[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 145 (Thursday, September 27, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2004]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


 COMMENDING EUGENE SLEDGE, OF MOBILE, ALABAMA, FOR HIS SERVICE DURING 
                              WORLD WAR II

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 27, 2007

  Mr. BONNER. Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise today to 
recognize the late Dr. Eugene Sledge of Mobile, Alabama, for his 
courageous service during World War II.
  After graduating from Mobile's Murphy High School, he entered Marion 
Military Institute to study to become an officer. However, as just a 
freshman, he signed on as a private in the Marines in order not to miss 
an opportunity at combat.
  Private First Class Sledge was assigned to the 1st Marine Division. 
He trained as a mortarman and fought on Peleliu in September of 1944 
and on Okinawa in the spring of 1945. Throughout these months, he kept 
a journal of his impressions of the fighting, keeping the notes between 
the pages of his Bible. These notes later became his memoir, With the 
Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa, which he published in 1981. Ken 
Burns, who recently produced the PBS documentary series ``The War,'' 
relied heavily on this memoir. His memoir will also form the basis for 
the HBO series ``The Pacific,'' the successor to ``Band of Brothers.''
  At the end of the war, Corporal Sledge returned to Alabama where he 
earned both a bachelor of science and a master of science from Alabama 
Polytechnic Institute, now Auburn University. He earned his doctorate 
at the University of Florida and became assistant professor of biology 
at Alabama College, now the University of Montevallo. In 1970, Dr. 
Sledge was named a professor in the Department of Biology at the 
University of Montevallo, a position he held until his retirement in 
1990.
  Dr. Sledge passed away in 2001 before his second memoir, China 
Marine: An Infantryman's Life after World War II, was published.
  Madam Speaker, the recognition of Dr. Eugene Sledge in ``The War'' 
documentary is an appropriate time for us to pause and thank him--and 
all of the soldiers who fought in World War II. His life and actions 
personified the very best America has to offer. I urge my colleagues to 
take a moment to pay tribute to the life of Dr. Sledge and his selfless 
devotion to our country and the freedom we enjoy. I also extend my 
thanks to his family for sharing the story of his courageous life with 
all of us.

                          ____________________