[EUGENE BONDURANT SLEDGE] An empathetic 18 years old from Mobile, Alabama, Eugene grew up in an upper middle class Southern Family. Eugene was in his senior year when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, but because of a heart murmur his father, a doctor, would not allow him to join the Marines until late 1943. Sensitive, intelligent, and obedient Eugene served with distinction as a Mortarman during the war, garnering the nickname "Sledgehammer" from his compatriots. Although quiet and innocent, Eugene exhibited a steely determination to do his duty. During the war he kept a secret diary in his Bible which he recorded his observations about combat. Eugene was straightforward, observant, blunt when necessary, respectful and completely without flash or artifice...LEAD
[ROBERT HUGH LECKI] 21 years old. Born in Philadelphia, PA, Robert Leckie grew up in an Irish Catholic middle class suburban New Jersey family. A ferocious intelligence, a thinly disguised poetic soul, and his Irish charm became his saving graces. Sometimes high-strung, even manic depressive (he was later diagnosed as bi-polar), Robert grew up struggling to control his temper and his fists. When the war began Leckie was writing as a sports reporter for the Bergin County Evening News. December 7, 1941 compelled Leckie to join the Marines. His introduction to war occurred on August 7th 1942 when the First Marine Division invaded Guadalcanal. Serving first as a Machine Gunner in H-2-1 and then as a Scout later in the war, "Lucky" as his friends called him, exhibited uncommon courage in combat as well as a deeply ingrained and compulsive distaste for all authority out of combat. The malaria, dysentery and starvation he endured during the war, however, paled in comparison to the progressively deepening existential crisis he experienced in the Pacific...LEAD
[SIDNEY PHILLIPS] 17 years old. (MUST BE LEGAL 18) Sid was Eugene's oldest and best friend. A year younger than Eugene, Sid was from a more middle class family than his friend. They both loved movies, Rudyard Kipling, and playing practical jokes and the drums in the school band. Sid joined the Marines on December 8th and shipped out with Robert Leckie's Company, H-2-1 to Guadalcanal. The youngest member of H Company, he became an 81 mm Mortarman. He lost his innocence on Guadalcanal. Through all the degradations he suffered during the war Sid never lost his sense of humor, his humility, and his deeply rooted religious convictions...LEAD
[JOHN "MANILA" BASILONE] 26 years old. Born in Buffalo, New York to immigrant Italian parents, John Basilone grew up in Raritan, New Jersey. Good looking, easy-going and confident, with a bit of a devil-may-care attitude, he was charismatic, but unconscious about it. John was catnip to women. One of ten children, John's childhood was typical Italian working class. Although uneducated, he was extremely bright. Basilone joined the Army in 1934 - in part to ease the financial burden on his family, and in part to prove that he was a loyal American. While serving in the army he became the Inter-service Lightweight Boxing Champion. Discharged after four years, Basilone worked a variety of jobs. He joined the Marines in February, 1940 because they were "tougher" than the Army. A natural born leader, he was an enlisted man's sergeant, inspiring the men to do their best through example. Basilone was awarded the Medal of Honor for his service on Guadalcanal- the first living enlisted man to do so in the war - John was shipped home to spearhead Bond Tours and other publicity appearances for war morale. Despite being the most famous soldier in America, Basilone grew to hate his fame. He also missed the comraderie and excitement of combat. He finally forced the Marines to send him back to the Fleet in the summer of 1944. While training replacements at Camp Pendleton, John fell in love with a fellow Marine, Lena Riggi. A month after they married he shipped out...LEAD
[CAPTAIN ANDREW "ACK ACK" HALDANE] Sledge's commanding officer. 27 years old. The commander of Kay Company, Haldane, grew up in Lawrence Massachusetts and graduated from Bowdoin College. Highly intelligent, tall, beefy, square-jawed and charismatic, Haldane was universally adored by the men of his Company. Although big and strong, he never exhibited any bluster. Despite being a strict disciplinarian, Haldane never raised his voice and cared for his men in a manner that was unusual, even for the Corps. The war rapidly aged him, perhaps more than other commanders, because of the depth of the compassion he felt for his men...LEAD
[MERRIELL "SNAFU" SHELTON] Early 20s. The shortest man in Kay Company, Merriell grew up in rural Louisiana, spending much of his early years in a Depression CCC camp. Cajun, with a thick gumbo accent and easily riled, Snafu, as he was universally called, was a professional gambler before the war - often times getting caught with a fifth ace up his sleeve. Like thousands of poor depression boys Snafu joined the Marines for the regular food and payments. Although uneducated and unsophisticated, and at first highly suspicious of Sledge because of Eugene's upbringing and education, Snafu grew to respect Eugene, and the two served together until the very end of the war...LEAD
[JOHN PAUL "J.P." MORGAN] 24 years old. A corporal in Basilone's machine gun section on Guadalcanal (later a sergeant), Morgan was squat, blunt, and more prone to use his fists than his mind. Unlike Basilone, Morgan was dark, moody, and perpetually angry. Basilone was the only man Morgan couldn't or wouldn't fight in the Regiment. He was loyal, however, and he and Basilone drank together, chased skirts together and fought Japane
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Hermanos de Sangre 2: The Pacific
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