Eugene Sledge (1923-2001) died peacefully at the age of 77 on March 3, 2001. A native of Mobile, Alabama, he was an alumnus and professor emeritus at the University of Montevallo. During his career, Eugene Sledge was a decorated and renowned war veteran, having served in the United States Marine Corps in the Pacific during World War II. He was noted for his 1962 memoir, With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa. This memoir was drawn from Sledge's wartime diaries and became an acclaimed historical account of combat during World War II. Although his writing career only spanned his autobiography and two books of poetry, Sledge was highly respected in the academic community for his expertise on the history of the war in the Pacific. He was an integral part of the college's history department and was instrumental in the creation of the combatants study group at Montevallo. During his life, Eugene Sledge received numerous awards for his service and contributions, including the Presidential Award of the National Society of New England Women. He had a sense of humor and loved to entertain family and friends. Sledge was predeceased by his father and is survived by his mother, two children, and four grandchildren.