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The March to Glory
NORTH KOREA -- DECEMBER 1950 This is the incredible saga of the famed First Marine Division and its savage fighting withdrawl from the Chosin Reservoir to the North Korean port of Hungnam. Battling bitterly cold winds and temperatures that dropped to -25 Fahrenheit, the beleaguered Leathernecks blasted their way through roadblocks, ambushes, and wave after horrifying wave of Chinese Communist army attacks. Robert Leckie brings to life all aspects of the epic struggle and the men who wrote one of the greatest chapters in Marine Corps history with their frozen blood.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1960
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About the author
Robert Leckie
55 books221 followersLeckie was born on December 18, 1920, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 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 Marines Regiment 1st Marine Division (United States). 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. 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 Operation Desert Storm (1991). Robert Leckie died on December 24, 2001, after fighting a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease.
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 Marines Regiment 1st Marine Division (United States). 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. 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 Operation Desert Storm (1991). Robert Leckie died on December 24, 2001, after fighting a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 27, 2025
Robert Leckie began his writing career as a journalist at the age of sixteen (1936). He enlisted in the United States Marine Corp in 1942 and served as a machine-gunner with H Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines 1st Marine division. He would experience/survive heavy combat on Guadalcanal Island, Cape Gloucester (Island of New Britain) and Peleliu Island. He was wounded on Peleliu and honorably discharged in 1945. He was awarded the Purple Heart and Navy Commendation Medal with the Combat V for valor. Robert Leckie would go on to write many books with a heavy focus on military history. He passed away in 2001.
Leckie was an interesting writer. He learned his craft in the 1930s as a journalist and never lost that great over the top style that I associate with the era. However, he knew when to let it ride and when to reign it in. The whiskey drinking cigar smoking journalist was unleashed in books about his beloved Marines.
His first book is the now classic memoir "Helmet for my Pillow" (1957). It is an account of Leckie's years with the Marine Corp. A bestseller when it was released it has never gone out of print and served as one of the source books for the HBO mini-series "The Pacific" (2010). I've read it and it is deserving of its classic status.
In 1960 "March to Glory" was published. Rather than victory it is an account of a defeat. The retreat from Chosin Reservoir (27 November - 13 December 1950). The First Marine Division had to withdraw when it found itself up against several divisions of Chinese troops. The withdrawal was part of the general retreat of all United Nations forces from North Korea in November 1950 after several hundred thousand Chinese troops launched a "surprise" attack. There is still much debate about how much western intelligence really knew about the Chinese forces moving into North Korea and how much was just willfully ignored, but that is a topic of discussion for another time.
Though a defeat it's considered to one of the Marine Corp proudest moments. Under almost constant attack by an aggressive and combat experienced opponent (Chinese Civil War 1927-1949, Japanese Invasion/WWII 1931 - 1945) while enduring brutal winter weather (temps routinely dropped to minus twenty at night) the Marines maintained their cohesion (not an easy thing to do), fought the Chinese and pulled back in good order. It's a dramatic account and while the Marines had many things in their favor (total air domination was a massive plus) it was still quite an achievement.
In "March to Glory" Leckie lets the old school journalist loose. Combine that with his love of the Marines and the fact that he served with the First Marine Division and you get one hell of a rousing book. This is the type of book that is assigned to young cadets at military schools and recruits in basic training (though it's doubtful there would be time to read). It gets you on your feet and moving to the recruiter's office.
Leckie doesn't pull any punches. He is unsparing in describing the horrific wounds that many of the men endure and their deaths aren't sugarcoated. His detailing of the physical conditions is excellent and there is no romanticism whatsoever. Of course, that makes it incredibly romantic to a young man (or woman in 2024). Don't ask me to explain how such a contradiction works. All I can tell you is forty years ago such writing inspired me to want to be a soldier and I eventually went into the Army.
At just under 200 pages Leckie provides a detailed narrative of the battle. The book does not have a bibliography or footnotes for it isn't that type of work. It's more a piece of journalism of which "Blackhawk Down" by Mark Bowden could be considered a spiritual descendent of. However, in the acknowledgements at the beginning of the book Leckie thanks several Marines by name whom he interviewed and has a general list of documents and reports that he used for research. Though not perfect it is more extensive than what is provided by T.R. Fehrenbach in his Korean account "This Kind of War".
All in all, "The March to Glory" is an immensely readable flag waving blood and thunder account of a Marine Corp tactical defeat that has been turned into a type of victory. Written at the height of the Cold War it can be viewed as a well written piece of propaganda, but with added value as a historical account that looks at the battle from the eyes of the front-line Marines.
Leckie was an interesting writer. He learned his craft in the 1930s as a journalist and never lost that great over the top style that I associate with the era. However, he knew when to let it ride and when to reign it in. The whiskey drinking cigar smoking journalist was unleashed in books about his beloved Marines.
His first book is the now classic memoir "Helmet for my Pillow" (1957). It is an account of Leckie's years with the Marine Corp. A bestseller when it was released it has never gone out of print and served as one of the source books for the HBO mini-series "The Pacific" (2010). I've read it and it is deserving of its classic status.
In 1960 "March to Glory" was published. Rather than victory it is an account of a defeat. The retreat from Chosin Reservoir (27 November - 13 December 1950). The First Marine Division had to withdraw when it found itself up against several divisions of Chinese troops. The withdrawal was part of the general retreat of all United Nations forces from North Korea in November 1950 after several hundred thousand Chinese troops launched a "surprise" attack. There is still much debate about how much western intelligence really knew about the Chinese forces moving into North Korea and how much was just willfully ignored, but that is a topic of discussion for another time.
Though a defeat it's considered to one of the Marine Corp proudest moments. Under almost constant attack by an aggressive and combat experienced opponent (Chinese Civil War 1927-1949, Japanese Invasion/WWII 1931 - 1945) while enduring brutal winter weather (temps routinely dropped to minus twenty at night) the Marines maintained their cohesion (not an easy thing to do), fought the Chinese and pulled back in good order. It's a dramatic account and while the Marines had many things in their favor (total air domination was a massive plus) it was still quite an achievement.
In "March to Glory" Leckie lets the old school journalist loose. Combine that with his love of the Marines and the fact that he served with the First Marine Division and you get one hell of a rousing book. This is the type of book that is assigned to young cadets at military schools and recruits in basic training (though it's doubtful there would be time to read). It gets you on your feet and moving to the recruiter's office.
Leckie doesn't pull any punches. He is unsparing in describing the horrific wounds that many of the men endure and their deaths aren't sugarcoated. His detailing of the physical conditions is excellent and there is no romanticism whatsoever. Of course, that makes it incredibly romantic to a young man (or woman in 2024). Don't ask me to explain how such a contradiction works. All I can tell you is forty years ago such writing inspired me to want to be a soldier and I eventually went into the Army.
At just under 200 pages Leckie provides a detailed narrative of the battle. The book does not have a bibliography or footnotes for it isn't that type of work. It's more a piece of journalism of which "Blackhawk Down" by Mark Bowden could be considered a spiritual descendent of. However, in the acknowledgements at the beginning of the book Leckie thanks several Marines by name whom he interviewed and has a general list of documents and reports that he used for research. Though not perfect it is more extensive than what is provided by T.R. Fehrenbach in his Korean account "This Kind of War".
All in all, "The March to Glory" is an immensely readable flag waving blood and thunder account of a Marine Corp tactical defeat that has been turned into a type of victory. Written at the height of the Cold War it can be viewed as a well written piece of propaganda, but with added value as a historical account that looks at the battle from the eyes of the front-line Marines.
September 18, 2017
Excellent recounting of the challenges at the Chosin Reservoir.
February 13, 2019
Excellent story of the men and women who fought this battle.
May 29, 2017
An inspiring story of courage and heroism. My dad had been football coach for many young Marine reservists who were called up as high school seniors, and some juniors, in the late summer of 1950. They were among the best people I've ever known and I regret very much having lost touch with them since my parents died. I didn't know much about this part of the Korean war or any of their other experiences and so I never fully appreciated what they had done.
Watching t.v. programs on the history of the Marines today (memorial day) reminded me of reading this book.
These were truly men at 16, 17, and 18 in a way that most males today never will be.
Watching t.v. programs on the history of the Marines today (memorial day) reminded me of reading this book.
These were truly men at 16, 17, and 18 in a way that most males today never will be.
April 29, 2013
It's ironic that one of the brightest moments in Marine Corps history is a retreat, but that's what this book is about. The Korean War battle at the Chosin Reservoir, when the First Marine Division was ambushed by Chinese forces in far greater numbers, and the subsequent retreat through territory controlled by the Chinese to the port of Hungnam, is an incredible story of bravery, determination, and sacrifice that should never be forgotten.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews