Robert Leckie (author)

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This article is about the military historian Robert Leckie. For information about the Canadian aviator, see Robert Leckie (aviator).
Robert Leckie
December 18, 1920(1920-12-18) – December 24, 2001 (aged 81)
Image:Replace this image male.svg
Robert Leckie (author)
Place of birth Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Allegiance Flag of the United States United States of America
Service/branch United States Marine Corps
Years of service 1942 -
Unit 2nd Battalion 1st Marines
Battles/wars World War II
*Battle of Guadalcanal
*Battle of Cape Gloucester
*Battle of Peleliu
Awards Purple Heart

Robert Leckie (December 18, 1920 – December 24, 2001) was an American author of popular books on the military history of the United States. As a young man, he served in the 1st Marine Division during World War II. His experiences as a machine gunner during the Battle of Guadalcanal are said to have greatly influenced his outlook.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Leckie was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 18, 1920 to an Irish Catholic family of eight children. He grew up in Rutherford, New Jersey. He began his professional writing career, before World War II, at age 16 as a sports writer for The Record of Hackensack in Hackensack.[1]

In 1941, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Leckie enlisted the United States Marine Corps.[1] He served in combat in the Pacific theater, as a scout and a machine gunner in the 1st Marine Division. He participated in every major 1st Marine Division campaign except Okinawa.[1]

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.[1] His first book, Helmet for My Pillow, was published in 1957. He has written books on American war history, spanning from the from the French and Indian War (1754–1763) to Desert Storm (1991). He has written over forty works, many of which continue to be reprinted.[2][3]

In April 2007, it was announced that Leckie's war memoirs, Helmet for My Pillow, along with Eugene B. Sledge's book With the Old Breed, would form the basis for the HBO series The Pacific, the successor to Band of Brothers.[4]

[edit] Writing style, reviews

Leckie used a direct style in describing context and battle actions. He has been criticized by some historians as lacking rigor, since he uses almost no footnotes.[citation needed] He has also been described as "politically incorrect", for his portrayal of the United States' wartime enemies and Native Americans.[citation needed]

[edit] Books

[edit] Military history

  • (1957) Helmet for My Pillow. Random House. OCLC 2538164. 
  • (1960) March to Glory. World Publishing Co.. OCLC 2851705.  On the Korean War.
  • (1965) Challenge for the Pacific; Guadalcanal, the turning point of the war. Doubleday. OCLC 1295146. 
  • (1967) The battle for Iwo Jima. Random House. 
  • (1968) Challenge for the Pacific: The Bloody Six-Month Battle of Guadalcanal. Doubleday & Company. (Paperback ISBN 0-306-80911-7. 
  • (1968) Great American battles. Random House.  "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."[5]
  • [1968] (1998) The Wars of America. Harper Collins. ISBN 0-7858-0914-7. 

[edit] Fiction

  • (1960) Marines!. Bantam Books.  Fiction.

[edit] Other

  • (1958) Lord, What a Family!. Random House.  Autobiography.

[edit] Notes

United States Marine Corps Portal
  1. ^ a b c d Leckie Biograpy, All Media Guide.
  2. ^ Interview with Brian Lamb, 1995.
  3. ^ Library of Congress author search.
  4. ^ Martindale 2007.
  5. ^ Full Record of Great American battles (1968; Lemkie, Robert). Library of Congress Online Catalog. Retrieved on 2007-12-22.

[edit] See also

United States Marine Corps Portal

[edit] References

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