Vera Keller Leckie

After the war was over, and Robert Leckie returned from his tour of duty in the Pacific, he married Vera Keller.  Still alive, Mrs. Leckie and two of her children attended the premiere of "The Pacific," in which Robert Leckie's story plays a prominent role.

Bob Leckie and Vera Keller were married in Rutherford, New Jersey.  He was Catholic; she was not.  Because of that, their wedding - which took place at the Church of St. Mary on Home Avenue - could not be held in the church sanctuary.  It was held in the rectory instead.  Vera wore a suit instead of a wedding gown.

Joan Leckie Salvas tells us that her mother helped her father write his stories about the war:

The unsung hero here is my mother because she is the one would be responsible for editing … The sound of my childhood is the sound of a manual typewriter.

When she came home for school-lunch breaks, Joan would hear her mother typing parts of the manuscript she'd edited that morning.  After school, Joan would hear her father typing new parts of the manuscript. 

By the time he died, in 2001, Robert Leckie had written forty books.  The dedication in one of them - Lord, What a Family! - is lovingly inscribed to Vera:

To my wife, Vera, who brought to this clan the thing it lacked and admired most - serenity.

See, also:

Image and Bio:  Robert Leckie - The Pacific

Video:  Robert Leckie Historical Footage and Interview

Video:  Biography of John Basilone

Video:  Eugene ("Sledgehammer") Sledge Historical Footage

Video:  5-Part Video Biography of Eugene ("Sledgehammer") Sledge

Image:  Merriell Snafu Shelton

Video:  John Basilone Talks to the Press

Video:  Death of John Basilone

Credits

Image of Robert Leckie's family, taken on 28 February 2010, is online courtesy NorthJersey.com. 

Quoted passage from NorthJersey.com article entitled, "HBO Documentary Sticks Close to Life of Rutherford Native," by Daniel O'Keefe (March 11, 2010).

Quoted dedication from Lord, What a Family! - published in 1958.