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The Marine Corps grew to 485,000 Marines during the Second World War.\\xa0 This was twenty-five times larger than it was in 1939.\\xa0 This greatly expanded Corps attacked and captured Japanese held islands across the Central Pacific from 1942 until the war ended in 1945.\\xa0 Each island landing brought the United States closer to invading the Japanese home islands.\\xa0 One Marine that participated in the Pacific campaign was Eugene B. Sledge.\\xa0 He was a mortarman with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines.\\xa0 \\u201cWith the Old Breed\\u201d tells Sledge\\u2019s story of fighting through the battles of Peleliu and Okinawa.