Helmet for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific Paperback – February 2, 2010

Excellent from the viewpoint of an enlisted soldier.his actions so valid real life. The many nicknames chosen to describe each individual were classic and added to the reality of the story, as viewed from veteran eyes.

Those of you that are my GR friends or simply follow my reviews know that I have a fondness for those histories that recount the experiences of the common man that lives through the great events that history memorializes. I especially enjoy reading about the exploits of the common frontline soldier in any history of any battle or war. When I found this book I gladly placed it on my TBR shelf expecting it to add to my knowledge of the ordeal that was WWII in the Pacific. Several years ago I read Adam Makos' book, "Voices of the Pacific" and was quite moved by it. I expected this book to do the same and it did but it was also a different perspective of the same experiences and the same events."Helmet For My Pillow" is an autobiographical tale about a journalist that volunteers for the Marine Corps shortly after Pearl Harbor. "Voices of the Pacific" is a collection of the stories of several Marines and biographical and anecdotal in scope and far more graphic and, at times, horrific. "Helmet" is very different even though both books detail much of the same experiences and events. You would expect any book written by a Marine veteran about his war time experiences would be written in coarse graphic detail and peppered with profanity but that is not the case with this book and that is one of the things that surprised me about the book and its author. The author's prose is astonishing at times. Parts of this book read like an epic poem and in other portions the author lapses into thoughtful reflections about life and death, war, heroes, victims, and the worth of it all. This is a combat Marine veteran and his words are frequently haunting. I can only speculate that these thoughts and words are the result of Mr. Leckie's experiences and the memories he has of those men with whom he lived those experiences and especially the men that didn't return. This is a very moving book and for reasons I did not expect. If you would like to know what it was like for a civilian to enter the Marines at the beginning of WWII and go through Boot Camp then further training only to then be shipped off to the Pacific to endure a combat experience never before known then this book is something you should pick up and read. Probably the most unsettling difference between the Army's war in Europe and the Marine's war in the Pacific was that in the Pacific there was no safe rear area. In Europe troops could be regularly rotated to the rear for R&R while in the Pacific that wasn't possible. The Marines were on the line and in jeopardy for months at a time without rest and their war was truly a hell on earth ordeal. This book will help the reader understand what we owe those men.

No other book depicts the misjustice and misery experienced by the Marine infantryman more graphically in the Pacific ww2 theatre. Tragic.

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.

Um relato pungente, preciso e carregado de emoções, A Helmet for my Pillow retrata as aspirações dos jovens oficiais frente ao horror da guerra.

Für Leute die des Englischen durchaus mächtig sind und sich auch gerade die Serie "The Pacific" auf Kabel 1 ansehen, bietet dieses Buch willkommene Hintergrundinformation.Ich habe mir Helmet for my Pillow und  With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa  gekauft und beide gelesen.Gleich vorweg ein Tip - chronologisch gesehen zahlt es sich aus, zuerst Helmet for my Pillow zu lesen.Robert Leckie schreibt aus sehr subjektiver Sicht und beschreibt seine Erlebnisse von der Grundausbildung, über die Einsätze auf Guadalcanal, die Rast in Australien den Einsatz auf (wie hieß das nochmal) - New Britain bis zu seiner Verwundung auf Peleliu. Er lässt den Leser an seinen Gedanken teilhaben, beschreibt die Entbehrungen, das Katz und Maus Spiel mit der Militärpolizei und den Gegensatz zu den Offizieren des Marine Korps. In seinen Schilderungen spiegelt sich manchmal sogar so etwas wie Verachtung oder sogar Hass auf einzelne Offiziere wider.Was seiner Schilderung vielleicht ein wenig fehlt ist der Blickwinkel für die Kampagnen im großen Rahmen - diese Überblicksinfo gelingt E.B Sledge in seinem Buch "With the Old Breed" recht gut. Dafür hat man bei Leckie einen irgendwie lebendigeren Eindruck seiner Schilderungen.Interessant können auch die kleinen "Beschönigungen" sein, die Tom Hanks und Steven Spielberg in ihrer Serie "unterlaufen" sind. So ist Leckies "Liebelei" in Australien in wirklichkeit eine verheiratete Frau gewesen, aber das kommt moralisch nicht so gut.Abschliessend kann ich die beiden Bücher jedem empfehlen, der etwas mehr Hintergrundinfo zur Serie sucht. Hintergrundinfo sei hier nicht falsch verstanden als Zahlen und Fakten, sondern als subjektive, private erlebnisse zweier Menschen, die die Entbehrungen und Verrohungen des Krieges erleben mussten. With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa

エミー賞受賞のTVシリーズの原作の一つですちょっと英語が古くて、読み進むのが辛いのですが、ジャーナリストである彼の著作はなかなか奥が深く興味深いです

I've read a lot of books about wars, a few written by grunts instead of generals. This one is a special one. It describes the personal view of a soldier and a writer. And what a writer!

Hier schreibt einer, der das kann.Im Gegensatz zu vielen anderen Amerikanischen Berichten merkt man, dass Leckie ein Journalist mit einer fundierten Ausbildung ist. Insofern auch für einen Deutschen etwas schwieriger zu lesen, dafür auch informativ und unterhaltsam.