Entry 5: Peggy Terry and E.B. Sledge

Peggy Terry and E.B. Sledge show two completely different memories of World War II. Peggy Terry, an American originally from Paducah, Kentucky shares her memories from the war. At the time of the war, all she worried about was working to stay alive. She said that the war benefited her in that she had more job opportunities. Terry never thought of the meaning for the work that she was doing. “It didn’t occur to us that we were making these shells to kill people. It never entered my head” (190). It amazes me how at the time, on the other side of the world, thousands of Americans were being killed. However, all Terry and many others staying in the U.S. worried about was making a living. E.B. Sledge, a front line soldier at the time of the war, shared his memories of the war. His memories were a little more brutal than Terry’s. He stated, “A matter of simple survival. The only way you could get over it was to kill them off before they killed you. The war I knew was totally savage” (197). While some people were fighting to make a living in the U.S. at the time, soldiers were fighting for their lives. Sledge had to wake up every day knowing that he could die that day. In America at the time, Peggy Terry woke up every day not even knowing that she was making shells that soldiers would use to kill people. It’s very interesting to see two completely opposite memories from the war.