Ira Wolfert (November 1, 1908 – November 24, 1997) was an American Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent and a fiction and non-fiction writer.

Early life and education

Wolfert was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, New York. In 1930, he graduated from the

Columbia University School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism sc ...

with a bachelor's degree.

Career

Wolfert was a correspondent for the North American Newspaper Alliance from the 1930s through

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. In 1941, he was aboard the '' Surcouf'' when it helped to liberate

Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Pierre and Miquelon (), officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (french: link=no, Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon ), is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France in t ...

. His series of articles about the November 1942

Naval Battle of Guadalcanal The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, the Battle of Friday the 13th, or, in Japanese sources, the , took place from 12 to 15 November 1942, and was t ...

won him the

Pulitzer Prize for Telegraphic Reporting (International) This Pulitzer Prize has been awarded since 1942 for a distinguished example of reporting on international affairs, including United Nations correspondence. In its first six years (1942–1947), it was called the Pulitzer Prize for Telegraphic R ...

. In 1944, Wolfert co-wrote ''One-Man Air Force'' with Captain Don Gentile, a leading fighter ace. The book is an autobiography of Gentile and details his exploits as a fighter pilot flying P-51 Mustangs with the Eighth Air Force. His first novel, ''Tucker's People'' about a vicious New York gangster, published in 1943, was well received by both critics and the general public. Wolfert co-wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation, ''

Force of Evil ''Force of Evil'' is a 1948 American crime film noir starring John Garfield and directed by Abraham Polonsky. It was adapted by Polonsky and Ira Wolfert from Wolfert's novel ''Tucker's People''. Polonsky had been a screenwriter for the boxing f ...

'', released in 1948. That same year, he had another success with the novel ''An Act of Love''. He also wrote non-fiction, including the 1943 bestselling eyewitness account ''Battle for the Solomons'' and the 1945 ''American Guerrilla in the Philippines'', which recounts the exploits of Navy officer Iliff David Richardson and was made into a 1950 film of the same name, starring

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James'', ' ...

as Richardson. After the war, he continued to write, mainly articles for ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wif ...

''. The House Un-American Activities Committee considered the leftist Wolfert a communist by association.

Personal life

In 1928, Wolfert married Helen Herschdorfer, a poet. They had two children, Ruth and Michael. Their marriage lasted 57 years, until Helen died in 1985. On November 24, 1997, Wolfert died in

Margaretville, New York Margaretville is a village in Delaware County, New York, United States. The population was 596 at the 2010 census. The village is in the town of Middletown, on the border of the Catskill Park. Geography Margaretville is located near the geograp ...

at the age of 89.

References

External links

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Review of ''Married Men'' at The Neglected Books Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfert, Ira 1908 births 1997 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male journalists American male novelists American war correspondents Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting winners Journalists from New York City 20th-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state) 20th-century American non-fiction writers Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni