An author and former U.S. Marine, he is best known for his historical, military-themed novel, Once An Eagle (1968). His other works include The Big War (1957) and Evil Under the Sun (1951).
He studied briefly at Harvard before serving in the United States Marines during World War II.
He was wounded in Guam during the Second World War.
He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, and he grew up in Boston. He married Judith Rothschild in 1947.
He and James Bryant Conant both attended Harvard.
