns one incident that occurred in April, 1947, shortly before the Marines were withdrawn from that area by our State Department. In my case I ended up in Tsingtao on the Shantung Peninsula, until 25Sep48 when I was commissioned a 2dLt and ordered stateside. Within a few months of my leaving China Chiang Kai Shek and his Kuomingtao withdrew to Formosa (Taiwan). My old regiment, the 5th Marines, oversaw the withdrawal of US and other civilians from Shanghai in early '49, and China was from that time under the control of Mao and the Chicoms. I and many other Marines saw a great deal of the latter when they intervened in the Korean War in November/December '50. We Marines were in and around the Chosin Reservoir. The US public knows little of the Korean War, but most at least connect the term Chosin Reservoir to that conflict.
http://www.sullyusmc.com

After WWII and the follow-on duty in China, the author decided to enroll at Auburn University. The female from the Registrar's Office "slammed her pencil on the table and said in a loud, exasperated voice, 'Didn't the Marine Corps teach you anything?' A gasp ran through the crowd, and you could have heard a pin drop."

Veteran Marine Sledge said in a loud, calm voice: "Lady, there was a killing war. The Marine Corps taught me how to kill Japs and try to survive. Now, if that don't fit into any academic course, I'm sorry. But some of us had to do the killing -- and most of my buddies got killed or wounded."

On the last page, the author writes a powerful, thought-provoking message for the great mass of spoiled Americans (94% today are not vets) who never served. He reminds them that the Japanese soldier was "imbued with the Code of Bushido (Code of the Warrier) and yamata damashii (the fighting power of Japan). If we had not defeated an army that thought it was unbeatable, who knows how many American cities might have shared the horrid Rape of Nanking."

This book was the real ending for E.B. Sledge's book "With the old Breed". It described his units involvement in China after the war and his return home, obtaining his education, marriage,children and career. It was interesting, but not as captivating as his first book. But it did bring everything to a conclusion for the reader. I do recommend it for all fans of his first book "With the old Breed".

I put off reading this work by E.B. Sledge for a a long time. I had read "With the Old Breed" a number of years ago and gave it a reread more recently. In my opinion, and the opinion of many, many others, `Old Breed" is the best firsthand account of combat experience by an enlisted man ever written. It deals with the battle at Pelieu and Okinawa; both battles of which the author survived...one of only 10 men that made it out of 240. I will admit though that Sledge's first book was a traumatic reading experience. On one hand I did not want to put myself through that again, but on the other hand, I was fascinated that a man could survive this ordeal and, to be quite frank, ever be whole again. I actually worried about this very, very brave man and what became of him.

This work, China Marine, begins where "Old Breed" ends. After Japan surrendered, E.B. Sledge was sent to Northern China in order to keep the peace there during the transition after the long Japanese occupation. The majority of the book covers this period of his life; records his experiences and observations and shares with us how he begins the healing process. A goodly portion of the book gives his account of his returning to civilian life; the adjustments and the mental process he went through.

The reader should note that if he or she is looking for a blood and guts combat account, then they should look elsewhere. That is not the purpose of this work. No, this is the personal story of a man whose entire world was changed and who lived through an ordeal that was with him through the rest of his life. It is a rather sensitive story and a story that most certainly should have been told.

Two years ago a dear friend of mine died. He too survived Pelieu, where he was wounded but went on to fight in Okinawa where he received very grave wounds and was eventually evacuated. I knew my friend well; knew him for many years. He was one of the finest men I ever known. We talked of many things and were quite close. Still and all there were doors that he would never open; things he would never shard. I honestly feel that it was not a lack of wanting to talk, but rather a complete inability to do so. His wife has told me many times that his experiences on those two islands were with him everyday of his life until the day he died. This is quite typical and many, many men were like my friend. I am so grateful that we had people like E.B. Sledge who were able to give voice for so many.

Professor Sledge died in 2001. He was indeed a rare breed; an old breed and we owe him and his comrades so very, very much.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

Let me explain before you hit the 'no' button. I agree this is an excellent edition, very sturdy as soft cover books go. In fact I bought it for one of my sons. But for my own serious reading I bought the hardcover edition linked here: China Marine.

Sledge's books draw the reader to read them over many times, underline, hyper-extend the back, write marginal notes and dog-ear the pages. So go ahead and pay a few more dollars for the hard cover edition. If you do wimp out and buy this one first just read it once and give it away to someone you love so you can justify buying the other version. In eight or ten years you'll thank me, especially if prices keep going up for the original hardback editions of these military classics.

When "With the Old Breed" ends you do not know the entire story. This volume fills that gap and does so very well. It is written in the same style that is direct and concise. I think many civilians thought that when WWII was over the troops just came home and all was well. It was not so. Many had further duty and had a rough time of it on return to the States. Almost all became exemplary citizens again despite their hardships. This book puts that all in perspective.
Larry Martin
Gainesville, FL

This excellent book puts closure to Eugene Sledge's horrific experiences at Peliliu and Okinawa as his unit is sent to China right after the war. Filled with interesting observations of daily life and misery there, Sledge puts a very human side to the story of war blending his own misery and those of the buddies with him. This short book puts closure to his own terrors, the close combat experiences and the loss of many of his friends in the Marines. An top notch follow up to his classic 'With the Old Breed', Mr Sledge (sadly passed on in 2001) enriches our lives with his words of courage, suffering, heart-pounding fear and the simple joys of life 'clean socks, clean feet and a clean bed'. Compelling and colorful this is a must read after his first book. You won't forget it.

A fine book on a marine in the process of occupation duty clearly a true standout to the thousands of marine corps memoirs, and on a personal note E.B. Sledge isn't dead I am watching him on the t.v., on the show 'D-day's in the South Pacific'. This is a fine book and really worth reading, even though i personally felt he should have made sergeant and at least received a bronze star though he felt being there was enough. I personally thank all the men who fought and died for our freedom in any war, for any cause.