Real-life heroes HBO miniseries details story of area resident
The upcoming miniseries The Pacific, produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, takes a very close and very real look at the lives of the men who fought bravely and selflessly in a number of battles in the Pacific.The Pacific is an epic 10-part miniseries on HBO, tracking the real-life stories of three U.S. Marines, Robert Leckie, John Basilone and Eugene Sledge, as they canvassed the Pacific Theater during World War II.
From the trenches of Guadacanal, to the strongholds at Peleliu, to the sands of Iwo Jima and finally Okinawa, these men, and the countless others who risked their lives defending freedom, are the focus of the series.
A Holmes County man will have a key role in the miniseries. Sledge, whose book, With the Old Breed, provided much of the in-depth look into the war in the Pacific, was under the command of Platoon Sergeant John Marmet. Now 90 years old and a resident at the Holmes County Home, Marmet entered the Marines as a wide-eyed 20-year-old. By the time he was 22, Marmet had earned a great deal of respect from both his superiors and the men who served under him. Although only 22, his three years of experience made him one of The Old Breed, as countless teenagers came and went as part of K-Company.
Sledge was one of those men, and as Marmet describes him, Sledge was a wonderful kid who was scared to death. “I told him to hang on to my coattails and I’d get him through this,” said Marmet, in a recent interview. “He darn near wore my shirt out, but we got through it.”
Sledge came under Marmet’s command at Russell Island at the age of 17. It was Marmet who dubbed him Sledgehammer — almost all servicemen got a nickname (Marmet’s was Big John) — and was immediately taken under the wing of his commanding officer.
Marmet said he got along well with all of his men, mainly because he earned their trust and respect, “We had a bunch of good, young kids, who were a little rowdy, but we kept them pretty straight,” said Marmet. “I think I gained their respect not because I was always yelling and commanding them around, but because I treated them with respect.”
For the miniseries, HBO producers contacted Marmet to interview him, but he declined. His reasoning was simple. Dredging up memories of war was not at the top of Marmet’s list, and perhaps his record book, which he kept immaculately, summed up his feeling about his time in the service. On the final page, under the heading, Things I Want to Remember, Marmet simply jotted down “None.”
“I saw a lot of good men die in my days, and it’s not something I care to remember a lot about,” said Marmet.
At the age of 90, Marmet’s memory of dates, names and other details is uncanny. He continues to be in contact with one of his buddies, R.V. Bergin of Texas. He can rattle off dates, places and events, and names of men who he served with.
That razor-sharp memory is why author Bob Makos, of Valor Studios (Band of Brothers) contacted him for an upcoming book, in which Marmet will be the feature of an entire chapter.
John’s son, Dave Marmet, who also served in the Armed Forces in Vietnam, said “Bob spent two and one-half days with Dad, and he couldn’t believe what a wealth of information Dad was. He said that HBO really missed out when they didn’t interview Dad, but it wasn’t something he felt like doing at the time. He was at his sharpest mentally when Bob was here.”
Marmet’s role in The Pacific, in which he will be in three episodes, will be played by young Australian actor Matthew Dale, whose most recent role came as a surgeon on 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
While World War II has been romanticized, it claimed more lives than all of the other wars combined. Marmet saw a side of war up close that was far from glamorous, more often than not horrifying, and even though it put him and many others through a living hell, he doesn’t regret his decision to fight for his country.
“I have no regrets,” said Marmet. “If we hadn’t done what we did, life would be very different now. We did our best for our country, and a lot of great men gave their lives.”
For a son following in his father’s footsteps, Marmet’s role in the movie is thrilling for Dave. His role as a real-life hero and role model was even greater. “I wanted to be like my dad in so many ways,” said Dave Marmet. “He taught me to be honest, to say what I meant, and mean what I said, and to give everything I had in whatever I do. Those are the reasons I think his men had so much respect for him.”
Dave is looking forward to seeing the HBO miniseries.
Will John Marmet sit down to watch it, knowing the memories it could well conjure up?
“I’ve been down that road once before... but what the heck, I’ll give it another whirl.”
The Pacific premiers March 14 on HBO, and will run every Sunday evening for the next 10 weeks. To read more about John Marmet’s career in the Marines, his life in the Pacific, and the horrors of war, look for a future story on Graphic Publications’ new Web site.