Helmet for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific

Having seen this title as one of the Bantam's World War II series when I was much younger ... I remember always passing over it for a book that focused on the European Theatre. Watching HBO's "The Pacific" compelled me to read this book and looking back, I must say that I am glad I waited. I was mesmerized by the Leckie's recollection of his wartime experience ... in a way that I probably wouldn't have appreciated had I read it when I first saw it as a child. Leckie has a writing style that easily allows the reader to shadow him through his experiences and his dedication to detail seems to invigorate the senses as well. This book about one Marine's experience from boot camp to Peleliu has contributed greatly to my craving to learn more about Pacific Theatre of World War II. First of all, the book was easy and enjoyable read. The vividly detailed writing-style puts the reader on point throughout the book and Leckie allows us to view his world through a colorful panoramic lens. In fact, I never felt myself in need of additional information or details; all questions are answered and all voids are filled. Many books have a tendency to tease readers when describing events, leaving us to use our imagination to fill the gaps. I find this particularly annoying when reading about an eyewitness viewpoint of history as I don't like to guess about what is actually being seen by the author. Another tactic that I found particularly effective was Leckie's preference to refer to all fellow Marines exclusively by their nicknames (enlisted men and officers alike); it made his storytelling even more personal. We are introduced to men like Eloquent, Chuckler, Hoosier, The White-man, Souvenirs, The Kid, Big-Picture and Commando ... along with an explanation of how those names were appropriately earned. The contents of Leckie's journey starts immediately following the attack on Pearl Harbor and the author decides to enlist. We follow him throughout the process of him becoming a Marine and meet the men in his unit that form the core of his wartime experience. Leckie colorfully illustrates the antics, pranks and miseries of boot camp, his transformation from neighborhood kid to a fighting man, as well as his sardonic attitude toward authority and the rigid set of rules he must obey. It is at this point where we meet his three most-revered buddies that would share all aspects of the journey with him (The Runner, The Hoosier and The Chuckler). Aside from the fact these men were trained to be fodder for the fight against a relentless, unforgiving foe, no opportunity was left not to exploit. Whether it be foraging for goodies in an Army depot to being AWOL in order to meet women ... even time in the brig didn't deter Leckie and his buddies from making the most out of what they were facing, wherever they were. Leckie doesn't ever dwell on thoughts of dying ... much of his book is about living and taking advantage of certain moments ... living on the edge. When Leckie describes his combat experiences on Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester and Peleliu, he spares no detail in describing events before, during and after the battle. Whether it be stumbling upon a Japanese patrol in the humid foliage of Guadalcanal or running for his life and diving in a shell crater on the sun-scorched airfield of Peleliu ... he takes you with him, sweating, thirsty, scared and out-of-breath. The after-battle recollections give the reader a sense of surveying the battlefield and makes you realize how much simple luck had to do with survival (like crowding in a shell-hole located in the middle of the airfield while being targeted by a Japanese heavy gun that was simply too big to fire accurately at close range, but it kept trying anyway). Eventually, after being caught in the middle of a Japanese artillery barrage at Peleliu, Leckie's wartime experience ends on a hospital ship and he learns that the battle for Peleliu claims the lives of most of the men he introduced us to throughout the book. Overall, "Helmet for My Pillow" was a brilliant/engrossing read and a hard book to put down. What separates Leckie's book from most other books of its genre is that Leckie delves into more than just the Marine Corps and World War II battles ... we are treated to the life-defining experience that World War II was to so many young men ... a grand adventure defined by extremes: the Heaven of Melbourne to the Hell(s) of various land-dots in the vast Pacific Ocean, the comforts of a dry hospital bed to sleeping in muddy water for days on end, witnessing the thrill of seeing a buddy survive to the seeing the ignominious defiling of the dead. Leckie's storytelling is superb and I'm glad I finally gave myself the chance to read this book after so many years.

A true telling of Robert Leckie's war experience, good and bad. I'm troubled by this book. I consider myself a patriotic reader of the heroism of our soldiers but Leckie's book includes many acts of non-heroism: a month in a psychiatric ward where he didn't belong, repeated run-ins landing him in the brig twice, and a complete disrespect for authority when the mood so moved him. But also included are the many acts of heroism if heroism can be described as doing the mundane fighting necessary to achieve our victory in WWII. Approximately 40% of the book is of fighting, 30% of the layover and adventure with ladies, liquor and shenanigans in Australia and the remaining 30% is of the camaraderie of the soldiers, whether in the line of duty or usurping authority in theft of food or AWOL adventures. So, maybe this is the first truthful book I have read of WWII with the remaining of the books covering only what the author believes the readers will want to hear and not exposing the warts of war. It certainly leaves the reader with a perplexing feeling as it is so different from the typical book of war. Leckie joins the Marines the day after Pearl Harbor and after boot camp is stationed at New River NC, a marine base I lived on with my Naval father in the 1960s. Shenanigans and disrespect for authority prevail prior to departure to Guadalcanal where his unit performs masterfully in repelling the Japanese while stranded on the island. This is probably the clearest picture of battle as his ability to sense the state of the battle by who controls the air and sea is effectively relayed. The most telling part of this section is when they have no idea whether Americans even know what they are doing only to have this dispelled upon return to the ship when a sailor explains that all of the country know of the great victory and bravery of the soldiers of Guadalcanal. Next the book wanders into the stay in Australia where debauchery is reined on the nation and accepted by the welcoming ladies of Australia who feel they were rescued from invasion. This is a welcome interlude for the soldiers and for the readers and really provides a good look at what it was like even when not on the battlefield. This is also where his rebellious tendencies raise their head and he ends up in the brig twice. After battle in New Guinea Leckie's disrespect for authority land him in a mental ward which is really a strange segway for a book of a fighting hero. I applaud the honesty but must admit it was almost like he was hiding from the battlefield until he realizes where he should be. His fighting career ends on Peleliu in some of the most devastating fighting of the war. Of 1,500 in his regiment only 28 survive unscathed such was the horrible fighting. But there is a much better book of the fighting on Peleliu, "With the Old Breed at Pelelui and Okinawa" by E. B. Sledge. Leckie's career on this island only lasted a couple of days and then he was transported by ship to the states. I read this book as it was one of three used for the HBO miniseries The Pacific. From watching the show and having read one of the other books I conclude that this book dominated the most time of the miniseries, probably because he touched a number of campaigns as well as the noncombat sections. I'm curious as to the decision to keep so much nonessential parts of the War in the miniseries that came from this book. I'm always inspired as I read these stories, this being no different. But possibly this was the most disturbing and non-enjoyable of all the books I have read of WWII and its fighting men. Still a worthwhile story to read. Interestingly, Leckie, the writer closes with some very interesting and depressing thoughts of the "mushroom cloud" that ended the war vs. the American soldier.

One of the pleasant surprises on reading Leckie's book, Helmut for My Pillow, is that it's not only a book about the battlefield, but also an insightful social commentary on the disparity between the brave, but largely uneducated men who fought the battles, and their superiors who had nothing but contempt for them and no concern for the sacrifices they made for their country. The division between the enlisted men and their officers is a major theme in Leckie's well-written book. Leckie's disrespect for officers is made very clear with numerous examples. As a former Naval officer, I can only say that Leckie's observations about the contemptuous attitude of many officers towards their men, and the unfair and undeserved privileges granted to officers are, unfortunately, still in place today. In his book, Leckie refers to his fellow Marines only by their nicknames; the officers' nicknames is yet another way in which he reveals their hypocrisy and arrogance. Guadalcanal: While positioned on an exposed ridge above Henderson Field, Leckie and his fellow Marines some under fire by a Japanese Betty (a G4M bomber). The men dive into foxholes, or into any nook and cranny where they'll be safe. Leckie, unable to find a place to hide, runs into an officer's hut, where he is regarded with disdain. His first visit to the brig is a result of pointing a gun at an officer--Lt. Ivy-League, who stole his cigars while his unit was evacuating Guadalcanal. (In truth, Leckie stole the cigars from a supply depot, but the provisions in the depot were not being distributed fairly.) Leckie received FIVE days of confinement on bread and water. That has changed today: Under Article 15 (b)(2)(A) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), the commanding officer may impose "confinement on bread and water or diminished rations for not more than THREE consecutive days." What has not changed is that confinement on bread and water can be imposed on enlisted personnel, but not on officers. Western New Britain during the Cape Gloucester campaign: A Marine creates alarm and confusion when he thinks he sees a Japanese soldier sneaking into the Marines' camp at night to steal food. His fellow Marines rush from their tents to intercept the intruder with their guns ready. Major Major-Share rushes out, commanding his men, "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"--as he draws his own gun and cocks it. Leckie suggests that the major was rightly concerned about being shot by his own men's guns, but showed no concern about his own men being shot with his gun. On New Britain, Lt. Big-Picture steals a Japanese chest that Leckie had used for his books, and uses it to store his clothes. Leckie has no recourse against the lieutenant's outright theft of his property. Later, the lieutenant tries to punish Leckie for daring to confront him about his theft. When Leckie flies from Pavuvu across a narrow strait to Banika (neighboring islands Pavuvu and Banika are part of the Russell Islands) to stay in a hospital for bed-wetting (enuresis), he and the other patients were treated with contempt by the nurses, who are, in fact, Naval officers. The nurses kept records and supervised, while hospital corpsmen did the actual nursing. Many of the patients in the hospital told Leckie that their care was far better BEFORE the nurses came. When the psychiatrist at Banika tells Leckie that a man of his intellectual "caliber" shouldn't be a machine gunner, Leckie takes it not as a compliment, but as an example of the contempt that intellectuals have for the poor, uneducated Marines who fought the actual battles that secured victory for their haughty countrymen. (Incidentally, Leckie did not give the Japanese pistol to the psychiatrist as shown in the TV movie, The Pacific; he returned it the friend for whom he was safeguarding it--his friend had reclaimed it after an officer had stolen it.) Leckie also comments on the injustices suffered by other people. On the island of New Britain, he suggests that the real mission of an Australian assigned to his company of Marines was to keep the natives of New Britain under control so that Australian and British plantation owners could exploit them as a source for cheap labor after the war. In one of his most wry observations about officers, Leckie remarks that "when a map and a compass come into contact with a second lieutenant, prepare yourself for confusion." I highly recommend the book of this hero--a comrade during the war, and a fair-minded jouranlist afterwards.

Noted author Robert Leckie's first book, "Helmet For My Pillow", is rightly lauded as a stand out in war experience narratives. What sets Leckie's work apart from many others is the literary style in which the story of survival by front line troops in the atrocious battles of Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester, and Peleliu are drawn. Leckie volunteered for the Marine Corps the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked. He was part of a large group of enlistees who swelled the rolls of an unprepared military. Training was hard and dreary with the enlarged ranks living in tents upon marshy fields at New River and Paris Island. But battle and life in the South Pacific was an ordeal through which both Leckie's Marines as well as their Japanese foes lived, suffered and died in the most trying circumstances. Leckie's regiment, part of the 1st Marine Division, was early into Guadalcanal and would be on the front for four for five months straight. This was during the period in which the Japanese controlled the sea around the landing area forcing Americans on half rations and captured Japanese rice. Fighting was brutal and Marines faced a long period in which they were on the defensive before being able to advance and eventually be withdrawn as Army reinforcements were introduced. Leckie also experienced the Battle of Cape Gloucester before his final fight at Peleliu. Peleliu is described as hell on earth with the Japanese emplaced into a series of tunnel connected bunkers which they had had years to establish. And from which they had to be driven or killed by direct assault. Marine casualties were high, including Leckie who was withdrawn to a hospital after a close hit by an artillery shell. He would miss his division's fight on Okinawa, which may be the reason we are all able to read this very fine work. The 1st Marine Division also recuperated between battles, the most memorable being in Melbourne, Australia after Guadalcanal. With Australians believing the Marines had saved their continent from invasion (which they probably had along with the forces successfully holding New Guinea), Melbourne joyously welcomed their deliverers to their city and into their homes. With no Australian young men to be had, they quickly became the boyfriends, sons and spouses that were otherwise occupied in North Africa or New Guinea fighting with the Commmonwealth. His stories of drinking (constant), womanizing (frequent) and high-jinx are entertaining and add terrific color to this war story. Leckie is a gifted writer and his highly descriptive style breathes a literary quality into his story without ever seeming overdone. This is not a book that tells unit lines of advance and casualty rates in clipped recaps of battle history but rather the war and waiting between battles through the eyes of a front-line fighter in possession of a sharp wit, and great powers of observation and description. No character is addressed by anything other than his nickname in the story. Thus we read of The Chuckler, Souvenir, Hoosier, Runner and Captain High-Hips and Lt. Ivy-league. Leckie himself is the not-as-imaginative "Lucky." He also is brutally honest and the book does not spare Leckie, who almost broke in one battle and spent time in the brig as well as off-island in a mental ward (though the book does leave it up in the air as to whether or not this was a "not-enough-space in the medical ward" issue or Leckie was truly in need of psychiatric help). Souvenir has his nickname because of the scores of gold fillings he keeps in a bag tied around his neck, courtesy of dead enemy (except in one case where a wounded son of Nippon contributed), a pair of pliers and his dental flashlight. Leckie and some of his patrol come across a dead Marine who had the part of his arm tattooed with the Marine Corps shield ripped from his flesh and stuffed in his mouth. The repetitive brutality of war and misery are not spared. While winter in Bastogne was hard and the fighting dangerous everywhere American troops fought in World War II, Leckie's book describes service in the Pacific that seemed more miserable on a daily basis than that had in other theaters of the war. Because of the nature of the Japanese soldier, fighting was frequently to the end with no quarter given and none expected. Field torture of our captured soldiers was more than an occasional occurrence as was the same treatment meted the other way. Leckie's brutal, honest and descriptive book provides an excellent picture of the war through one Marine's eyes.

This book is a brilliant account of grunt's Pacific War. Lyrical at times, insightful, and a great read or listen. Highly recommended.

This was a really interesting although slightly dry telling of a single soldiers experience in the Pacific theater during WW2. While the true events are harrowing and hard to comprehend the overall writing style made it a bit hard to read at times. It was enlightening though

Helmet for my pillow is a good read. Seems to be more info on his downtime than there was info about actual fighting and what he had seen. Its worth a read, but my opinion was only worth 4 stars, I got bored with his drinking, going awol etc.

True accounts from one of the featured real soldiers in Tom Hanks’ “The Pacific”. Very well written with “snap” as the character stated in the final episode of the series. Personal, poignant, spiritual, real. Highly recommended for those in search of a glimpse of the harsh and heroic in the Pacific theater of WWII.

I had to read a book for one of my history classes and remembered I had purchased this book after watching the pacific. All 312 pages were read in one day. The book had me from the start. From the descriptiveness of the drill Sargent calls and hollering to the wading through Japanese owned forests listening for the snapping of twigs underfoot to the bombs bursting overhead. I was very happy with my selection to do this for my assignment and clearly saw the reason why HBO could create a stunningly similar representation to book that Robert Leckie had written. Even if you have watched the HBO mini series, I would still recommend reading this book. The descriptiveness alone provided for a perfect image in my mind of every place he had been making the book very easy to follow along and imagine the landscape and people who so bravely sacrificed so much.

Eines der Standardwerke über den Einsatz des USMC im Pazifikkrieg. Geschreiben aus der Sicht eines Marines. Das Buch ist eine der Grundlagen für die Serie "The Pacific"

Highly recommended to anyone interested in Pacific War. A must read along with Eugene Sledges' book. Read and learn. The author was a gifted writer. He can keep you riveted on your seat.

Libro da leggere assolutamente per chi ha visto "The Pacific" e se ne è innamorato. Leckie sa rendere benissimo l'idea dell'inferno che hanno vissuto durante quegli anni

Despues de ver The Pacific, y no habiéndolo leído antes, es obligado leer esta maravilla.