The Pacific – Letters from the Homefront

by Ivey West

Sledge's letter from home was, ironically, the more profound of the two. The loss of a pet can surely be a devastating thing, but you'd think it would have a different impact on one living through the hells of war.

The Battle of Okinawa seems to take just as much a toll our our Marines than other, seemingly more horrific conflicts. It is sometimes difficult to believe that in the worst imaginable moments, the mail will occasionally come through. This week we saw both Eugene Sledge and Hamm recieve post from home, and see how their lives at war are impacted by their lives at home.

Sledge’s letter from home was, ironically, the more profound of the two. The loss of a pet can surely be a devastating thing, but you’d think it would have a different impact on one living through the hells of war. Yet Sledge was thoroughly devastated, despite how well he hid it. SNAFU continues his role of Sledge’s protector by talking to him about his dog without actually talking about his dog, and continued to keep him sane (as much as anyone could be in that situation). I assume one idealizes home when at war, such that when a piece of that dies, the dream dies a little too.

Hamm’s letter related a little more closely to the story at hand. Time and time again we’ve seen pieces of stories about the never-quit persona of the Japanese solider during our island trek. To read that your brother and 500 other sailors were easily killed at the hands of two men who had no option to back down, though, brings that story to the forefront in the eyes of our Marines. SNAFU’s sarcasm is contrasted by Sledge’s now complete loss of innocence. Fortunately for the rest of the Marines, Sledge will not get his wish, as the horrible decision to use two A-Bombs on mainland Japan probably saved countless lives despite the devastation that they created.

The war is finally over for our Marines. As we move into next week’s finale, we reconnect back with characters that we’d lost. I’m excited to see what has happened to Leckie while we followed Basilone and Sledge’s stories more closely. As a child of the ’80s, it seems to me that popular culture has more closely followed the challenges of warriors coming back from Vietnam and other more recent conflicts, and has implied that it was much easier for the men and women who fought World War II. If there is anything that The Pacific has taught us, it was that this war was just as much hell as any other. I look forward to seeing the story of Sledge’s reintroduction into normal life, more so than his story that we’ve followed these past weeks.

Notes & Quotes

I know it goes without saying, but that was a lot of damn mud.
Hamm jumping up to grab Sledge from helping Bill was a surprise, especially when Hamm gets it later for the same thing.