Elton E. Mackin
Suddenly We Didn’t Want To Die: Memoirs of a World War I Marine (1993)
Author: Elton E. Mackin
Genre: Non-fiction (History/Memoir)
Book Summary:
Mackin recounts his experiences with the war, beginning with his first battle at Belleau Wood and ending with Armistice Day. In a series of vignettes, he describes both the larger picture of the war and the smaller everyday occurrences. Mackin observes the changes in himself and his comrades over time, as they gain experience in battle. Eventually, he becomes a message runner; since he must run between command posts and guide raiding parties, his life expectancy is lower than that of a normal soldier. He and three other runner friends are lucky and survive many missions. However, their luck cannot hold out, and one by one, Mackin’s friends die. With each battle, the ranks of the regiment are replenished with new and inexperienced soldiers. Mackin draws comparisons between his beginning and theirs. Deprivations and hunger, as well as camaraderie and callousness, are woven into his account. With the discussion of armistice, he reflects on the resignation and bitterness of the experienced troops, who do not believe that the war will end or that they will live to return home.
Geographical Setting: North and Eastern France
Time Period: June 7, 1918-November 11, 1918 (Armistice)
Appeal Characteristics:
Mackin uses a spare, simple writing style to describe his experiences in the last year of World War I. Like Remarque, he meditates upon the changes, mostly irrevocable, that warfare has made on his comrades. Unlike Remarque, Mackin does not choose a pacifist tone; he merely records the events, horrific, humorous, and tender that he observes and experiences. In a somewhat odd decision, he refers to himself in the third person. It is not clear if he uses this to distance himself from the events, or if he intends some other purpose. The work was published some years after his death, from his manuscript and taped interviews. George B. Clark provides an introduction and footnotes; while the introduction places the account in time and place, the footnotes often break up the flow of the narrative with extraneous information.
Similar Authors: Ernst Jünger, Erich Maria Remarque
Red Flags: Some language; some sexual references; descriptions of battle, fighting, wounds, and deaths.
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