What about the Marines in WWII?

[EGTSpec]

Interesting perspective on the movie. Thanks for sharing. Only those who were there can know what it was really like.

[Sterling Mace]

Mr. Mace,
I also want to offer my gratitude and admiration for your service to our country as a U.S. Marine, fighting in the Pacific in WW II. My Dad was one of you, fighting on Iwo Jima at the young age of only 16. He always said that America was too caught up in the victory in Europe celebrations and the public perception that the real war was about Europe, not the Pacific. The great distance from America and the horrific casualties on small unknown islands, that for a long time was kept from the public, all of this contributed to a lack of interest by many Americans. I too think that the recent series was too politicized by the producers who strayed away from the formula used in Band of Brothers. I look forward to your book being published and plan on reading it.
Semper Fi, Scott

Scott, I don't know too much about films, but from what I understand this Band of Brothers spent a lot of time with the men who actually served, while the one of the Pacific didn't speak to any of the living Marines...and there are quite a few of us, too! That might be a formula you are refering to.

But the Pacific was an entertaining film. A fella can't knock that. But the record can be set straight.

Speaking of "setting the record straight if you read the acknowledgments in the front of Sledge's book, you'll see my name as well as Jim McEnery, Billy Leyden, and Tex Barrow...all of us riflemen, whom Sledge drew stories for his book. We were glad to help a K/3/5 buddy.

Yes, I was misquoted a little. When I said "too much machinegun fire and mortars," I was refering to the film showing Sledge's wave coming in after the first wave (mine). If they were shooting those 50 calibers on the amtrac like that, into the mangrove, they would have been shooting us right in the backs, because we were already into the foliage.

That thing about "can my mother join the mortars." Well, that wasn't what we said to all the mortarmen....that's what was said to one in particular.

But yes, that Peleliu and Okinawa was some rought duty, let me tell you.

And guys, I appreciate all the kind words, but I'm just a Marine like all of you. There's nothing special about me just because I was born earlier and put into the circumstances I was in. The only thing I can say that's different from you and me, however (and you can ask Ray Merrell), is that the Great Depression really helped prepare us for what was going to happen to us at the end of a rifle.

Sterling G. Mace

[SGT7477]

Marines...

I'm not one to bellyache much, but if you've been living with this - as I have - for 66 years, it begins to ache a little in your heart of hearts.

A well meaning kid (from the philippines of all places) sent me a message on my face book today asking me if I knew a Richard Winters. I don't know who he was talking about, and I said as much...so I asked him who this guy is. The kid replied that this fellow was an Army guy, a paratrooper in Easy Company.

So, it dawns on me, this kid is talking about somebody who served in Europe. Okay, fine, kid. So, I informed him that I was in the Pacific, fighting the Japanese. He seemed a little disappointed by this.

Now, when I came home from the war the same older knuckleheads who used to stand on the street corners were still standing there, but this time in their Army uniforms, having returned from n. Africa, Italy, France, etc. I came waltzing up in my Marine uniform, and everyone asked me where I had been. I told them about Peleliu and they didn't know what I was talking about. They had barely heard of Okinawa.

It hurt. I went home and took off my uniform and made a vow that if somebody didn't ask me, I sure as hell wouldn't talk about what I did over there. In 1946 I went to the very first 1st Marine reunion in New York, and I didn't know anybody without their dirty faces, salty dungarees and cracked lips. I never went to another reunion until 2006.

To this day the war in Europe still overshadows what we did on those crappy little islands. I've never been a very prideful man, but dammit, one of these days I hope we get what's coming to us.

Even with that TV show that came out about the Pacific...people still don't talk about the Marines. What happend to the Marines in WWII?

Semper Fi
Sterling G. Mace

Job well done Brother, Semper Fidelis.

[EGTSpec]

The Greatest Generation, so named for a very good reason

You said it Brother.

[m14ed]

Welcome to the site MARINE
SemperFidelis and Welcome Aboard!

I wish you had been here to chat with HobartCobb one
of the many Marines who have paused to share our company
here in leatherneck dot com.
He was one of the fine Marines who also served in the
Pacific, and also did Peleliu .


( http://www.lafollettepress.com/frontpage/marine.html )
click this link from the past

Part of the MarineCorps history he served and some of the events there are in that link taken before he passed a number of years back.
Many of us here also served active duty, even combat duty with Marines who served in WW2 and Korea. Some of us grew up also with them as school teachers
before we entered the Corps. And had many of them as Neighbors and examples of
leadership and CitizenShip as we matured before having become Marines.
Many of us grew up having seen War movies as children and never knew there were mistakes in them, or Libretys of truth taken for telling the story.
There weren't as many veterans of my era as yours. Many of us will agree that
perhaps WW2 was the last time the American Military was given the mission of winning
a conflict.
The American public gave also short shift to the returning Korea Veterans who also deserved better for their service to America.
I'm very proud to have served in Vietnam as a U.S.Marine and humbled by some of the Marines i served with while there. Should I tell you of the bitterness i held for the general American Public for the dis-respect we saw when we returned home ?

I understood the political message in Johnwaynes "TheGreenBerets" .
And laughed inside for some of the Techincal Mistakes too.
Aside from the first half of FullMetalJacket that i thought was a pretty accurate portrail of MarineCorps boot camp, i dont recall anything much worth watching film wise of anything i saw in Vietnam.

The American public now at least seems content with the "PROFESSIONAL MILITARY", but i feel un-comfortable about it. I just cant describe it. I hope you understand my lack of being able to express my feelings, words fail me.


SemperFidelis Marines
Welcome Home Brothers

[hillbillyjar]

Sterling.

It's not much of a nod in the right direction, but... Most of the current game programmers are grandchildren of WW2 Vets, and "Medal of Honor - Rising Sun" is ALL about Marines in the Pacific war.

My Father was one of those Europe Army Vets. He all but disowned me when I joined the Marines.

Popular culture shows, the grandkids actually do care about what you did. They show it in their way.

Semper Fi Marine.

[m14ed]

Welcome to the site MARINE
SemperFidelis and Welcome Aboard!

I wish you had been here to chat with HobartCobb one
of the many Marines who have paused to share our company
here in leatherneck dot com.
He was one of the fine Marines who also served in the
Pacific, and also did Peleliu .


( http://www.lafollettepress.com/frontpage/marine.html )
click this link from the past

SemperFidelis Marines
Welcome Home Brothers

Sorry Brothers, that link seems to have gone to a blank page
so i'll post a link here to leatherneck for those interested
in reference to Hobart Cobb.


http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7576

Sorry about that

[USNAviator]

Sorry Brothers, that link seems to have gone to a blank page
so i'll post a link here to leatherneck for those interested
in reference to Hobart Cobb.


http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7576

Sorry about that

Ed I couldn't get that link to work. But I did find another on here that seems OK

http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/ar...hp/t-7576.html

Thanks for telling us about Mr Cobb

[m14ed]

The irony here ,,,,they may well have known each other.
or at least had friends in common .
Sure would have been ahellofa story and would have liked to
have been a fly on the wall listening to these Salts .
Seems Hobart Cobb also went on to Oki.

Cobb also had a daughter who joined in the chat on occasion
back on THEFEW
Her tag if i remember was "CobbsBrat"

[Sterling Mace]

Ed I couldn't get that link to work. But I did find another on here that seems OK

http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/ar...hp/t-7576.html

Thanks for telling us about Mr Cobb

This was a very good read. Thank you. The 1st Marines were done as a fighting unit very early on Peleliu. It's sad really.

Sterling G. Mace

[crazymjb]

Regardless of how much people "know" about the Pacific, we know you guys saved the U.S. from the enemy that attacked us, and posed the greatest threat to us, directly, and Marines forever will continue to share to the best of our ability your story and your importance. I know at least in my family everyone is familiar with the Pacific campaign, and not from first hand experience but from education, so it certainly isn't lost.

Kids these days are stupid in general, as they always were. Can't help every ungrateful prick learn their history. You can rest easy at night knowing you helped save the world, though, and many others know it too.

Semper Fi

Mike

[ChuckH]

Regardless of how much people "know" about the Pacific, we know you guys saved the U.S. from the enemy that attacked us, and posed the greatest threat to us, directly, and Marines forever will continue to share to the best of our ability your story and your importance. I know at least in my family everyone is familiar with the Pacific campaign, and not from first hand experience but from education, so it certainly isn't lost.

Kids these days are stupid in general, as they always were. Can't help every ungrateful prick learn their history. You can rest easy at night knowing you helped save the world, though, and many others know it too.

Semper Fi

Mike

[Sterling Mace]

Mike,
That's very interesting and it brings up something I touched upon in my book a little.

How do kids view us older vets? Honestly, I don't put much thought into whether they care or not. I know that us winning the war still has tremendous ramifications in the world today; yet I believe it took most of us a long time to see that for ourselves.

Those of us who fought Japan, Germany and Italy couldn't see much more than our current circumstances and how much combat hurt. Coming home I didn't have the feeling that we saved the world. I only had the good feeling that I was alive and that we won. Winning always feels good (and I'm a sore loser) - so having a whole nation infused with that winning feeling was a something else.

The thing is, me and most of my buddies didn't know what Japan and Germany had planned for the rest of the world, and we only had an inkling what they did to China and the Jews. So, in that regard the "big picture" could only be seen as far as I could aim my weapon.

I've killed men. Living, breathing men. And I never felt bad about it either.

On the other hand, I can stand before God and country and state in all truthfulness that I never killed a man with hate in my heart. The only hate was that I'd sure hate for this guy to kill me first!

So, if it took that long for those guys who were there to see what we really did, then those kids today probably don't have a chance. But if a person wants to learn about WWII...? Then I just think it's damned sorry for what we did in the Pacific to always play seconds to what they did in Europe.

Sterling G. Mace

[DRB]

You have my respect sir and I am well aware of what the Marines experienced during World War Two. You just happened to have the misfortune of running into people who are not well educated on World War Two. I know people who are school teachers and they did not know who we even fought during World War Two. Thank you for your service. The greatest generation!

[advanced]

You have my respect sir and I am well aware of what the Marines experienced during World War Two. You just happened to have the misfortune of running into people who are not well educated on World War Two. I know people who are school teachers and they did not know who we even fought during World War Two. Thank you for your service. The greatest generation!

Pretty sharp for an army guy.