Samuel Lynn Hynes (August 29, 1924 – October 9, 2019) was an American author. He won a Robert F. Kennedy Book Award for ''The Soldiers' Tale'' in 1998.

Biography

Hynes was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. He attended the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. Hynes served as a Marine Corps pilot from 1943 until 1946 and in 1952 and 1953. In a memoir, "Flights of Passage," Hynes explored in detail his pilot training and subsequent service in the Pacific during World War II. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross. He also discussed his experiences as a pilot in the documentary series '' The War'' by Ken Burns (2007). Burns interviewed Hynes again for '' The Vietnam War'' (2017), where Hynes discussed his experiences at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

during its anti-Vietnam War protests. Hynes was a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

and Woodrow Wilson Professor of Literature emeritus at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. His other books include ''On War and Writing'' (University of Chicago Press, 2018), ''A War Imagined'', ''The Growing Seasons'' and ''The Unsubstantial Air: American Fliers in the First World War'' published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in October 2014.

Family

Alex Preston (born 1979), British author and journalist, and his brother Samuel Preston (1982) lead singer of English band

The Ordinary Boys The Ordinary Boys are an English pop band from Worthing, West Sussex. Originally named Next in Line, they are influenced by punk rock and Britpop music. Their name derives from a Morrissey song, "The Ordinary Boys". The membership of the band ...

, are among his grandsons.

Death

Hynes died of congestive

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

at the age of 95 in his home in

Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...

, on October 9, 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hynes, Samuel 1924 births 2019 deaths Writers from Chicago Military personnel from Illinois United States Marine Corps pilots of World War II Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) MacDowell Colony fellows Princeton University faculty American male writers University of Minnesota alumni Columbia University alumni