Sledge letter to Maj. Stephen P. Folan, 8-3-1988
Eugene B. Sledge wrote this letter to Stephen P. Folan on August 3, 1988. He wrote the letter following up on a conversation the two had at Quantico. In it, Sledge recommended some memoirs by combat veterans and talked about his reasons for writing his own memoir of combat experience with the U.S. M...
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| Format: | Electronic |
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Auburn University Libraries
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| Online Access: | http://content.lib.auburn.edu/u?/ebsledge,125 |
| Summary: | Eugene B. Sledge wrote this letter to Stephen P. Folan on August 3, 1988. He wrote the letter following up on a conversation the two had at Quantico. In it, Sledge recommended some memoirs by combat veterans and talked about his reasons for writing his own memoir of combat experience with the U.S. Marine Corps in the Pacific in World War II. Sledge's memoir was published under the title With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa. Sledge lamented the lack of books from all wars dealing realistically with front-line combat and the large number of works which he considered more fiction than fact. He said he realized while in the midst of battle on Peleliu that history was being made but it would probably be recorded from the perspective of someone in a command post. Sledge worried even at the time that the official histories would not describe what he actually went through and felt that the after action reports proved his fears correct. Sledge's desire to someday give an accurate account led him to make notes on the sly at the time since diaries were forbidden. These notes later formed the basis for With the Old Breed. |
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