Richard Tregaskis

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Richard Tregaskis (1916–1973) was an American journalist and author whose best-known work is Guadalcanal Diary (1943), an account of the U.S. Marines' invasion of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands of the western Pacific during World War II. Tregaskis served as a news correspondent during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

Contents 1 Career 2 Personal 3 Miscellanea 4 References 5 External links 6 See also

[edit] Career

Tregaskis' most renowned book, Guadalcanal Diary, recorded his experiences on Guadalcanal, where he served as a volunteer combat correspondent. (In fact, he was one of only two journalists on location on Guadalcanal.) The book is considered essential reading by present-day U.S. military personnel. A modern edition is available with an introduction by Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down.

In 1964 the Overseas Press Club present Tregaskis with the George Polk Award for first-person reporting under hazardous circumstances.

Tregaskis' other books include:

• Invasion Diary (1944)
• Stronger Than Fear (1945)
• Seven Leagues to Paradise (1951)
• X-15 Diary: The Story Of America's First Space Ship (1961)
• Last Plane to Shanghai (1961)
• John F. Kennedy: War Hero (1962)
• John F. Kennedy and PT-109 (children’s book, 1962)
• Vietnam Diary (1963)
• China Bomb (1967)
• Warrior King: Hawaii's Kamehameha the Great (1973)
• Southeast Asia: Building the Bases, The History of Construction in Southeast Asia (1975)

[edit] Personal

Richard Tregaskis was born on 28 November 1916 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He died on 15 August 1973 in Hawaii as a result of drowning.

[edit] Miscellanea

• A shrapnel-gouged helmet worn by Tregaskis during World War II is on display at the National Museum of the Marine Corps. Tregaskis was wearing the helmet in 1943 in Italy when a shell fragment pierced the helmet and his skull, nearly killing him.^[1]
• Tregaskis' Guadalcanal Diary was made into a film of the same title in 1944.
• The alternative band Guadalcanal Diary took its name from Tregaskis' book.

[edit] References

1. ^ War Stories. Newseum. Retrieved on 2006-12-15.

[edit] External links

• Guadalcanal Diary by Richard Tregaskis. Random House Publishing. Retrieved on 2006-12-15.
• Richard Tregaskis at the Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2006-12-15.

[edit] See also