William Manchester (1922–2004)

William Manchester enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. He served in the Pacific theater, where he was gravely wounded. He wrote in his 1980 memoir "Goodbye, Darkness" that it was the most deeply felt period of his life and that the men he served with were closer to him than any friends had been or ever would be. Manchester went on to become an historian and wrote bestselling biographies, histories, and other works about the military.