W.E.B.
Griffin is the author of thirty-six epic novels in six series,
all of which have been listed on The New York Times, The Wall
Street Journal, Publishers Weekly and other best-seller lists.
More than forty million of his books are in print in more than
ten languages, including Hebrew, Chinese, Japanese, and Hungarian.
Mr.
Griffin grew up in the suburbs of New York City and Philadelphia.
He enlisted in the United States Army in 1946. After basic training,
he received counterintelligence training at Fort Holabird, Maryland.
He was assigned to the Army of Occupation in Germany, and ultimately
to the staff of then-Major General I.D. White, commander of the
U.S. Constabulary.
In
1951, Mr. Griffin was recalled to active duty for the Korean War,
interrupting his education at Phillips University, Marburg an
der Lahn, Germany. In Korea he earned the Combat Infantry Badge
as a combat correspondent and later served as acting X Corps (Group)
information officer under Lieutenant General White.
On
his release from active duty in 1953, Mr. Griffin was appointed
Chief of the Publications Division of the U.S. Army Signal Aviation
Test & Support Activity at Fort Rucker, Alabama.
Mr.
Griffin is a member of the Special Operations Association, the
Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the Army Aviation
Association, and the Armor Association.
He
was the 1991 recipient of the Brigadier General Robert L. Dening
Memorial Distinguished Service Award of the U.S. Marine Corps
Combat Correspondents Association, and the August 1999 recipient
of the Veterans of Foreign Wars News Media Award, presented at
the 100th National Convention in Kansas City.
He
has been vested into the Order of St. George of the U.S. Armor
Association, and the Order of St. Andrew of the U.S. Army Aviation
Association, and been awarded Honorary Doctoral degrees by Norwich
University, the nation's first and oldest private military college,
and by Troy State University (Ala.). He was the graduation dinner
speaker for the class of 1988 at the U.S. Military Academy at
West Point.
He
has been awarded honorary membership in the Special Forces Association,
the Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association, the Marine
Raiders Association, and the U.S. Army Otter & Caribou Association.
In January 2003, he was made a life member of the Police Chiefs
Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey,
and the State of Delaware.
He
is the co-founder, with historian Colonel Carlo D'Este, of
the William E. Colby Seminar on Intelligence, Military, and
Diplomatic Affairs. (www.norwich.edu/symposium
and www.colbysymposium.org)
He is a Life Member of the National Rifle Association. And he belongs to the Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Pensacola, Florida, chapters of the Flat Earth Society.
Mr.
Griffin's novels, known for their historical accuracy, have been
praised by The Philadelphia Inquirer for their "fierce,
stop-for-nothing scenes."
"Nothing
honors me more than a serviceman, veteran, or cop telling me he
enjoys reading my books," Mr. Griffin says.
Mr.
Griffin divides his time between the Gulf Coast and Buenos Aires.
