Lucian King Truscott IV (born April 11, 1947) is an American writer and journalist. A former staff writer for ''The Village Voice'', he is the author of several military-themed novels including ''Dress Gray,'' which was adapted into a 1986 television film of the same name.

Life

Truscott was born in Japan to US Army Colonel Lucian K. Truscott III and Anne (née Harloe)."Lucian K. Truscott, IV." ''Contemporary Authors Online''. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Biography In Context. Web. June 5, 2013. His grandfather Lucian Jr. was a US Army general during World War II where he commanded the 3rd Infantry Division and later the Fifth Army in Italy. His father Lucian III served in the US Army in Korea and Vietnam, retiring as a colonel. Truscott attended the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

, graduating in 1969. In 1968, Truscott and other cadets challenged the required attendance at chapel services. Later a court case filed by another cadet along with midshipmen at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

resulted in a 1972 US Court of Appeals decision (and upheld by the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

) that ended mandatory chapel attendance at all of the service academies. He was then assigned to

Fort Carson, Colorado Fort Carson is a United States Army post located directly south of Colorado Springs in El Paso, Pueblo, Fremont, and Huerfano counties, Colorado, United States. The developed portion of Fort Carson is located near the City of Colorado Springs ...

. There, he wrote an article about heroin addiction among enlisted soldiers and another about what he felt was an illegal court martial. He was threatened with being sent to

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, so he resigned his commission about thirteen months after graduating, receiving a "general discharge under other than honorable conditions." He is a member of the

Monticello Association The Monticello Association is a non-profit organization founded in 1913 to care for, preserve, and continue the use of the family graveyard at Monticello, the primary plantation of Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States. The o ...

, the members of which descend from Thomas Jefferson, who was Truscott's 6th-great-grandfather. The association owns the graveyard at Monticello. During a November 1998 appearance on the

Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime broadcast syndication, syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicag ...

he invited descendants of Sally Hemings to the family reunion in 2000. The Hemings descendants had not been allowed to join the association, or to be buried in its graveyard. He lives at the eastern end of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

with his wife, the artist

Tracy Harris __NOTOC__ Tracy Harris (born 1958) is an American artist, known for her Abstract art, abstract, Encaustic painting, encaustic paintings. Tracy Harris lives in Milford (town), Pennsylvania . Biography Tracy Harris was born in 1958 in Lawton, Ok ...

. He has three children: Lilly Truscott, Lucian K. Truscott V, and Violet Truscott.

Journalism

Starting in 1970, he joined ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'' as a freelancer and later staff writer. He had previously written for the ''Voice'' as a cadet, submitting "conservative, right-wing letters" that the newspaper eventually started to publish. One such letter, describing Christmas 1968 among the hippies at the Electric Circus nightclub, was published as a front-page story. Another piece, written a few weeks after he graduated from West Point, described the riot at the Stonewall Inn on June 27, 1969.

Novels

Truscott's first novel, ''Dress Gray'', was about a West Point cadet who was found dead. It was a bestseller, appearing thirteen weeks on ''The New York Times'' hardcover bestseller list and seven weeks on the paperback list. In ''The New York Times'', Gene Lyons wrote the book was "as compelling and important a popular novel has emerged or is likely to emerge from the Vietnam era." It was made into a two-part television movie in 1986, starring

Hal Holbrook Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. (February 17, 1925 – January 23, 2021) was an American actor, television director, and screenwriter. He first received critical acclaim in 1954 for a one-man stage show that he developed called ''Mark Twain Tonight!'' ...

, Eddie Albert, and

Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. In his early career, Baldwin played both leading and supporting roles in a variety of films such as Tim Burton's ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), Mike Nichol ...

; Gore Vidal wrote the screenplay. The movie rights for his fourth novel, ''Heart of War'', were sold for $1million. His fifth novel, ''Full Dress Gray'', was a sequel to his first. The earlier book received a cool reception from West Point, while for the sequel, the campus bookstore scheduled Truscott for two book signings. ''Library Journals review of the book described it as "a thoroughly satisfying mystery story with an uncommon setting." ''Booklist'' said that it was "a basic police procedural" but predicted the book would be "popular for its realistic dialogue couched in military protocol, which reflects the author's own past as a cadet."

Books published

* ''The Complete Van Book'' (1977) — * ''Dress Gray'' (1979) — * ''Army Blue'' (1989) — * ''Rules of the Road'' (1990) — * ''Heart of War'' (1997) — * ''Full Dress Gray'' (1998) —

References

External links

Truscott's blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Truscott, Lucian IV 1947 births Living people United States Military Academy alumni Jefferson family The Village Voice people American male novelists American military writers 20th-century American novelists American male non-fiction writers American male journalists 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American non-fiction writers American expatriates in Japan 20th-century American male writers