John Sack (March 24, 1930 – March 27, 2004) was an American literary journalist and

war correspondent A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories first-hand from a war, war zone. War correspondence stands as one of journalism's most important and impactful forms. War correspondents operate in the most conflict-ridden parts of the wor ...

. He was the only journalist to cover each American war over half a century.

Biography

Sack was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. His work appeared in such periodicals as ''

Harper's ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

'', ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'', ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'' and ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

''. He was a

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and the former

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. A reporter, researcher and later a stringer for

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...

in Spain, he authored ten books, including the controversial title '' An Eye for an Eye: The Untold Story of Jewish Revenge Against Germans in 1945'', which described cases of persecution of Germans by Jews in post–World War II Polish internment camps.''An Eye for An Eye: The Story of Jews Who Sought Revenge for the Holocaust''. Sack, John. ()

Death

He died on March 27, 2004, three days after his 74th birthday, from prostate cancer in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, according to hi
''New York Times'' obituary
He was survived by a sister, Lois Edelstein.

Publications

* 1952: '' The Butcher: The Ascent of

Yerupajá Yerupajá is a mountain of the Huayhuash mountain range in west central Peru, part of the Andes. It is located at Áncash, Bolognesi Province, Lauricocha Province. At (other sources: ) it is the second-highest in Peru and the highest in the ...

'' New York: Rinehart & Co. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 52-7159 * 1959: '' Report from Practically Nowhere'' * 1968: ''M''. New York: Avon Books. Reissued in 1986 by Corgi Children's. * 1971: ''Lieutenant Calley: his own story''; s told toJohn Sack. New York: Viking Press. ** 1971: ''Body count: Lieutenant Calley's story''; as told to John Sack. London: Hutchinson, 1971. * 1982: ''Fingerprint''. New York: Random House * 1993: '' An Eye for an Eye''. New York, NY: BasicBooks (about Lola Potok Ackerfeld Blatt) * 1995: ''Company C: the real war in Iraq''. New York: William Morrow;

References

External links

"John Sack, 74, Correspondent Who Reported From Battlefields"
by Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, ''The New York Times'', March 31, 2004

1966 Esquire article "M", aka "Oh my God — we hit a little girl."
1930 births 2004 deaths American male journalists American male non-fiction writers American war correspondents Deaths from prostate cancer in California Jewish American journalists Jewish American non-fiction writers 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews {{US-journalist-1930s-stub