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Tim O'Brien is from small town Minnesota. He was born in Austin on October 1, 1946, a birth date he shares with several of his characters (as well as with his webmaster!), and grew up in Worthington, "Turkey Capital of the World."
He matriculated at Macalester College. Graduation in 1968 found him with a BA in political science and a draft notice.
O'Brien was against the war, but reported for service and was sent to Vietnam with what has been called the "unlucky" Americal division due to its involvement in the My Lai massacre in 1968, an event which figures prominently in In the Lake of the Woods.. He was assigned to 3rd Platoon, A Co., 5th Batt. 46th Inf., as an infantry foot soldier. O'Brien's tour of duty was 1969-70.
After Vietnam he became a graduate student at Harvard. No doubt he was one of very few Vietnam veterans there at that time, much less Combat Infantry Badge (CIB) holders. Having the opportunity to do an internship at the Washington Post, he eventually left Harvard to become a newspaper reporter. O'Brien's career as a reporter gave way to his fiction writing after publication of his memoir If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Send Me Home.
Tim O'Brien is now a visiting professor and endowed chair at Southwest Texas State University where he teaches in the Creative Writing Program.
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Book Awards
National Book Award in fiction
- Going After Cacciato
France's Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger - The Things They Carried
Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize - The Things They Carried
Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award - The Things They Carried
James Fenimore Cooper Prize from the Society of American Historians - In The Lake of the Woods
Named best novel of the year by Time magazine - In The Lake of the Woods
Short Fiction Honors
National Magazine Award - short story: The Things They Carried
Included in The Best American Short Stories of the Century edited by John Updike - short story: The Things They Carried
Literary Achievement Awards
American Academy of Arts and Letters
Guggenheim Foundation
National Endowment for the Arts.
Elected Memberships
Society of American Historians
American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
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Do you know someone in the service? |
My Vietnam Related Websites: Women in
Vietnam ~ Read about ALL the women who served . . . Dusty's Home
Page ~ Poetry and prose by a woman who was a nurse in Vietnam The
Irish on the Wall ~ An effort to locate the Irish who died in Vietnam Tim
O'Brien's Home Page ~ National Book Award Winner and Americal Vet Emily's Poetry
~ By a Red Cross Donut Dolly Shrapnel in
the Heart ~ The most moving book you will read on Vietnam All About
Vietnam ~ An annotated bibliography of books about Vietnam for
sale thru Amazon Worldwide! Battle
Dressing ~ The Journey of a Nurse in Vietnam Project Hearts
and Minds ~ Help put Viet Nam back together Photos
from a Holts' Military History Tour ~ My trip to Vietnam, February 1998 |
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My Other Websites:  Maybe
Later . . . ~ My Creative NonfictionIrish
in Korea ~ Irish men and women who gave their lives in the Korean War Literature
of the Korean War ~ Don't let the literature be forgotten Samuel
Pepys ~ One of my favorite authors Chicago
Theatre Z - A ~ This is the best theater town in the country! Soccer
Literature ~ I'm a fan and I read O'Leary Lantern
~ Fire! Fire! Fire! Gil
Thorp ~ THE Coach (apologies to The General!) Poetry
of the First World War ~ Owen, Hardy and others Chi-COW-go
~ Cowz plus Commentary (this used to be a cow town) Graham
Fulton, Scottish Poet ~ Charles Manson Auditions for the Monkees |
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Other Important Websites:  The
Truth About Caroline ~ a really good Young Adult book by
my niece, Stacey M. Lane Grosh Remember
Oklahoma City ~
The Civil Service and Military will
NEVER forget! Milton
L. Olive III ~ Posthumous Medal of Honor Recipient |
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