W. E. B. Griffin
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W.E.B. Griffin (born William Edmund Butterworth III on November 10, 1929) is a writer of military and detective fiction with some thirty novels in five series published under that name. He has also published under several pseudonyms.
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[edit] Early life, education, and military service
Griffin grew up in New York City and Philadelphia. He joined the Army in 1946. His MOS was counterintelligence and in this capacity he served in the Constabulary in Germany, thus earning the Army of Occupation Medal. After completing his active duty military service, Griffin attended Philipps-Universität Marburg at Marburg-an-der-Lahn. His college days were cut short, when, in 1951 he was recalled to serve in Korea; first as an official Army war correspondent, then as public information officer for US X Corps, which included some US Marine divisions. Griffin received the Combat Infantryman Badge for his service as a reporter at the front lines. His personal knowledge of both combat and garrison life and the friendships he forged with military personnel from different services would prove invaluable when he began writing. Many of his books are dedicated to fallen comrades who died in Korea or later on in Vietnam or while serving with the international peacekeeping force dispatched during the Lebanese Civil War. Griffin is modest about his own service. He once told a Barnes & Noble interviewer:
- My own military background is wholly un-distinguished. I was a sergeant. What happened was that I was incredibly lucky in getting to be around some truly distinguished senior officers, sergeants, and spooks.
[edit] Writing career
After the end of the Korean Conflict, Griffin continued to work for the military in a civilian capacity as Chief of the Publications Division of the U.S. Army Signal Aviation Test & Support Activity at Fort Rucker, Alabama. After his first three novels proved successful, he left this job to pursue writing full-time. To date, he has some 130 fiction and non-fiction works to his credit.
Griffin often displays his knowledge of military jargon and administrative writing style in his novels, where fictional orders and dispatches are incorporated into the text. Many of his characters have to battle bureaucratic mix-ups and administrative red-tape, sometimes making humorous end-runs around the system.
Griffin's friendship with Philadelphia Police Chief Zeb Casey was a source of inspiration and advice for the Badge of Honor series.
Griffin is the co-founder of the William E. Colby Seminar on Intelligence, Military, and Diplomatic Affairs at Norwich University in Vermont, along with his friend,historian and Patton biographer Col. Carlo D'Este.
[edit] Pseudonyms
- W.E.B. Griffin
- Alex Baldwin
- Webb Beech
- Walker E. Blake
- James McM. Douglas
- Eden Hughes
- Edmund O. Scholefield
- Patrick J. Williams
- W.E. Butterworth
[edit] Family Life
Griffin's mother was Pennsylvania Dutch, a fact that motivated him to learn German and study at Marburg. Incidentally, one of Griffin's duties was delivering food to German general officers and their families, including the widow of would-be Hitler assassin Claus von Stauffenberg. His exposure to German military and civilian aristocracy doubtless supplied much of the inspiration for such Griffin creations as Oberst "Graf von Greiffenberg," who appears in several of the Brotherhood of War novels.
Griffin is married to an Argentine wife, and has a stepson, Ignacio. The couple met while Griffin was duck-hunting in Argentina. They divide their time between Buenos Aires and the United States.
Mrs. Griffin's father is a former Colonel in the Húsares de Pueyrredon: Griffin has mined his father-in-law and other Argentine contacts to develop Argentine and Argentine-American characters for several of his novels which have been set in South America.
[edit] List of novels
By Series Title and Subject
Not Exhaustive
- Brotherhood of War Series (Army)
- Book I, The Lieutenants
- Book II, The Captains
- Book III, The Majors
- Book IV, The Colonels
- Book V, The Berets
- Book VI, The Generals
- Book VII, The New Breed
- Book VIII, The Aviators
- Book IX, Special Ops
- The Corps Series (Marine Corps)
- Book I, Semper Fi
- Book II, Call to Arms
- Book III, Counterattack
- Book IV, Battleground
- Book V, Line of Fire
- Book VI, Close Combat
- Book VII, Behind the Lines
- Book VIII, In Danger's Path
- Book IX, Under Fire
- Book X, Retreat, Hell!
- Men at War Series (OSS, WWII precursor to the CIA)
- Book I, The Last Heroes
- Book II, The Secret Warriors
- Book III, The Soldier Spies
- Book IV, The Fighting Agents
- Book V, The Saboteurs
- Honor Bound Series (OSS)
- Book I, Honor Bound
- Book II, Blood and Honor
- Book III, Secret Honor
- Badge of Honor Series (Philadelphia Police)
- Book I, Men in Blue
- Book II, Special Operations
- Book III, The Victim
- Book IV, The Witness
- Book V, The Assassin
- Book VI, The Murderers
- Book VII, The Investigators
- Book VIII, Final Justice
- By Order of the President Series (contemporary counterterrorism)
- Book I, By Order of the President
- Book II, The Hostage
- Book III, The Hunters
