Leckie was born on December 18, 1920, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to an Irish Catholic family of eight children.

Due to his wounds, he was evacuated to an army field hospital in the Russell Islands.

[3] Leckie's decorations include: 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.

[2] According to his wife Vera, in 1951 Leckie was inspired to write a memoir after seeing South Pacific on Broadway and walking out halfway through it.

[7] A longtime resident of Byram Township, New Jersey,[8] Leckie died on December 24, 2001, six days after his 81st birthday, after fighting a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.