Richard Tregaskis

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An official U.S. Marine Corps photograph of Richard Tregaskis (left) with Major General Alexander A. Vandegrift, ca. 1942
An official U.S. Marine Corps photograph of Richard Tregaskis (left) with Major General Alexander A. Vandegrift, ca. 1942

Richard William Tregaskis (November 28, 1916 – August 15, 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 during World War II. Tregaskis served as a war correspondent during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

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[edit] Education and career

Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Tregaskis graduated from the Pingry School and Harvard University and prior to World War II worked as a journalist for the Boston American Record newspaper.

Shortly after the U.S. entered World War II, Tregaskis volunteered as a combat correspondent representing the International News Service. (In fact, Tregaskis was one of only two journalists on location at Guadalcanal.)

Cover of a present-day edition of Richard Tregaskis' book Guadalcanal Diary
Cover of a present-day edition of Richard Tregaskis' book Guadalcanal Diary

Assigned to cover the war in the Pacific, Tregaskis spent two months following U.S. Marines on Guadalcanal, a pivotal campaign in the war against Japan. He subsequently covered the war in Europe against Germany and its allies.

Tregaskis' most renowned book, Guadalcanal Diary, recorded his experiences with the Marines on Guadalcanal. As the jacket of the book's first edition noted, "This is a new chapter in the story of the United States Marines. Because it was written by a crack newspaperman, who knew how to do his job. . . . Until the author's departure in a B-17 bomber on September 26th, he ate, slept, and sweated with our front-line units. His story is the straight day-by-day account of what he himself saw or learned from eyewitnesses during those seven weeks."[1]

As a testimony to the power of Tregaskis' writing, Guadalcanal Diary is still 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.)

Tregaskis later covered Cold War-era conflicts in China, Korea, and Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, Tregaskis reported on the growing conflict for a decade and accompanied U.S. Marines in command of local ARVN troops.

Tregaskis' second wife, Moana, followed him to Vietnam, where she put her skills to work as an anthropologist, photographing and documenting the impact of war on soldiers and civilians alike.[2]

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

Tregaskis died at age 56 near his home in Hawaii as a result of drowning.

[edit] Bibliography

Tregaskis' books include:

  • Guadalcanal Diary (1943)
  • 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] Miscellanea

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[edit] References

  1. ^ Richard Tregaskis, Guadalcanal Diary (New York: Random House, 1943), book jacket.
  2. ^ Souvenirs of War Virtual Exhibit. American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming. Retrieved on 2006-12-18.
  3. ^ War Stories. Newseum. Retrieved on 2006-12-15.

[edit] External links

United States Marine Corps Portal