Author | Robert Leckie |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Publisher | Random House |
Publication date | 1957 |
Media type | Print, Audiobook |
Pages | 320 |
Helmet for My Pillow is the personal narrative written by World War II United States Marine Corps veteran, author, and military historian Robert Leckie. First published in 1957, the story begins with Leckie's enlisting in the United States Marines shortly after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.
According to his wife Vera, Leckie was inspired to write the book in 1951 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." [1]
The HBO mini-series The Pacific (2010) was adapted in large part from Helmet for My Pillow, along with Eugene Sledge's With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa , and the personal story of Medal of Honor recipient Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone. [2] [3]
Beginning with boot camp in MCRD Parris Island, South Carolina, the story follows Leckie through basic training and then to New River, North Carolina where he is briefly stationed, and follows him to the Pacific.
Leckie is assigned to the 1st Marine Division and is deployed to Guadalcanal, Melbourne Australia, New Guinea, Cape Gloucester, before being evacuated with wounds from the island of Peleliu. Helmet for My Pillow is told from an enlisted man's point of view; a reprint edition stated the book was about "the booze, the brawling, the loving on 72-hour liberty, the courageous fighting and dying in combat as the U.S. Marines slugged it out, inch by inch, across the Pacific." [4]
E.B. Sledge's With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa , along with Helmet for My Pillow, formed the basis for the HBO miniseries The Pacific , the successor to Band of Brothers . [5]
Robert Hugh Leckie was a United States Marine and an author of books about the military history of the United States, Catholic history and culture, sports books, fiction books, autobiographies, and children's books. As a young man, he served with the 1st Marine Division during World War II; his service as a machine gunner and a scout during the war greatly influenced his work.
The 1st Marine Division is a Marine division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force.
The 1st Marine Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps based at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. The regiment is under the command of the 1st Marine Division and the I Marine Expeditionary Force. The 1st Marine Regiment is also sometimes referred to as "Regimental Combat Team 1" or "Inchon".
With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa is a World War II memoir by United States Marine Eugene Sledge, first published in 1981. The memoir is based on notes Sledge kept tucked away in a pocket-sized Bible he carried with him during battles he fought at Peleliu and Okinawa. The book formed part of the basis of the material covered by Ken Burns' PBS documentary The War (2007), as well as the HBO miniseries The Pacific (2010), in which Sledge was portrayed by Joseph Mazzello.
The Pacific is a 2010 American war drama miniseries produced by HBO, Playtone, and DreamWorks that premiered in the United States on March 14, 2010.
Eugene Bondurant Sledge was a United States Marine, university professor, and author. His 1981 memoir With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa chronicled his combat experiences during World War II and was used as source material for the Ken Burns PBS documentary The War (2007), as well as the HBO miniseries The Pacific (2010), in which he is portrayed by Joseph Mazzello.
Georgia Cottage, also known as the Augusta Evans Wilson House, is a historic residence in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 14, 1972, based on its association with Augusta Jane Evans. She was one of the most popular American novelists of the nineteenth century and the first female author in the United States to earn over $100,000 for her work, but has been largely forgotten in recent times.
China Marine: An Infantryman's Life after World War II is the second memoir written by United States Marine Corporal Eugene B. Sledge, published posthumously with foreword by Stephen E. Ambrose, without subtitle, on May 10, 2002 by University of Alabama Press It was republished in paperback with the full title by Oxford University Press in July 2003. This book is the sequel to his first, better known, memoir, With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa and Ambrose identifies it as the only account of the Marines stationed in postwar China. It has recently achieved wider public recognition as credited source material for the 2010 HBO miniseries The Pacific.
Sidney Clarke Phillips, Jr. was a United States Marine, family practice physician, and author from Mobile, Alabama. He provided source material and interviews for the making of Ken Burns' PBS documentary film The War and the HBO miniseries The Pacific. His recollections revolve around his time as a young man fighting in the Pacific War.
Romus Valton "R.V." Burgin was a United States Marine and American author. As a young man, he served in the Pacific Theater during World War II.
Andrew Allison Haldane was an officer in the United States Marine Corps in the Pacific theatre during World War II. He was killed in action during the Battle of Peleliu.
The 63rd Writers Guild of America Awards honored the best film, television, and videogame writers of 2010. Winners were announced on February 5, 2011.
St. Elmo Murray Haney was a master gunnery sergeant in the United States Marine Corps. As a veteran of many early campaigns in the Marine Corps, he was considered the epitome of the "old breed" Marine and a source of inspiration during the tough battles of the Pacific Campaign in World War II. Author and fellow Marine Eugene Sledge described Haney as "not a man born of woman, but that God had issued him to the Marine Corps."
Merriell Allesandro Shelton was a United States Marine who served in the Pacific theater during World War II. He is depicted in the 1981 memoir With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by Eugene Sledge which chronicled their combat experiences. He was also depicted in the HBO miniseries The Pacific (2010), in which he is portrayed by Rami Malek.
On 15 September 1944, United States Marine Corps forces landed on the southwestern shore of the island of Peleliu in the Palau island chain, 470 nautical miles due east of the Philippine island of Mindanao. This action, called Operation Stalemate II by American planners, was a phase in the Pacific Theatre of World War II. Whether possession of the island was necessary for the Allied cause has been the source of much controversy.
"Part Five" is the fifth episode of the American war drama miniseries The Pacific. The episode was written by Laurence Andries and co-executive producer Bruce C. McKenna, and directed by Carl Franklin. It originally aired on HBO on April 11, 2010.
"Part Six" is the sixth episode of the American war drama miniseries The Pacific. The episode was written by co-executive producer Bruce C. McKenna, Laurence Andries, and co-producer Robert Schenkkan, and directed by Tony To. It originally aired on HBO on April 18, 2010.
"Part Seven" is the seventh episode of the American war drama miniseries The Pacific. The episode was written by co-executive producer Bruce C. McKenna, and directed by supervising producer Tim Van Patten. It originally aired on HBO on April 25, 2010.
"Part Nine" is the ninth episode of the American war drama miniseries The Pacific. The episode was written by co-executive producer Bruce C. McKenna, and directed by supervising producer Tim Van Patten. It originally aired on HBO on May 9, 2010.
"Part Ten" is the tenth and final episode of the American war drama miniseries The Pacific. The episode was written by co-executive producer Bruce C. McKenna and co-producer Robert Schenkkan, and directed by Jeremy Podeswa. It originally aired on HBO on May 16, 2010.