Helmet for My Pillow

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."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.