I find this interesting, as espirit de corps featured prominently in With The Old Breed. It was far and away the greatest asset to Marines struggling to endure unimaginably hellish circumstances, utterly incomprehensible to those of us fortunate enough not to have been subjected to it.
You may recall the particularly harrowing depictions of the environment in Okinawa during the siege of the Shuri ridge (or was it the preceding defensive line?). Between the incessant artillery and mortar barrage and ever present sniper fire the Marines could not collect their dead. The stench of decomposing bodies and horrific hygienic conditions and mental breakdown over constant bombardment were all terrible, and I find myself viscerally sick trying to conjure the mental picture. But what I found interesting is Sledge's horror at the Marine bodies left rotting in the fields, unable to be retrieved. He had become increasingly numbed to the atrocities and living conditions, but the sight of dead Marines left out there is what almost broke him (I think at one point he talks about recurring nightmares out on the battlefield where the dead rise and stalk towards him).
Over the course of the campaigns Sledge grows increasingly numb to the brutality and carnage around him. But what strikes me is the sheer anguish leaping from the page whenever he talks about see his Marine brothers in harms way and not being able to do anything about it (they are too far away, or particularly tragic when he can't shoot lest he risk hitting his buddies). The overwhelming helplessness, shame, anguish, hatred, disgust. Very few mentions, each in succinct and sparse prose. And yet the emotional impact, trying to put myself in his frame of mind, is devastating. I feel that these experiences of helplessness in the face of mortal peril to his comrades were among the most scarring to him.
It was a disappointment to me too that this did not come across so well in the final production. After reading the memoirs upon which the series is based I rewatched it and found it much more compelling knowing the background, for Sledge in particular.
There were several factors that likely diminished this essential facet of Marine life in the mini-series.
*One is that many of the horrific acts perpetrated by Marines were attributed to unnamed individuals in Leckie's and Sledge's memoirs, so as to not dishonor their memory. Due to the constraints of TV storytelling these had to be ascribed to named characters (SNAFU got hit the hardest I think).
*Two, Leckie and some others who documented their experiences didn't have the same sense of belonging. Leckie was insubordinate, capricious, spent time in the brig and was demoted several times. His view of the officers in particular engendered a more antagonistic perspective than the more sympathetic Sledge
*Three, it's just not possible to fully capture this phenomenon through film (in the context of such vicious prolonged combat). The Marines are haggard and mentally and physically gone much of the time. Overt expressions of comraderie discernable to audiences aren't very realistic. They might not understand how crucial and fundamental the bond of trust between them was to their continued survival (both mental and psychological). The fact that if a Marine went down 4 stretcher bearers and a corpsman would go out and get him, knowing full well that the Japanese wanted to draw them out and kill them, because they had absolute faith that any of their comrades would do the same. I agree the show could've done a better job though.
Back in the real world, Eugene Sledge mentions esprit de corps and how it sustained him and his brethren many times in his memoir. His remarks at the very end say it better than I ever could. I'll let him have the last word.
Then on 15 August 1945 the war ended. We received the news with quiet disbelief coupled with an indescribable sense of relief. We thought the Japanese would never surrender. Many refused to believe it. Sitting in stunned silence, we remembered our dead. So many dead. So many maimed. So many bright futures consigned to the ashes of the past. So many dreams lost in the madness that engulfed us. Except for a few widely scattered shouts of joy, the survivors of the abyss sat hollow-eyed and silent, trying to comprehend a war without war.
....
My happiness knew no bounds when I learned I was slated to ship home. It was time to say goodbye to old buddies in K/3/5. Severing the ties formed in two campaigns was painful. One of America's finest and most famous elite fighting divisions had been my home during a period of most extreme adversity. Up there on the line, with nothing between us and the enemy but space (and precious little of that), we'd forged a bond that time would never erase. We were brothers. I left with a sense of loss and sadness, but K/3/5 will always be a part of me.
....
War is brutish, inglorious and a terrible waste. Combat leave an indelible mark on those who are forced to endure it. The only redeeming factors were my comrades' incredible bravery and their devotion to each other. Marine Corps training taught us to kill efficiently and to try to survive. But it also taught us loyalty to each other - and love. That esprit de corps sustained us.
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