E.B. Sledge “Sledgehammer”
The narrator of this memoir is, of course—by definition—the author. In the grand tradition of war stories, he receives a rather inappropriate nickname, “Sledgehammer.” The book starts out with the teenager yearning to become part of World War II so quickly that he drops out of officer trading school in order to enlist so he doesn’t miss two years of fighting. By the end, he comes to realize that patriotism is not synonymous with jingoistic, war-glorifying.
Cpl. Doherty
Another grand tradition in the story of turning innocent young men into killing machines to send off to the war is fascistic boot camp drill instructor. Cpl. Doherty proves the stereotype has a reason for existing: he is cruel, violent, and seems to take a certain joy in humiliating the recruits. Unlike Pyle in Full Metal Jacket, however, (or even Joker or Cowboy, for that matter), Sledge eventually comes around to a full understanding and even appreciation for the tactics Doherty uses to instill discipline and toughness during training camp. By the end of his tour of duty, Sledge is ready to admit that men like Doherty made the difference between not just survival and death for many soldiers, but between madness and sanity.
Cpl. Merriel Shelton, “Snafu”
In the foxhole, it is the more experienced soldier also known by his inappropriate nickname whom the author comes to trust and who also shares some of the responsibility for Sledge making it through the war alive and sane. Sledge makes a conscious decision to stay under the wing of Shelton because he is reliable in combat, respect by his comrades and willing to exhibit the sense of humanity that comes with occasional displays of defiance. That characteristic is manifested as pugnacious individualism to side and a quick of mortar rounds in the presence of snipers from the other side.
Capt. Andrew Haldane, “Ack Ack”
Sledge informs the author well before he gets around to any description of Ack Ack that Bowdoin College confers an honor upon the senior who exhibits qualities of leadership far above the norm every year with a presentation of the Haldane Cup. From that point forward, the description of the Commanding Officer of Commander K at every instance fulfills the expectation of the man Sledge calls “the finest and most popular officer I ever knew.” The portrait of Haldane as a men among men only grows as the result of his unexpected death in battle from which the company never quite recovers emotionally.
Mac
It is probably telling that Mac is known simply as Mac. Is it his real name or a nickname? Is it a shortening of his first name or his last name? Who knows? If Sledge does, he’s not making any big deal of it as Mac is simply known as Mac and just as every war story needs a fascist DI and a dependable buddy in the foxhole and that heroic officer, so does it need the guy everybody avoids. It is amazing how often this figure is the highly educated guy who maybe comes from a privileged background and though Mac’s name is not known, it is known he hail from New England and attended an Ivy League school. The stereotype ends there, however, as Mac proves to be the very opposite of the privileged little snot that ultimately blends in and becomes a regular guy. Mac cluelessly boastful in predicting his own heroics, reckless and incompetent as a soldier and—most repugnant to Sledge—routinely commits atrocities upon the corpses of Japanese soldiers. There is a character with the nickname “Hillbilly.” If the nicknames which these men gave each other were based upon realistic manifestations of stereotypical character traits, that nickname would have been applied to the Yankee with the Ivy pedigree instead of another tragically heroic officer.
