Pfc. Eugene Sledge

Eugene B. Sledge was born in Mobile, Alabama on November 4, 1923. He was raised by his parents, Edward and Mary, and had an older brother, Edward, Jr., who eventually became a lieutenant in the Army. As a boy, Sledge spent his free time hunting, fishing, and collecting Civil War relics at Spanish Fort, a Civil War battlefield site located on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. His ancestors served as officers in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, and he maintained a strong interest in military history and battles.