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Robert Leckie (author)

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This article is about the United States Marine Robert Leckie. For information about the Canadian aviator, see Robert Leckie (aviator).

Robert Leckie
Nickname(s)"Lucky", "Peaches"
Born(1920-12-18)December 18, 1920
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedDecember 24, 2001(2001-12-24) (aged 81)
Byram Township, New Jersey, U.S.
AllegianceUnited States
Service / branchUnited States Marine Corps
Years of service1942–1945
RankPrivate first class
UnitHow Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division
Battles / warsWorld War II
AwardsPurple Heart
Navy Commendation Medal with "V" Device
Other workWriter

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

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Leckie was born on December 18, 1920, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to an Irish Catholic family of eight children. He grew up in Rutherford, New Jersey, and attended St. Mary High School.[1]

Early career and military service

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He began his career as a writer in high school, as a sports writer for The Bergen Evening Record in Hackensack, New Jersey.[2] On January 18, 1942, Leckie enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.[2] 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).

Leckie saw combat in the Battle of Tenaru and in the Guadalcanal Campaign and the Battle of Cape Gloucester, and he was wounded by a blast concussion in the Battle of Peleliu. Due to his wounds, he was evacuated to an army field hospital in the Russell Islands. He returned to the United States in March 1945 and was honorably discharged shortly thereafter.[3]

Military decorations

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Leckie's decorations include:

V
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
1st row Purple Heart Medal
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

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External videos
video icon Booknotes interview with Leckie on Okinawa: The Last Battle of World War II, September 4, 1995, C-SPAN

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.[2]

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."[4]

His first and best-selling book, Helmet for My Pillow, a war memoir, was published in 1957.[5] Leckie wrote more than 40 books on American war history, spanning from the French and Indian War (1754–1763) to Desert Storm (1991).[6]

Personal life

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He married Vera Keller, and they had three children. Vera died in 2024 aged 100. [7]

Death

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A longtime resident of Byram Township, New Jersey,[8] 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.[9][10]

Books

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Military history books

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  • March to Glory. World Publishing Co. 1960. LCCN 60011454. OCLC 2851705.
  • Conflict: The History of the Korean War, 1950–53. Da Capo Press. 1996 [1962]. ISBN 0-306-80716-5.
  • Strong Men Armed: The United States Marines Against Japan. Perseus Publishing. 1997 [1962 (Random House)]. ISBN 978-0-306-80785-5.
  • Challenge for the Pacific: Guadalcanal, the Turning Point of the War. Doubleday. 1965. OCLC 1295146.
  • Challenge for the Pacific: The Bloody Six-Month Battle of Guadalcanal. Doubleday & Company. 1968. ISBN 0-306-80911-7.
  • Delivered from Evil: The Saga of World War II. Harper & Row. 1987. ISBN 0-06-015812-3.
  • None Died in Vain: The Saga of the Civil War. Harper Perennial. 1990. ISBN 0-06-016280-5.
  • The General. I Books. April 2, 2002 [1991]. ISBN 0-7434-4461-2.
  • George Washington's War: The Saga of the American Revolution. Harper Collins. 1992. ISBN 0-06-016289-9.
  • From Sea to Shining Sea: From the War of 1812 to the Mexican-American War, the Saga of America's Expansion. Harper Perennial. 1994. ISBN 0-06-016802-1.
  • Okinawa: The Last Battle of World War II. Viking Press. 1995. ISBN 0-670-84716-X.
  • The Wars of America: From 1600 to 1900. Harper Collins. 1998. ISBN 0-06-012571-3.
  • A Few Acres of Snow: The Saga of the French and Indian Wars. Wiley & Sons. 2000. ISBN 0-471-24690-5.
  • Warfare: A Study of War

Autobiography

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Catholic history

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  • These Are My Heroes: A Study of the Saints
  • A Soldier-Priest Talks to Youth
  • American and Catholic

Fiction books

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Books for younger readers

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Rohan, Virginia. "War Through His Eyes", The Record, March 14, 2010. Accessed September 5, 2024, via 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."
  2. ^ a b c Leckie Biography, All Media Guide.
  3. ^ Leckie, Robert (1979). Helmet for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific. Random House Publishing. ISBN 0553593315.
  4. ^ Rice, Sarah (February 21, 2010). "HBO series illuminates N.J. Marine's book on World War II experience | NJ.com". NJ.com. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
  5. ^ Booknotes, Okinawa: The Last Battle of World War II, Transcript of Interview with Robert Leckie, 3 September 1995
  6. ^ Interview with Brian Lamb, 1995.
  7. ^ "Robert Leckie – The Pacific". Awesome Stories. February 21, 2010. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
  8. ^ "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."
  9. ^ "HBO The Pacific Premiere In Raritan". Black Tie Magazine. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
  10. ^ "Obituary". The New York Times. December 27, 2001. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
  11. ^ "Full Record of Great American battles (1968; Leckie, Robert)". Library of Congress Online Catalog. Retrieved December 22, 2007.

References

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