Robert Hugh Leckie (December 18, 1920 – December 24, 2001) was a

United States Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...

and an author of books about the military history of the United States, sports books, fiction books, autobiographies, and children's books. As a young man, he served with the

1st Marine Division The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF). It is the ...

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 ''Helmet for My Pillow'' is the personal narrative written by World War II United States Marine Corps veteran, author, and military historian Robert Leckie. First published in 1957, the story begins with Leckie's enlisting in the United States Ma ...

'', along with Eugene B. Sledge's book '' With the Old Breed'', formed the basis for the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television, premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office busi ...

series '' The Pacific'' (2010), the follow-up series to '' Band of Brothers''. In the miniseries, Leckie is portrayed by

James Badge Dale James Badge Dale (born May 1, 1978) is an American actor. He is known for playing Chase Edmunds in '' 24'', Robert Leckie in '' The Pacific'', State Trooper Barrigan in Martin Scorsese's ''The Departed'', Luke Lewenden in '' The Grey'', Eric S ...

Early life and education

Leckie was born on December 18, 1920, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Mary ...

, to an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

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family of eight children. He grew up in

Rutherford, New Jersey Rutherford is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the borough's population was 18,834. Rutherford was formed as a borough by an act of the ...

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 Hackensack is a City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Bergen County, New Jersey, United States.United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...

. He served in combat in the Pacific theater, as a scout and a

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles ...

ner in H (How) Company,

2nd Battalion, 1st Marines 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines (2/1) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Camp Horno on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. Nicknamed "The Professionals," the battalion consists of approximately 1,200 Mar ...

(H/2/1). Leckie saw combat in the

Guadalcanal Campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the ...

and the

Battle of Cape Gloucester The Battle of Cape Gloucester was fought in the Pacific theater of World War II between Japanese and Allied forces on the island of New Britain, Territory of New Guinea, between 26 December 1943 and 16 January 1944. Codenamed Operation Backh ...

, and he was wounded by a blast concussion in the

Battle of Peleliu The Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II by the United States Armed Forces, US military, was fought between the United States and Empire of Japan, Japan during the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign of World War II, from Septembe ...

. Due to his wounds, he was evacuated to an

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

field hospital in the Pavuvu Islands. He returned to the United States in March 1945 and was honorably discharged shortly thereafter.

Military decorations

Leckie's decorations include:

Later career

Following World War II, Leckie worked as a reporter for the Associated Press, the ''

Buffalo Courier-Express The ''Buffalo Courier-Express'' was a morning newspaper in Buffalo, New York. It ceased publication on September 19, 1982. History The ''Courier-Express'' was created in 1926 by a merger of the ''Buffalo Daily Courier'' and the ''Buffalo Morning ...

'', the ''

New York Journal American :''Includes coverage of New York Journal-American and its predecessors New York Journal, The Journal, New York American and New York Evening Journal'' The ''New York Journal-American'' was a daily newspaper published in New York City from 1937 t ...

'', the New York ''Daily News'', and ''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to ''The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the ''Staten Island Advance'', all of wh ...

''. According to his wife Vera, in 1951 Leckie was inspired to write a memoir after seeing '' South Pacific'' on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

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." His first and best-selling book, ''

'', a

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobio ...

, was published in 1957. Leckie subsequently wrote more than 40 books on American war history, spanning from the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the s ...

(1754–1763) to

Desert Storm The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

(1991).Interview with Brian Lamb, 1995.

Personal life

He married Vera Keller, and they had three children: David Leckie, Geoff and Joan.

Death

A longtime resident of

Byram Township, New Jersey Byram Township is a township in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 8,350, reflecting an increase of 96 (+1.2%) from the 8,254 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in tu ...

, Leckie died on December 24, 2001, six days after his 81st birthday, after fighting a long battle with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As ...

. 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 Newton, officially the ''Town of Newton'', is an incorporated municipality located in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is situated approximately by road northwest of New York City. As the location of the county's administrati ...

Books

Military history books

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Autobiography

* *

Belles Lettres

*''These Are My Heroes: A Study of the Saints'' *''Warfare: A Study of War'' *''A Soldier-Priest Talks to Youth''

Fiction books

*''Ordained'' * *''The Bloodborn'' *''Forged in Blood'' *''Blood of the Seventeen Fires''

Books for younger readers

* * *''The Story of World War Two'' *''The Story of World War One'' *''The War in Korea'' * "Summary: A review of America's major wars, from the French and Indian War to the War in Korea, with emphasis on eleven important battles: Quebec, Trenton, New Orleans, Mexico City, Chancellorsville, Appomattox, Santiago, Belleau Wood, Guadalcanal, Normandy, and Pusan-Inchon." *''The World Turned Upside-Down'' *''1812: The War Nobody Won'' *''The Big Game'' *''Keeper Play'' *''Black Treasure'' (Sandy Steele #1, as by "Roger Barlow") *''Danger at Mormon Crossing'' (Sandy Steele #2, as by "Roger Barlow") *''Stormy Voyage'' (Sandy Steele #3, as by "Roger Barlow") *''Fire at Red Lake'' (Sandy Steele #4, as by "Roger Barlow") *''Secret Mission to Alaska'' (Sandy Steele #5, as by "Roger Barlow") *''Troubled waters'' (Sandy Steele #6, as by "Roger Barlow") According to World Catalogue, Robert Leckie, writing as "Roger Barlow", also wrote six juvenile boy adventure books called "The Sandy Steele" series; all six are available at Gutenberg.org.

Notes

References

* * * * * * *

External links

*
Robert Leckie
as remembered by fellow H-Company Marine

Historical interview footage of Robert Leckie
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leckie, Robert 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 Burials in New Jersey Historians of the American Civil War Historians of the Korean War Historians of World War II People from Byram Township, New Jersey People from Rutherford, New Jersey Historians from New Jersey