Robert Leckie (author)
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Robert Hugh Leckie (December 18, 1920 – December 24, 2001) was a United States Marine and an author of books about the military history of the United States, Catholic history and culture, sports books, fiction books, autobiographies, and children's books. As a young man, he served with the 1st Marine Division during World War II; his service as a machine gunner and a scout during the war greatly influenced his work.
Leckie's war memoir, Helmet for My Pillow, along with Eugene B. Sledge's book With the Old Breed, formed the basis for the HBO series The Pacific (2010), the follow-up series to Band of Brothers. In the miniseries, Leckie is portrayed by James Badge Dale.
Early life and education
Leckie was born on December 18, 1920, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to an Irish Catholic family as the youngest of eight children. He grew up in Rutherford, New Jersey, and attended St. Mary High School.<ref>Rohan, Virginia. "War Through His Eyes", The Record, March 14, 2010. Template:ProQuest "Leckie and Vera Keller lived next door to each other in Rutherford..... But Vera was three years younger than he, and she went to Rutherford High School, while he went to St. Mary's High School."</ref>
Early career and military service
He began his career as a writer in high school, as a sports writer for The Bergen Evening Record in Hackensack, New Jersey.<ref name=AMG>Leckie Biography, All Media Guide.</ref> On January 18, 1942, Leckie enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.<ref name=AMG/> He served in combat in the Pacific theater, as a scout and a machine gunner in H (How) Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division (H/2/1); among his company mates was Sidney Phillips.
Leckie saw combat in the Guadalcanal campaign, including the Battle of the Tenaru, and the Battle of Cape Gloucester in 1942–1943. He was sent on leave twice: first a prolonged stay in Melbourne after Guadalcanal, and then a hospital stay at Naval Base Banika Island to recover from frequent nocturnal enuresis brought about by combat stress. During his time at the former, Leckie - who was known for having a combative relationship with authority - spent time in military prison after pulling a gun on his commanding officer while inebriated.
During the airfield assault at the Battle of Peleliu, Leckie had to run back the opposite way to fetch a radio operator after one was killed in the assault. While searching, Leckie was caught in the ammo supply explosion, which sent him flying into a tree. Leckie suffered a blast concussion and internal wounds from this, and was evacuated to an army field hospital in the Russell Islands, never serving in combat again. He returned to the United States in March 1945, and was honorably discharged shortly thereafter.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Military decorations
Leckie's decorations include:
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| 1st row | Purple Heart Medal | ||
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| 2nd row | Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Combat "V" | Navy Combat Action Ribbon | Navy Presidential Unit Citation with award star |
| 3rd row | American Campaign Medal | Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three bronze campaign stars | World War II Victory Medal |
Later career
Following World War II, Leckie worked as a reporter for the Associated Press, the Buffalo Courier-Express, the New York Journal American, the New York Daily News, and The Star-Ledger.<ref name=AMG/>
According to his wife Vera, in 1951 Leckie was inspired to write a memoir after seeing South Pacific on Broadway and walking out halfway through it. He said, "I have to tell the story of how it really was. I have to let people know the war wasn't a musical."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
His first and best-selling book, Helmet for My Pillow, a war memoir, was published in 1957.<ref>Booknotes, Okinawa: The Last Battle of World War II, Transcript of Interview with Robert Leckie, 3 September 1995</ref> Leckie wrote more than 40 books on American war history, spanning from the French and Indian War (1754–1763) to Desert Storm (1991).<ref name=LambInterview>Interview with Brian Lamb, 1995.</ref>
Personal life
After the war, Leckie married Vera Keller, his lifelong neighbor who he had merely been acquainted with prior. The couple had three children: David, Geoff, and Joan. Vera died in 2024 aged 100.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Death
A longtime resident of Byram Township, New Jersey,<ref>"HBO series based on Byram man's war story", New Jersey Herald, March 6, 2010. Accessed February 23, 2022. "One night in 1951, Robert Leckie and his wife Vera stepped out to see the musical South Pacific.... The Byram writer and his memoir are the main focus of the HBO miniseries The Pacific, debuting March 14."</ref> Leckie died on December 24, 2001, six days after his 81st birthday, after fighting a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. He was survived by his wife of 55 years, his three children, two sisters, and six grandchildren. His remains were entombed at St. Joseph's Mausoleum in Newton, New Jersey.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Books
Military history books
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- Warfare: A Study of War
Autobiography
Catholic history
- These Are My Heroes: A Study of the Saints
- A Soldier-Priest Talks to Youth
- American and Catholic
Fiction books
- Ordained
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- The Bloodborn
- Forged in Blood
- Blood of the Seventeen Fires
Books for younger readers
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- The Story of World War Two
- The Story of World War One
- The War in Korea
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- The World Turned Upside-Down
- 1812: The War Nobody Won
- The Big Game
- Keeper Play
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See also
Notes
References
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External links
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- Robert Leckie as remembered by fellow H-Company Marine Sidney Phillips
- Historical interview footage of Robert Leckie
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- 1920 births
- 2001 deaths
- United States Marines
- United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II
- American military historians
- American male non-fiction writers
- American people of Irish descent
- Historians of the American Civil War
- Historians of the Korean War
- American historians of World War II
- People from Byram Township, New Jersey
- Writers from Rutherford, New Jersey
- St. Mary High School (Rutherford, New Jersey) alumni
- Historians from New Jersey
- Military personnel from Philadelphia