Strong Men Armed: The United States Marines Against Japan

by Robert Leckie

Strong Men Armed relates the U.S. Marines' unprecedented, relentless drive across the Pacific during World War II, from Guadalcanal to Okinawa, detailing their struggle to dislodge from heavily fortified islands an entrenched enemy who had vowed to fight to extinction -- and did. (All but three of the Marines' victories required the complete annihilation of the Japanese defending force.) As scout and machine-gunner for the First Marine Division, the author fought in all its engagements till his wounding at Peleliu. Here he uses firsthand experience and impeccable research to re-create the nightmarish battles. The result is both an exciting chronicle and a moving tribute to the thousands of men who died in reeking jungles and on palm-studded beaches, thousands of miles from home and fifty years before their time, of whom Admiral Chester W. Nimitz once said, "Uncommon valor was a common virtue."Strong Men Armed includes over a dozen maps, a chronology of the war in the Pacific, the Marine Medal of Honor Winners in World War II, and Marine Corps aces in World War II.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military Fiction, World War II, War, Military History, Japan

604 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 30, 1961

About the author

Leckie 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.

Reviews

[Creighton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book, thought it was solidly written and well written coming from a WW2 veteran who was in the pacific. Leckie did not slack on researching for this book, and I would say it was a great book that is a wonderful tribute to those brave US Marines who fought in the pacific theatre.

[Jeff (Jake) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just finished this audiobook last week. The Marines in the Pacific Theater went through a special kind of hell to be sure. If you saw "The Pacific" on HBO it came from this book, except the book is is far more graphic and goes into greater detail about each battle.

The result is both an exciting chronicle and a moving tribute to the thousands of men who died in reeking jungles and on palm-studded beaches, thousands of miles from home and fifty years before their time, of whom Admiral Chester W. Nimitz once said, "Uncommon valor was a common virtue."

Strong Men Armed relates the U.S. Marines' unprecedented, relentless drive across the Pacific during World War II, from Guadalcanal to Okinawa, detailing their struggle to dislodge from heavily fortified islands an entrenched enemy who had vowed to fight to extinction—and did. (All but three of the Marines' victories required the complete annihilation of the Japanese defending force.)

As scout and machine-gunner for the First Marine Division, the author fought in all its engagements till his wounding at Peleliu. Here he uses firsthand experience and impeccable research to re-create the nightmarish battles.

[Cav · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Robert Leckie served in combat in the Pacific theater, as a scout and a machine gunner in H (How) Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division, and saw combat in the Guadalcanal Campaign and the Battle of Cape Gloucester.
Strong Men Armed is a ground-level, almost play-by-play chronicle of the battles between American Marines and the Japanese troops.
It follows the US Marines as they made their way across, and then up the Pacific - island-hopping their way from the Marshall Islands, to various smaller atolls, to Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.

The book tells the story of the horrible conditions that awaited the Marines; well-fortified and entrenched Japanese defenses manned by suicidally fanatical soldiers, unbearably dense and hot jungle conditions, monsoons, dengue fever, and mosquitos.
Unbelievably terrible...

The book was first written in 1961. Although it gathered many very positive reviews, it was a bit of a mixed bag for me. The book rattles off many names; military brass, commanders, notable soldiers, and many, many others. At times it became a bit overwhelming to try and keep track of who was who.
I also didn't really warm up to the formatting of this one. The play-by-play, blow-by-blow way it is presented didn't really resonate with me...

Nevertheless, it is a decent book, and contains some very important historical accounts.
I found the stories of the fanatical Japanese very impactful; most would not be taken alive, and died either by suicide, or by suicidal Banzai charges.

"...For the aged commander of Saipan sat down to a farewell feast of canned crabmeat and saki. At ten o’clock he had finished. He arose and said: “It makes no difference whether I die today or tomorrow, so I will die first. I will meet my staff at Yasakuni Shrine.”
He walked slowly to a flat rock. He cleaned it off and sat down. He faced the misty East and bowed gravely. He raised his glittering samurai saber in salute and cried, “Tenno Heika! Banzai!”
He pressed the point of his blade into his breast and the moment he had drawn blood his adjutant shot him in the head."

I would recommend Strong Men Armed to anyone interested.
3.5 stars.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb. Leckie's writing reminds me of Ernie Pyle's, but he added a huge amount of detail that clearly required a great deal of research. In less capable hands, this would have been as dry as sawdust, but Leckie was a skilled journalist as well as a careful historian, and for me it was always gripping and often poignant. Robert Leckie himself fought in some of the grimmest of the battles he describes, although the only place that's mentioned is in the publisher's notes on the cover; he was one of the Marines whose story was told in the HBO mini-series The Pacific. As a retired Marine and former infantryman myself, what I was reading rang true over and over for me.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read Strong Men in 1963 and have it in my home library. The 2010 release of the HBO movie "The Pacific", which is partially based on this book (and features Leckie as one of the five major characters) led me to re-read it in the new paperback edition.

Leckie was a talented writer who also happened to be a rifleman in the 1st Marine Division and his writing crackles with a been-there-done-that authenticity; it should be required reading for any historian with any interest in WW11.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible! This book got me interested in military history. Leckie describes the hell of the Pacific Theater in almost poetic terms.
I also read this book at least once a year since I read it in 1976. In fact, I own two copies.
Leckie is portrayed in HBO's Spielburg/Hanks series "The Pacific".

[Andrew Lubin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The rest of the title says it all "The United States Marine Corps vs. The Empire of Japan."

Leckie is a Marine with an ability to write - and he brings the reader the stories of the 18-19-20 yr old Marines who won this war. To say "well done" just doesn't do Mr Leckie justice

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrible book to read at the pool on vacation, Leckie chronicles every major engagement the Marines fought from Guadalcanal to Okinawa, providing a near perfect balance of big picture overview and personal narrative. By the end, I was ready for the island hopping to be over, though not nearly as much as the Marines were. A masterful overview of Marine combat in WWII, I couldn’t help but feel equal parts inspired and amazed.

[Steve Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an ambitious work that covers the battles of the Marines from Guadalcanal to Okinawa. Leckie did in one volume what he could have, and probably ought have, done in two or three.

He's an entertaining writer, given to the dramatic single sentence at the end of a chapter or section that emphasizes the mood he wishes to evoke. He overused it a bit. It reminds me if "Enemy At The Gates", which used it to the point of being a crutch. Leckie also gets some facts wrong. At one point he describes the Vought F4U Corsair fighter as having a climbing speed of 3000 feet per second...which would be 2,045 miles per hour. That's faster than most modern jet fighters.

Some on Amazon critique the book's use of racist terms like "Jap", and terms describing the Japanese. The book was originally written in 1962, when American sentiments towards the Japanese were still largely hostile. Read with modern eyes, the descriptions are objectionable. However; they accurately impart the sentiments of the generation that fought the war. My father fought at Bougainville, and I'd heard much the same. As he aged and actually came to know Japanese he met in Hawaii in the seventies, his perspective and language started to change. He stopped hating as much.

I read this right after reading Alan Zimm's "Attack on Pearl Harbor: Strategy, Combat, Myths, Deceptions." Zimm reaffirms what Leckie and others present in their works, that the Japanese were largely inflexible and incompetent in their planning, delusional in their outlook, and deceptive in their reports to seniors in the chain of command.

Still, a good work and a nice overview, and one that served to build the legend of the Corps.

[Andrew Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Leckie had first hand experience of fighting in Pacific during the Second WW. In this book he wrote of Marines involvement in Pacific based on the official military histories of the campaign and relations of its participants. He covered fights in Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Tarawa, New Britain, Roi-Namur, Eniwetok, Saipan, Guam, Tinian, Peleliu, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Personally, it was an eye-opener on psychology of Japanese soldiers who were willingly prepared to offer their lives to their emperor and be killed in suicidal attacks to explode their charges when coming across the marines. The same with the kamikaze pilots and miniature submarines loaded with explosives. Using military records, the author brings forward many heroic acts of the marines, with the large number of marines sacrificing their lives when covering with their own bodies the grenades about to be exploded, in order to save the other fighting marines.

One epitaph from those times should be remembered:

And when he gets to Heaven
To Saint Peter he will tell:
"One More Marine reporting, sir-
I've served my time in Hell !"

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Leckie does a wonderful job describing the Marines' actions throughout the Pacific campaigns. He works in the brutal experiences of both the non-commissioned (of which he honorably served and was wounded himself) and commissioned officers. In many ways it could be said that the book reads like a novel if it wasn't for all the statistics etc. published within the text.
One draw back is perhaps Leckie did not spend adequate time on each island battle, but this was an overview book of the entire campaign, which has now given me the need to find more quality in depth writing on individual island campaigns.

[Joel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strong Men Armed provides a mixture of "big picture" and the "micro" individual accounts of the combatants' experience in the Pacific Theater during WWII. Both the American and Japanese experience is portrayed. As a result the book at times becomes disjointed between the macro and micro level. The book tackles a very large subject and as a result many of the stories are brief. I was left wanting to know more about some of the accounts portrayed in the book.

[sparrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert Leckie has a way with words that will never cease to amaze me.

[Eric Kruger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can see why some might not truly embrace this book. If you're on one side of the line, you can see it as too detailed and "nuts and bolts" for the general audience, and woefully vague and non-scholarly for the academic audience. I am on the "other side" of that line, however, and see it as a very well-researched popular history: a good 'bridge' for someone who wants more than a grunt's-eye view of the war but less than a college textbook on the Pacific Theater in WW2.
I also think Robert Leckie is a rare talent: a true warrior who saw the events first-hand, but who also happens to possess quite a gift for storytelling and the necessary vision and vocabulary for effective writing. Leckie is detailed but also evocative; it's not a surprise to me that his writing formed quite a bit of the basis for the HBO series "The Pacific" or that his character was written into the series. More of that character emerges in the superior "Helmet for my Pillow," but his unique style kept me going through the entire book. I can almost hear the grumbling of the marines in the constant rain and mud of the jungle, and feel their shocked disbelief at the sporadic Japanese disregard for sound tactics or even common sense. While it hits less hard than biographical classics like Sledge's "With the Old Breed," it provides a broader understanding of how and why the campaign in the Pacific proceeded in the way it did-- the combination of individual heroism with massive industrial power and output. If you're looking for this "combination" effect in your WW2 reading, you can't go wrong with this book.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strong Men Armed: The United States Marines Against Japan by Robert Leckie puts you on the front lines with the US Marines fighting the Japanese during World War II. The writing is similar to Helmet for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific by this author and With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by Eugene Sledge in that the focus is on what the Marines experienced in the violent clashes sometimes non-stop until one side or the other wins or chooses to disengage. Where these books shine is how they are able to share the human aspects of what the Marines and other American troops encountered in their battles but also how these experiences changed those who managed to survive. Many of the stories in this book were used along with those from the other books to make the HBO series The Pacific that was a counterpart to the Band of Brothers that focused on the war in Europe. The descriptions of the close quarters and hand-to-hand combat, strategies used to dislodge the Japanese who rarely surrendered from their pillboxes and caves, and learning the Japanese fighting style and how to counter it. Marine observations of the great naval and air battles in support of their missions are very descriptive from their viewpoints. If you read and liked the other books mentioned, you will also like Strong Men Armed!

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the fall of 1967 as a sophomore at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota I was privileged to participate in the Term in Thailand with 25 other students. We studied at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok - Buddhism, Southeast Asian history, art, literature, and political science. On the way to Bangkok we visited Japan and Hong Kong. Coming home included stops in Penang, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Guam. We were the only undergraduate study group in Southeast Asia - the closest program was in Japan. I have been an avid reader of World War II history and literature for many years. My father and most of my uncles served in the war in many roles - as a tank driver in Patton's army, a tail gunner who was killed over Germany, and a medic in the Pacific Theatre. My reading, however, has largely been within the European Theatre of operations. About a year ago I had a "DUH" moment. Why was I not reading about the Pacific War when I had visited so many important sites in that history. I am trying to make up for my lack of knowledge................ I have read several books about the Pacific war, but this book is one of the best as Mr. Leckie uses the stories of individual Marine troops and pilots to make you feel that you are present during the battles. Well written. Highly recommend. Kristi & Abby Tabby

[Thomas Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written by a person who has been there and who has seen action. I was amazed at the heroism and courage the average Marine displayed under fire and how selflessly they sacrificed so their fellow Marine would not be maimed or wounded. How a fellow Marine would fall upon a grenade so their buddies would not be wounded or killed. How corpsmen would shield the wounded they were treating with their own bodies knowing that the Japanese would shoot at the medics. I had not realized how terrible their lives were fighting against a fanatical, well entrenched enemy in such horrible jungles and swamps with disease, torrential rain, heat, humidity, exposed beaches and coral outcroppings where there was no cover. Often times they would fight until half their numbers were steadily ground down in the meat grinder that was the Pacific war. Their camaraderie and esprit de corps were unparalleled and kept them going when the going got tough ... and the going was always tough. They always went out to retrieve their wounded and gave their last full measure of devotion. We owe these men a huge debt of gratitude for fighting for our freedom and liberty. They paid the price.

[Abby Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book in June of 2018, but do not judge my slow reading through it as a lack of love. This book was magnificent. This book was, was beyond good, it was...well, words fail me. This was such a book of courage, loss, sacrifice. This was a book that inspired me to write several flash fiction pieces and will inspire more. The horror of war and the beauty of heroic Marines melded into one great WW2 book. Robert Leckie is fast becoming my favorite WW2 writer. I love his voice, the way he honors his fellow soldiers, the humor and sorrow he shares, and the fact that he was there.
I'm so glad I bought this book and slowly made my way through it. I'm going to miss it. Right now, I just want to start it over.

[Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an absolute masterpiece. Most military histories focus exclusively on the tactical or the strategic. The tactical ones are exciting but lack the big picture, and the strategic ones tell the whole story but you can forget these are real people bleeding and dying.

Leckie found the perfect middle ground. Each battle is discussed tactically and described so vividly you can feel the heat of the jungle, hear the cacophony of modern war, and smell the stench of combat. But just when this deluge is about to overwhelm he zooms out and discusses the strategic side of the war or campaign.

It is phenomenal writing. I cannot over recommend this to anyone interested in military history.

[james blanchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

The US Marines at their best in the Pacific

Excellent presentation of the grueling process of winning the war in the Pacific. The brutality of fighting the enemy, the weather, making do with less rations, less ammunition. The constant rain and mud destroyed their clothes, clogging their weapons and causing illness that come with nothing dry to wear. The dedication of the Navy Corps Men will warm your heart. The dedication of one Marine to another is told when Privates up to Captains would fall on a grenade to protect the other marines regardless of their rank!!!

[David Engel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wonderful overview of Marine action in the WWII pacific theater is not only well written, but gripping in the tales of individual heroism along with the big picture of campaigns and personalities. As an audiobook consumer I was a bit distracted by Johnny Heller's mispronunciation of locations, equipment and names. I'm guessing he's not a WWII buff.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like no other

The best book on the Marines in the Pacific. Period. Written in an easy-to-read narrative style and full of examples of bravery and heroism, this chapter of Marine Corps history is brought to life in a way unlike anything you’ve read before.

[Matt Shaffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding first hand accounts of what it was like fighting the Japanese during the island hopping campaigns of the Pacific Theater. A lot of brutal, heartbreaking stories combined with countless acts of heroism and even humor. Leckie is a great writer that happened to be a great soldier too.

[Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well written book by a Marine who fought through most of the Island campaigns in the Pacific. Written in a narrative style, his sources are listed in the last chapter in the book. A very good book.

[Hussein Al-Khafagy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Offered well detailed, exhaustive narrations of the ordeal in the Pacific (Not for thrill junkies). I liked the detailed inclusion and mention of different Japanese arms and units.
Best parts: The Roi-Namur explosion and Ushijima and Cho’s ceremonial suicide.

[Stuart Keating · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert Leckie lived this as a marine invading Japanese held islands during WWII.
Huge amount of research both US and Japanese.
Reading was as if you were actually there.
Well written an easy read.

[Darcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author’s experience of war is rendered believably in prose honed by years of sports reporting. This is history from below with a clear eye on the enemy’s strategy, the big picture and the data. Highly recommended for those who enjoy the genre.

[Mhorg · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author's impeccable research failed me. The coastguardsman who lost his life, the only member of the USCG to earn the Medal of honor was DOUGLAS Munro. Not DONALD. This mistake is inexcusable. Hopefully, future editions will fix this.

[Niko · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for a well rounded history of the Allied Pacific fighting forces, but the author clearly disdained anything that wasn't a US Marine. I suppose the title should have tipped me off.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good account of the American campaign through the Pacific islands and atolls. Would have liked more detailed maps though with off shore assets indicated.