HENRY CONTINUES EUGENE'S BOOK

HENRY CONTINUES EUGENE'S BOOK

By Andy Weddington

Monday, 23 June 2025

I do not believe I could have built FedEx without the skills I learned from the Marine Corps.  - Frederick W. Smith

Henry's book was published this year. 

I finished it last week; in 3 or 4 evenings.  

Eugene's book was published in 1981. 

I have finished it a handful of times; most recently, 3 or 4 years ago. 

Eugene was a Marine.

Henry is not a Marine but the son of a Marine.

All of that to say ... 

Henry is Eugene's son. 

Their books, 44 years apart, address Eugene's fighting as infantryman (60mm mortars) in the South Pacific on Peleliu and Okinawa during World War II.

Henry's book is the clever complement of his father's original material that did not survive edit of - With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa - and his memories of being raised by a combat hardened father.

After each reading of Eugene's book conclusion the same: I cannot imagine what those Marines faced and in the end, conquered. But all did not survive; Peleliu and Okinawa being brutal combat - sometimes up close and personal. 

After reading Henry's book conclusion the same plus I cannot imagine what it was like to be raised by a father who survived those horrors. 

Only last July 4th weekend, while searching for family in the old cemetery in China Grove, NC did I learn, through later research, of a cousin who was a young Marine PFC during World War II fighting in the South Pacific. [A request to government for service records returned noting said records destroyed in a fire. I'm still hunting.] 

He survived the war living to age 78 (died in 1995 and interred in Riverside National Cemetery). 

His father, a Merchant Marine and my great uncle, died in combat during World War II - lost at sea after his ship 'SS Oneida' was attacked and sunk by U-Boat 166 on 13 July 1942 off the coast of Cuba. [There's memorial headstone in the China Grove cemetery.]

The service of these men was not, ever, talked about - for some strange reason not to be understood. 

But I mention them as while reading Henry's book I was, page-by-page, haunted by the thought of my cousin possibly serving with if not knowing Eugene. 

What are the odds?

Unlikely, of course, considering the numbers of Marines, but possible. 

Eugene Sledge, "Sledgehammer" to brother Marines, wrote what is considered a classic. If not yet, read.

Henry Sledge, Sledgehammer's son, wrote a wonderful continuation of his father's classic that, to me, seems destined for classic status. 

If not yet, read (after his father's): The Old Breed - The Complete Story Revealed (A Father, A Son, and How WWII in the Pacific Shaped Their Lives)

Still, I cannot imagine what Eugene did and all that he passed along to his son, Henry; through thought, word, and deed.

I never met Sledgehammer. Regrettable. 

Perhaps, one of these days, Henry. 

Alas, my good fortune in life - high honor and privilege indeed - is for the past 45+ years to be called "Marine"; there's not words to describe. 

Post Script: Fred Smith, founder and longtime Chief Executive of Federal Express (shortened to FedEx) died a couple days ago. Mr. Smith was 80. He was a Marine - infantryman and forward air controller (FAC) in Vietnam. Ironically, First Lieutenant Smith commanded Kilo Company 3rd Battalion 5th Marines (K 3/5) - the same outfit Eugene Sledge served in during WWII. For heroism in combat, Lieutenant Smith was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart twice. He left the Marine Corps as Captain and started his company a few years later. Rest in Peace, Marine. Semper Fidelis.