Dan Cragg

Dan Cragg (born September 6, 1939 in Rochester, NY) is an American soldier, essayist, and science-fiction author.

Biography
He is the son of James Wilson and Gertrude (née Finucane) Cragg and was married to the late Sun P. (née Yi) (Seoul, Korea, March 28, 1974). They have one child, a son, named Tam Le, first sergeant, USMCR & currently a police officer, Prince George's County, MD; two grandchildren, Thomas and Heather. Mrs. Cragg died on April 14, 2009 after a lingering illness.

Education

 * University of Maryland College Park &mdash; B.A. (summa cum laude) (1982)
 * Graduate study at George Mason University (1983)

Memberships

 * Company Military Historians
 * National Rifle Association
 * Arlington Historical Society
 * Fairfax Historical Society
 * Rochester Historical Society

Military career
Served in the United States Army from 1958 to 1980, retiring with the rank of Sergeant Major. He served two tours of duty in Vietnam, 1962–63 and 1965-69 as well as tours of duty in Germany, Italy, and South Korea. From 1985-2003, worked in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Washington, DC as a management analyst; member, Fairfax County History Commission, 1997–2003; auxiliary police officer, Fairfax County PD, 1996-2002.

During his tour of duty in the US Army received, among other awards the Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal and the Vietnam Service Medal, with eleven campaign stars.

Writing career
Cragg writes both military-related fiction and non-fiction.

Non-fiction
Journalism: OpEd pieces, "The Washington Times," "The Wall Street Journal," "The Army Times," "Army Magazine," and many other journals; over 100 book reviews for "The Washington Times" newspaper.
 * The NCO Guide, Stackpole (Harrisburg, PA), 1982, 3rd edition (with Dennis D. Perez), 1989.
 * A Travel Guide to Military Installations, Stackpole, 1983, 2nd edition published as A Guide to Military Installations, 1988, 5th edition, 1996.
 * A Dictionary of Soldier Talk, Scribner (New York City), 1984 (with John Elting and Ernest Deal).
 * Inside the VC and NVA: The Real Story of North Vietnam's Armed Forces, Ballantine, 1992 (with Michael Lee Lanning).
 * Top Sergeant: The Life and Times of Sergeant Major of the Army William G. Bainbridge, Ballantine, 1992 (with William G. Bainbridge).
 * Generals in Muddy Boots: A Concise Encyclopedia of Combat Commanders, Berkley Publishing (New York City), 1996 (with Walter J. Boyne).

As editor
as D. J. CRAGG
 * Francis Grose, The Mirror's File: Advice to the Officers of the British Army, with a Biographical Sketch of the Life and a Bibliography of the Works of Captain Francis Grose, F.S.A., Owlswick, 1978 (also wrote introduction).
 * Guardians of the Republic (A History of the non-commissioned officer corps of the U.S. Army), Random House (New York City), 1992.
 * Operation Thirty-Four Alpha (history of U.S.-controlled commando operations in North Vietnam), Ballantine, 1992.

Fiction

 * The Soldier's Prize (novel), Ballantine (New York City), 1986.

The StarFist Saga (with David Sherman)

 * First to Fight, (1997)
 * School of Fire, (1998)
 * Steel Gauntlet, (1999)
 * Blood Contact, (1999)
 * TechnoKill, (2000)
 * Hangfire, (2000)
 * Kingdom's Swords, (2002)
 * Kingdom's Fury, (2003)
 * Lazarus Rising, (2003)
 * A World of Hurt, (2004)
 * Flashfire, (2006)
 * Firestorm, (2007)
 * Wings of Hell, (2008)
 * Double Jeopardy, (2009)

The StarFirst: Force Recon Saga (with David Sherman)

 * Backshot, (2005)
 * PointBlank, 2006
 * Recoil, 2008

Novels not part of a series

 * Jedi Trial (with David Sherman) (2004)