William Edmund Butterworth III (November 10, 1929 – February 12, 2019),[1] better known by his pen name W. E. B. Griffin, was an American writer of military and detective fiction with 59 novels in seven series published under that name. Twenty-one of those books were co-written with his son, William E Butterworth IV. He also published under 11 other pseudonyms and three versions of his real name (W. E. Butterworth, William E. Butterworth, and William E. Butterworth III).[2]
W. E. B. Griffin
Born
William Edmund Butterworth III (1929-11-10)November 10, 1929 Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Died
February 12, 2019(2019-02-12) (aged 89) Daphne, Alabama, U.S.
In Korea he first served as an official Army war correspondent with the 223rd Infantry Regiment, then as public information officer for U.S. X Corps, which included the 1st Marine Division.[3] Griffin received the Combat Infantryman Badge for service at the front lines.[4] His knowledge of combat and garrison life and his friendships with military personnel from different services would well serve his 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 was modest about his own service. He once told a Barnes & Noble interviewer:
My own military background is wholly undistinguished. 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.[5]
Writing career
After the end of the Korean War, 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 160 fiction and nonfiction works to his credit. He was well-known and respected in the literary world for his thrillers and crime novels.[6]
His son William E. Butterworth IV (previously editor of Boys' Life, the magazine of the Boy Scouts of America) co-authored some of his books. Butterworth fils was a long-time editor who moved from assisting in editing his father's work to collaborator. As of July 2015, he has been co-author of sixteen Griffin books in five different novel series. He was the keynote speaker at the 2014 Mystery Writers Key West Fest.[7]
Griffin's knowledge of military jargon and administrative writing style shows when fictional orders and dispatches are incorporated in his novels. Many of his characters must battle red tape and bureaucratic mix-ups, sometimes making humorous end-runs around the system.
Griffin was 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 Colonel Carlo D'Este. Griffin was a member of the Colby Circle, having participated in the William E. Colby Writers Symposium at Norwich University.[8]
Family life
In 1950, Griffin married Emma Macalik, a ballet dancer and the author of As the Waltz Was Ending, a memoir of her life growing up as a dancer in Vienna during World War II. They had a daughter (Patricia) and two sons (John S. II and William E. IV). The marriage ended in divorce in the 1990s.[9] Emma died from lung cancer in 2003.[10]
Griffin later married Maria del Pilar Menendez, whom he had met in Argentina. She died in 2018.[11]
Griffin died in February 2019 from colorectal cancer at the age of 89.[11]
List of written works
The following is the list of books written by W.E.B. Griffin:[12]
Works by or about William Edmund Butterworth in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
Works by or about W. E. B. Griffin in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
January 31, 2023
griffin, william, edmund, butterworth, november, 1929, february, 2019, better, known, name, american, writer, military, detective, fiction, with, novels, seven, series, published, under, that, name, twenty, those, books, were, written, with, william, butterwor. William Edmund Butterworth III November 10 1929 February 12 2019 1 better known by his pen name W E B Griffin was an American writer of military and detective fiction with 59 novels in seven series published under that name Twenty one of those books were co written with his son William E Butterworth IV He also published under 11 other pseudonyms and three versions of his real name W E Butterworth William E Butterworth and William E Butterworth III 2 W E B GriffinBornWilliam Edmund Butterworth III 1929 11 10 November 10 1929Newark New Jersey U S DiedFebruary 12 2019 2019 02 12 aged 89 Daphne Alabama U S OccupationWriterNationalityAmericanNotable worksThe Lieutenants M A S H Goes to New Orleans Badge of Honor SeriesSpouseEmma Josefa Macalik m 1950 died 2003 wbr Maria del Pilar Menendez died 2018 WebsiteOfficial website Contents 1 Early life education and military service 2 Writing career 3 Family life 4 List of written works 5 References 6 External linksEarly life education and military service EditGriffin grew up in New York City and Philadelphia He joined the United States Army in 1946 His military occupation was counterintelligence and in this capacity he served in the Constabulary in Germany thus earning the Army of Occupation Medal 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 supplied much of the inspiration for such Griffin creations as Oberst Graf von Greiffenberg who appears in several of the Brotherhood of War novels After completing his active duty military service Griffin attended Philipps Universitat Marburg at Marburg an der Lahn His college days were cut short in 1951 when he was recalled to serve in the Korean War 1 In Korea he first served as an official Army war correspondent with the 223rd Infantry Regiment then as public information officer for U S X Corps which included the 1st Marine Division 3 Griffin received the Combat Infantryman Badge for service at the front lines 4 His knowledge of combat and garrison life and his friendships with military personnel from different services would well serve his 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 was modest about his own service He once told a Barnes amp Noble interviewer My own military background is wholly undistinguished 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 5 Writing career EditAfter the end of the Korean War 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 amp 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 160 fiction and nonfiction works to his credit He was well known and respected in the literary world for his thrillers and crime novels 6 His son William E Butterworth IV previously editor of Boys Life the magazine of the Boy Scouts of America co authored some of his books Butterworth fils was a long time editor who moved from assisting in editing his father s work to collaborator As of July 2015 he has been co author of sixteen Griffin books in five different novel series He was the keynote speaker at the 2014 Mystery Writers Key West Fest 7 Griffin s knowledge of military jargon and administrative writing style shows when fictional orders and dispatches are incorporated in his novels Many of his characters must battle red tape and bureaucratic mix ups sometimes making humorous end runs around the system Griffin was 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 Colonel Carlo D Este Griffin was a member of the Colby Circle having participated in the William E Colby Writers Symposium at Norwich University 8 Family life EditIn 1950 Griffin married Emma Macalik a ballet dancer and the author of As the Waltz Was Ending a memoir of her life growing up as a dancer in Vienna during World War II They had a daughter Patricia and two sons John S II and William E IV The marriage ended in divorce in the 1990s 9 Emma died from lung cancer in 2003 10 Griffin later married Maria del Pilar Menendez whom he had met in Argentina She died in 2018 11 Griffin died in February 2019 from colorectal cancer at the age of 89 11 List of written works EditThe following is the list of books written by W E B Griffin 12 Written as W E B Griffin The Brotherhood of War Series U S Army The Lieutenants 1982 ISBN 0 515 09021 2 The Captains 1982 ISBN 0 09 961420 0 The Majors 1983 ISBN 0 09 961430 8 The Colonels 1983 ISBN 0 515 07351 2 The Berets 1985 ISBN 0 09 961440 5 The Generals 1986 ISBN 0 515 08455 7 The New Breed 1987 ISBN 0 399 13305 4 The Aviators 1988 ISBN 0 7126 3689 7 Special Ops 2001 ISBN 0 515 13248 9 The Corps Series United States Marine Corps Semper Fi 1986 ISBN 0 00 647227 3 Call to Arms 1987 ISBN 0 515 09349 1 Counterattack 1990 ISBN 0 399 13493 X Battleground 1991 ISBN 0 515 10640 2 Line of Fire 1992 ISBN 0 399 13671 1 Close Combat 1993 ISBN 0 399 13766 1 Behind the Lines 1995 ISBN 0 399 14086 7 In Danger s Path 1998 ISBN 0 515 12698 5 Under Fire 2002 ISBN 0 515 13437 6 Retreat Hell 2004 ISBN 0 515 13861 4 Men at War Series Office of Strategic Services OSS in ETO The Last Heroes Originally published as In The Line of Duty under the pseudonym of Alex Baldwin 1984 The Secret Warriors Originally published as Covert Operations under the pseudonym of Alex Baldwin 1985 The Soldier Spies Originally published as Give me Liberty under the pseudonym of Alex Baldwin 1986 The Fighting Agents Originally published as Into Enemy Hands under the pseudonym of Alex Baldwin 1989 The Saboteurs 2007 with William E Butterworth IV The Double Agents 2008 with William E Butterworth IV The Spymasters 2012 with William E Butterworth IV ISBN 0 399 15751 4 OCLC 668193226 Badge of Honor Series Philadelphia Police Department Men in Blue Originally published under pseudonym John Kevin Dugan 1988 Special Operations Originally published under pseudonym John Kevin Dugan 1989 The Victim 1991 The Witness 1992 The Assassin 1993 The Murderers 1994 The Investigators 1997 Final Justice 2003 The Traffickers 2009 with William E Butterworth IV The Vigilantes 2010 with William E Butterworth IV The Last Witness 2013 with William E Butterworth IV ISBN 0 399 16257 7 Deadly Assets 2015 with William E Butterworth IV ISBN 9780399171178 Broken Trust 2016 with William E Butterworth IV ISBN 9780399171208 The Attack 2019 with William E Butterworth IV ISBN 9780525541752 Honor Bound Series OSS in South America Honor Bound 1993 Blood and Honor 1996 Secret Honor 1999 Death and Honor 2008 with William E Butterworth IV The Honor of Spies 2009 with William E Butterworth IV Victory and Honor 2011 with William E Butterworth IV Empire and Honor 2012 with William E Butterworth IV ISBN 0 399 16066 3 OCLC 785077565 The Presidential Agent Series contemporary counterterrorism By Order of the President 2005 ISBN 0399152075 OCLC 55960903 The Hostage 2006 ISBN 0399153144 OCLC 61151635 The Hunters 2007 ISBN 0 399 15379 9 OCLC 191728479 The Shooters 2008 ISBN 0 399 15440 X OCLC 154688721 Black Ops 2009 ISBN 9780399155178 OCLC 213308426 The Outlaws 2010 with William E Butterworth IV ISBN 0 399 15683 6 Covert Warriors 2011 with William E Butterworth IV ISBN 0 399 15780 8 OCLC 751991340 Hazardous Duty 2013 with William E Butterworth IV ISBN 9780399160677 OCLC 837143850 Clandestine Operations Series early CIA Top Secret 2014 with William E Butterworth IV ISBN 9781410471420 The Assassination Option 2014 with William E Butterworth IV ISBN 9780399171246 Curtain of Death 2016 with William E Butterworth IV ISBN 9780399176739 Death at Nuremberg 2017 with William E Butterworth IV ISBN 9780399176746 The Enemy of My Enemy 2018 with William E Butterworth IV ISBN 9780735213067 Written with Richard Hooker as William E Butterworth M A S H Series M A S H Goes to New Orleans 1974 ISBN 0671784900 M A S H Goes to Paris 1974 ISBN 0671784919 OCLC 1801773 M A S H Goes to London 1975 OCLC 1737522 M A S H Goes to Vienna 1976 OCLC 2350355 M A S H Goes to San Francisco 1976 ISBN 0722146450 OCLC 16430000 M A S H Goes to Morocco 1976 ISBN 0722146485 OCLC 16359954 M A S H Goes to Miami 1976 ISBN 0671807056 OCLC 2539401 M A S H Goes to Las Vegas 1976 ISBN 0671802658 OCLC 2033439 M A S H Goes to Hollywood 1976 ISBN 9780671804084 OCLC 2312954 M A S H Goes to Texas 1977 ISBN 0671808923 OCLC 3039993 M A S H Goes to Moscow 1977 ISBN 0722146655 OCLC 16477963 M A S H Goes to Montreal 1977 ISBN 0722146647 OCLC 15907621 Written under pseudonym of Webb Beech No French Leave 1960 Article 92 Murder Rape 1965 Warrior s Way 1965 Make War in Madness 1966 Written under pseudonym of Walker E Blake Heartbreak Ridge 1962 Hell on Wheels 1962 The Girl in the Black Bikini 1962 The Loved and the Lost 1962 Once More With Passion 1964 Doing What Comes Naturally 1965 Written under pseudonym of James McM Douglas Hunger For Racing 1967 Racing to Glory 1969 The Twelve cylinder Screamer 1971 Drag Race Driver 1971 A Long Ride on a Cycle 1972 Written under the pseudonym of Jack Dugan The Deep Kill 1984 Written under pseudonym of Eden Hughes The Wiltons 1980 The Selkerks 1982 Written under pseudonym of Allison Mitchell Wild Harvest 1983 Wild Heritage 1984 Written under pseudonym of Edmund O Scholefield L il Wildcat 1965 Tiger Rookie 1966 Bryan s Dog 1967 Maverick on the Mound 1968 Yankee Boy 1970 Written under the pseudonym of Blakely St James Christina s Passion 1977 Written under pseudonym of Patrick J Williams Return to Daytona 1962 Flat Out 1965 Fastest Funny Car 1967 Grad Prix Racing 1968 The Green Ghost 1968 Racing Mechanic 1971 Team Racer 1972 Written as W E Butterworth William E Butterworth or William E Butterworth III Comfort Me With Love 1959 Hot Seat 1959 The Love Go Round 1960 Where We Go From Here 1961 The Court Martial 1962 The Wonders of Astronomy 1964 The Wonders of Rockets and Missiles 1965 Fast Green Car or Flat Out 1965 Stock car Racer 1966 Air Evac 1967 Soldiers on Horseback The Story of the United States Cavalry 1966 The Image Makers 1967 Helicopter Pilot 1967 Road Racer 1967 Orders to Vietnam 1968 Redline 7100 1968 Grand Prix Driver 1969 Stop and Search 1969 The Wheel of a Fast Car 1969 Up to the Quarterback 1969 Fast and Smart 1970 Marty and the Micromidgets 1970 later as Micro Midget Racer 1973 Susan and Her Classic Convertible 1970 Steve Bellamy 1970 Stars and Planets 1970 Moving West on 122 1971 Crazy to Race 1971 My Father s Quite a Guy 1971 Flying Army The Modern Air Arm of the U S Army 1971 Return to Racing 1971 Wheels and Pistons The Story of the Automobile 1971 The High Wind the Story of NASCAR Racing 1971 The Sex Traveler 1971 Dateline Talladega 1972 The Narc 1972 Skyjacked 1972 The Race Driver 1972 Flying Army The Modern Air Arm of the U S Army 1973 Hot Wire 1973 Race Car Team 1973 Yankee Driver 1973 Dave White and the Electric Wonder Car 1974 Stop Thief 1974 Tires and Other Things Some Heroes of Automotive Evolution 1975 Careers in the Armed Services 1976 Mighty Minicycles 1976 The Roper Brothers and Their Magnificent Steam Automobile 1976 An Album of Automobile Racing 1977 Black Gold The Story of Oil 1977 Hifi From Edison s Phonograph to Quadraphonic Sound 1977 The Air Freight Mystery 1978 Next Stop Earth 1978 The Tank Driver 1978 The Hotel Mystery 1979 The Wrecker Driver 1979 Under the Influence 1980 Slaughter by Auto 1980 Leroy and the Old Man 1980 ISBN 0 590 07638 8 Flunking Out 1981 A Member of the Family 1982 Moose the Thing and Me 1982 The Hunting Trip 2015 ISBN 9780399176234References Edit a b W E B Griffin Military Man and Writer Dies at 89 Publishers Weekly February 15 2019 W E B Griffin Tour Info amp Book Signings www webgriffin com Blankenship Janie Vets of WWI Through Vietnam Became Famous in the Literary World VFW Magazine April 2015 p 48 W E B Griffin The Authors webgriffin com LeCount Andrew 2000 Meet the Authors W E B Griffin interview Barnes and Noble website Retrieved 2008 07 05 The Last Witness A Badge of Honor Novel Bookreporter com via www bookreporter com Poster Mystery Writers Key West Fest June 2014 The Colby Circle The William E Colby Military Writers Symposium Slotnik Daniel E 22 February 2019 W E B Griffin 89 Dies a Best Selling Novelist Dozens of Times The New York Times E M Butterworth In Remembrance January 6 2013 Archived from the original on January 6 2013 a b Slotnik Daniel E February 22 2019 W E B Griffin 89 Dies a Best Selling Novelist Dozens of Times The New York Times W E B Griffin The Authors webgriffin com External links EditOfficial website Barnes amp Noble interview Discusses The Hostage at the Pritzker Military Museum amp Library Works by or about William Edmund Butterworth in libraries WorldCat catalog Works by or about W E B Griffin in libraries WorldCat catalog Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title W E B Griffin amp oldid 1073241978, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
