Eugene Bondurant Sledge was a distinguished United States Marine, university professor, and author. He was born on November 4, 1923, and passed away on March 3, 2001. His acclaimed 1981 memoir, With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa, provides a vivid account of his combat experiences during World War II.

This memoir gained significant attention and was utilized as source material for various productions, including Ken Burns's PBS documentary, The War (2007), and the HBO miniseries The Pacific (2010), where his character was portrayed by Joseph Mazzello.