Robert Leckie

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Robert Leckie, 1945

Robert Leckie (born December 18, 1920 in Philadelphia , † December 24, 2001 ) was an American soldier , journalist and author of primarily military-historical works.

His war memories, Helmet for My Pillow , formed one of the sources for the ten-part miniseries The Pacific .

Leckie was born to a family of eight children of Irish descent and grew up in Rutherford, New Jersey . At the age of 16 he wrote sports reports for the Bergen Evening Record in Hackensack, New Jersey .

Military career

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor , Leckie volunteered for the United States Marine Corps . After his training on Parris Island he was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station New River and was then assigned to the 1st U.S. Marine Division. As a machine gunner and scout he took part in all major operations of his division in the Pacific War, with the exception of the Battle of Okinawa . Among other things, he fought in the battles for Guadalcanal and Cape Gloucester . He was wounded on Peleliu , which ended his military career. He was awarded the Purple Heart for his wounding .

Journalistic and writing activity

After the war, Leckie worked as a reporter for various newspapers and news agencies, including the Associated Press .

In 1957 he published his first book, Helmet for My Pillow , in which he processed his war experiences. As a result, he wrote more than 40 books, mainly on American war history, from the Seven Years' War in North America in the 18th century to Operation Desert Storm .

Private life

After the war, Robert Leckie married Vera Keller, whom he had known since childhood. The couple had three children who were named David, Geoff and Joan. In 2001 Robert Leckie died, meanwhile suffering from Alzheimer's . Leckie was buried in St. Joseph's Mausoleum in Newton, New Jersey.

watch TV

In the ten-part miniseries The Pacific , produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg and first aired in 2010 , Helmet for My Pillow was not just one of the two main templates (along with With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by Eugene Sledge ). Robert Leckie was also one of the three main characters in the series. He was portrayed by James Badge Dale , his future wife by Caroline Dhavernas .

Works

Autobiographies

Military history

  • March to Glory . World Publishing Co., 1960
  • Conflict: The History of the Korean War, 1950–1953 . Da Capo Press, 1996 [1962]
  • Strong Men Armed: The United States Marines Against Japan . Random House, 1962 / Perseus Publishing, 1997, ISBN 978-0-306-80785-5 .
  • Challenge for the Pacific; Guadalcanal, the turning point of the war . Doubleday , 1965
  • 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, 2002 [1991], ISBN 0-7434-4461-2 .
  • George Washington's War: The Saga of the American Revolution . HarperCollins , 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 & Son, 2000, ISBN 0-471-24690-5 .

Fiction

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

fiction

  • Ordained
  • Marines! . Bantam Books, 1960
  • The Bloodborn
  • Forged in Blood
  • Blood of the Seventeen Fires

Youth books

  • The Battle for Iwo Jima . Random House, New York 1967, ISBN 1-59019-241-9 .
  • The Story of Football . Random House, 1965
  • The Story of World War Two
  • The Story of World War One
  • The War in Korea
  • Great American Battles . Random House, 1968
  • The World Turned Upside-Down
  • 1812: The War Nobody Won
  • The big game
  • Keeper Play
  • Stormy Voyage

literature

  • Rafael Steinberg: The counter-offensive in the Pacific . Time-Life Books (Nederland), 1980.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Leckie Biography, All Media Guide.
  2. ↑ http://blacktiemagazine.com/society_2010_march/HBO_THE_PACIFIC_RARITAN.htm
personal data
SURNAME Leckie, Robert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American soldier, journalist and author of mainly military history
DATE OF BIRTH December 18, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Philadelphia
DATE OF DEATH December 24, 2001