Biography
Leckie was born on December 18, 1920, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to an Irish American Catholic (both parents) family of eight children. He grew up in Rutherford, New Jersey. He began his career as a writer in high school, as a sports writer for The Bergen Evening Record in Hackensack, New Jersey.
On January 18, 1942, Leckie enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He served in combat in the Pacific theater, as a scout and a machine gunner in H Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. Leckie saw combat in the Battle of Guadalcanal, the Battle of Cape Gloucester, and had been wounded by blast concussion in the Battle of Peleliu. Due to his wounds, he was evacuated to an Army field hospital on the Pavuvu Islands. He returned to the United States in March 1945 and was honorably discharged shortly thereafter.
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. He married Vera Keller, a childhood neighbor, and they had three children: David, Geoff and Joan. According to Vera, in 1951 he was inspired to write a memoir after seeing South Pacific on Broadway and walking out halfway through. 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." His first and best-selling book, Helmet for My Pillow, a war memoir, was published in 1957. Leckie subsequently wrote more than 40 books on American war history, spanning from the French and Indian War (1754–1763) to Desert Storm (1991).
Robert Leckie died on December 24, 2001, 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.
Leckie's war memoirs, Helmet for My Pillow, along with Eugene B. Sledge's book With the Old Breed, formed the basis for the 2010 HBO series The Pacific, the successor to Band of Brothers. He was portrayed in the miniseries by James Badge Dale and Vera was portrayed by Caroline Dhavernas.
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