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 Anne (née Harloe) and Lucian K. Truscott III, a U.S. Army colonel."Lucian K. Truscott, IV." ''Contemporary Authors Online''. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Biography In Context. Web. June 5, 2013. His grandfather Lucian Jr. was a U.S. 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 U.S. Army in Korea and Vietnam, retiring as a colonel. Truscott attended the United States Military Academy, 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 resulted in a 1972 US Court of Appeals decision (upheld by the Supreme Court) that ended mandatory chapel attendance at all the service academies. He was then assigned to Fort Carson, Colorado. 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, 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 ...

, so he resigned his commission about thirteen months after graduating, receiving a "general discharge under other than honorable conditions." Truscott is a member of the Monticello Association, the members of which descend from Thomas Jefferson, who was Truscott's sixth-great-grandfather. The association owns the graveyard at Monticello. During a November 1998 appearance on the '' Oprah Winfrey Show'' he invited descendants of

Sally Hemings Sarah "Sally" Hemings ( 1773 – 1835) was a Black people, black woman Slavery in the United States, enslaved to the third President of the United States Thomas Jefferson, inherited among many others from his father-in-law, John Wayles. Hemi ...

to the family reunion in 2000. The Hemings descendants had not been allowed to join the association, nor to be buried in its graveyard. Truscott lives in rural Pennsylvania with his wife, the artist Tracy Harris. He has three children: Lilly Truscott, Lucian K. Truscott V, and Violet Truscott.

Journalism

Starting in 1970, Truscott joined ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'' 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 Truscott graduated from West Point, described the riot at the Stonewall Inn on June 27, 1969. At present, Truscott writes a daily online column. He posts a newsletter on Substack.

Novels

Truscott's first novel, ''Dress Gray'', was about a gay 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, Eddie Albert, and

Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his leading and supporting roles in a variety of genres, from comedy to drama. He has received List of awards and nominations received by A ...

;

Gore Vidal Eugene Luther Gore Vidal ( ; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his acerbic epigrammatic wit. His novels and essays interrogated the Social norm, social and sexual ...

wrote the screenplay. The movie rights for his fourth novel, ''Heart of War'', were sold for $1 million. 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 blogTruscott's newsletter
{{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