Robert Leckie (author)

Leckie was born on December 18, 1920, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to an Irish Catholic family as the youngest of eight children. He grew up in Rutherford, New Jersey, and attended St. Mary High School.^[1]

Leckie began his career as a writer in high school, as a sports writer for The Bergen Evening Record in Hackensack, New Jersey.^[2] On January 18, 1942, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor.^[2] He served in combat in the Pacific theater, as a scout and a machine gunner in H (How) Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division (H/2/1); among his company mates was Sidney Phillips.

Leckie saw combat in the Guadalcanal campaign, including the Battle of the Tenaru, and the Battle of Cape Gloucester in 1942–1943. He was sent on leave twice: first a prolonged stay in Melbourne after Guadalcanal, and then a hospital stay at Naval Base Banika Island to recover from frequent nocturnal enuresis brought about by combat stress. During his time at the former, Leckie - who was known for having a combative relationship with authority - spent time in military prison after pulling a gun on his commanding officer while inebriated.

During the airfield assault at the Battle of Peleliu, Leckie had to run back the opposite way to fetch a radio operator after one was killed in the assault. While searching, Leckie was caught in the ammo supply explosion, which sent him flying into a tree. Leckie suffered a blast concussion and internal wounds from this, and was evacuated to an army field hospital in the Russell Islands, never serving in combat again. He returned to the United States in March 1945, and was honorably discharged shortly thereafter.^[3]

External videos
Booknotes interview with Leckie on Okinawa: The Last Battle of World War II, September 4, 1995, C-SPAN

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.^[2]

According to his wife Vera, in 1951 Leckie was inspired to write a memoir after seeing South Pacific on Broadway 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."^[4]

His first and best-selling book, Helmet for My Pillow, a war memoir, was published in 1957.^[5] Leckie wrote more than 40 books on American war history, spanning from the French and Indian War (1754–1763) to Desert Storm (1991).^[6]

After the war, Leckie married Vera Keller, his lifelong neighbor who he had merely been acquainted with prior. The couple had three children: David, Geoff, and Joan. Vera died in 2024 aged 100.^[7]

A longtime resident of Byram Township, New Jersey,^[8] Leckie died on December 24, 2001, six days after his 81st birthday, after fighting a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. 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.^[9][10]

• March to Glory. World Publishing Co. 1960. LCCN 60011454. OCLC 2851705.
• Conflict: The History of the Korean War, 1950–53. Da Capo Press. 1996 [1962]. ISBN 0-306-80716-5.
• Strong Men Armed: The United States Marines Against Japan. Perseus Publishing. 1997 [1962 (Random House)]. ISBN 978-0-306-80785-5.
• Challenge for the Pacific: Guadalcanal, the Turning Point of the War. Doubleday. 1965. OCLC 1295146.
• 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. Harper Collins. 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 & Sons. 2000. ISBN 0-471-24690-5.
• Warfare: A Study of War

• Helmet for My Pillow. Random House. 1957. LCCN 57010028. OCLC 2538164.
• Lord, What a Family!. Random House. 1958.

• These Are My Heroes: A Study of the Saints
• A Soldier-Priest Talks to Youth
• American and Catholic

• Ordained
• Marines!. Bantam Books. 1960. LCCN 60012809.
• The Bloodborn
• Forged in Blood
• Blood of the Seventeen Fires

• The Battle for Iwo Jima. New York: Random House. 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. LCCN 68023671. "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."^[11]
• The World Turned Upside-Down
• 1812: The War Nobody Won
• The Big Game
• Keeper Play
• Black Treasure. Simon & Schuster. 1959. OCLC 7712167. (Sandy Steele #1, as by "Roger Barlow")
• Danger at Mormon Crossing. Simon & Schuster. 1959. OCLC 7712176. (Sandy Steele #2, as by "Roger Barlow")
• Stormy Voyage. Simon & Schuster. 1959. OCLC 40166247. (Sandy Steele #3, as by "Roger Barlow")
• Fire at Red Lake. Simon & Schuster. 1959. OCLC 7712190. (Sandy Steele #4, as by "Roger Barlow")
• Secret Mission to Alaska. Simon & Schuster. 1959. OCLC 7712190. (Sandy Steele #5, as by "Roger Barlow")
• Troubled Waters. Simon & Schuster. 1959. OCLC 7712156. (Sandy Steele #6, as by "Roger Barlow")

• Eugene Sledge
• Sidney Phillips