His recollections of Peleliu after the fact were

remarkable. His son said during the war that nobody was allowed to keep a diary. Sledge used a bible and when his son was interviewed, he showed his father's bible and some of the notations he placed in the margins. Then, after the war, he began to write his memoirs/experiences. Pretty great stuff by the way.

My father-in-law was a little different, since after each flight, they had to keep a flight log and enter any relevant facts into the flight log. He was able to keep that after the war and I've read it. He kept meticulous notes on each flight and engagement or battle (air or land bombings).

Nearly everything he ever talked about was how boring it was to fly over miles and miles of sea in search of Japanese ships....how a Corsair didn't have a floor (their feet dangled) and how on occasion, he would see a guy flying upside down.....for example his cigarettes had fallen to the bottom of the plane and he wanted a smoke......I guess they did that back then while flying. Anyway, the guy would flip the plane upside down and he'd pick his pack of smokes off the canopy.

His log book was full of examples of meeting up with Japanese Zeroes or making bombing runs, but the only time he ever spoke of the war in a serious/sad/melancholy tone was when he described the Battle of Peleliu. I think it really hit home for him how many guys died. He never mentioned his own safety, or how worried he was for his own life.....I think he thought he was invincible in that damn Corsair.