Leon Uris
<p>Internationally acclaimed novelist Leon Uris ran away from home at age seventeen, a month after the attack on Pearl Harbor, to join the Marine Corps, and he served at Guadalcanal and Tarawa. His first novel, <em>Battle Cry</em>, was based on his own experiences in the Marines, which he revisited in his final novel, <em>O'Hara's Choice</em>. His other novels include the bestsellers <em>Redemption, Trinity, Exodus, QB VII,</em> and <em>Topaz,</em> among others. Leon Uris passed away in June 2003.</p>