Chicago Tribune (IL) - November 19, 2006
Deceased Name: Nicholas Proffitt: 1943 - 2006 Journalist's 1st novel became Coppola film Experience in honor guard at Arlington National Cemetery inspired writer's 'Gardens of Stone' after his years as a war correspondent
Nicholas Proffitt, a war correspondent for Newsweek in Vietnam and Beirut who also wrote a novel and a screenplay based on his service in the honor guard at Arlington National Cemetery, died Nov. 10 at his home in Naples, Fla. He was 63.
The cause was kidney cancer, said his wife, Martie Hudson Proffitt.
An Army brat with a deep appreciation for the grunts in the field, Mr. Proffitt covered the Vietnam War for Newsweek as a correspondent in 1970 and as its Saigon bureau chief in 1971. In April 1975, after three years of reporting on the civil strife in Lebanon as Newsweek's Beirut bureau chief, Mr. Proffitt returned to Vietnam to cover the fall of Saigon.
The eldest son of a career Army sergeant, Mr. Proffitt spent his childhood on military bases around the country. In 1961, after graduating from high school, he enlisted in the Army. He then took a test and was accepted as a West Point cadet, only to drop out after a semester. Obliged to complete his three-year enlistment, he was assigned to the honor guard at Arlington National Cemetery.
His experiences there inspired his first novel, "Gardens of Stone" (1983), about a sergeant who is first frustrated by burying dead soldiers rather than serving in Vietnam, then devastated by the combat death of a friend. The book was made into a film, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring James Caan and Anjelica Huston, in 1987.
Nicholas Charles Proffitt was born in 1943, in Sault Ste. Marie, Wis. Besides his wife and his mother, who lives in Kaukauna, Wis., Mr. Proffitt is survived by two sons, Timothy of Houston and Paine of Stoke-on-Trent, England; a daughter, Lucia, of Philadelphia; a brother, Stanley, of Winneconne, Wis.; and five grandchildren. His first marriage, to Nan Grabb, ended in divorce in 1970.
After his Army service, Mr. Proffitt attended the University of Arizona, where he earned a degree in journalism in 1968. Soon after, he was hired as a reporter in Newsweek's Los Angeles bureau, and a year later was assigned to Vietnam.
Following his stint in Lebanon, Mr. Proffitt was Newsweek's bureau chief in London, Houston and Nairobi. He retired in 1981 and began writing novels.
After "Gardens of Stone," he wrote "The Embassy House" (1986), about CIA operations in Vietnam, and "Edge of Eden" (1990), about animal poaching in Africa, based on his time there.
Deceased Name: Nicholas Proffitt: 1943 - 2006 Journalist's 1st novel became Coppola film Experience in honor guard at Arlington National Cemetery inspired writer's 'Gardens of Stone' after his years as a war correspondent
Nicholas Proffitt, a war correspondent for Newsweek in Vietnam and Beirut who also wrote a novel and a screenplay based on his service in the honor guard at Arlington National Cemetery, died Nov. 10 at his home in Naples, Fla. He was 63.
The cause was kidney cancer, said his wife, Martie Hudson Proffitt.
An Army brat with a deep appreciation for the grunts in the field, Mr. Proffitt covered the Vietnam War for Newsweek as a correspondent in 1970 and as its Saigon bureau chief in 1971. In April 1975, after three years of reporting on the civil strife in Lebanon as Newsweek's Beirut bureau chief, Mr. Proffitt returned to Vietnam to cover the fall of Saigon.
The eldest son of a career Army sergeant, Mr. Proffitt spent his childhood on military bases around the country. In 1961, after graduating from high school, he enlisted in the Army. He then took a test and was accepted as a West Point cadet, only to drop out after a semester. Obliged to complete his three-year enlistment, he was assigned to the honor guard at Arlington National Cemetery.
His experiences there inspired his first novel, "Gardens of Stone" (1983), about a sergeant who is first frustrated by burying dead soldiers rather than serving in Vietnam, then devastated by the combat death of a friend. The book was made into a film, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring James Caan and Anjelica Huston, in 1987.
Nicholas Charles Proffitt was born in 1943, in Sault Ste. Marie, Wis. Besides his wife and his mother, who lives in Kaukauna, Wis., Mr. Proffitt is survived by two sons, Timothy of Houston and Paine of Stoke-on-Trent, England; a daughter, Lucia, of Philadelphia; a brother, Stanley, of Winneconne, Wis.; and five grandchildren. His first marriage, to Nan Grabb, ended in divorce in 1970.
After his Army service, Mr. Proffitt attended the University of Arizona, where he earned a degree in journalism in 1968. Soon after, he was hired as a reporter in Newsweek's Los Angeles bureau, and a year later was assigned to Vietnam.
Following his stint in Lebanon, Mr. Proffitt was Newsweek's bureau chief in London, Houston and Nairobi. He retired in 1981 and began writing novels.
After "Gardens of Stone," he wrote "The Embassy House" (1986), about CIA operations in Vietnam, and "Edge of Eden" (1990), about animal poaching in Africa, based on his time there.
Chicago Tribune (IL) - November 19, 2006
Deceased Name: Nicholas Proffitt: 1943 - 2006 Journalist's 1st novel became Coppola film Experience in honor guard at Arlington National Cemetery inspired writer's 'Gardens of Stone' after his years as a war correspondent
Nicholas Proffitt, a war correspondent for Newsweek in Vietnam and Beirut who also wrote a novel and a screenplay based on his service in the honor guard at Arlington National Cemetery, died Nov. 10 at his home in Naples, Fla. He was 63.
The cause was kidney cancer, said his wife, Martie Hudson Proffitt.
An Army brat with a deep appreciation for the grunts in the field, Mr. Proffitt covered the Vietnam War for Newsweek as a correspondent in 1970 and as its Saigon bureau chief in 1971. In April 1975, after three years of reporting on the civil strife in Lebanon as Newsweek's Beirut bureau chief, Mr. Proffitt returned to Vietnam to cover the fall of Saigon.
The eldest son of a career Army sergeant, Mr. Proffitt spent his childhood on military bases around the country. In 1961, after graduating from high school, he enlisted in the Army. He then took a test and was accepted as a West Point cadet, only to drop out after a semester. Obliged to complete his three-year enlistment, he was assigned to the honor guard at Arlington National Cemetery.
His experiences there inspired his first novel, "Gardens of Stone" (1983), about a sergeant who is first frustrated by burying dead soldiers rather than serving in Vietnam, then devastated by the combat death of a friend. The book was made into a film, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring James Caan and Anjelica Huston, in 1987.
Nicholas Charles Proffitt was born in 1943, in Sault Ste. Marie, Wis. Besides his wife and his mother, who lives in Kaukauna, Wis., Mr. Proffitt is survived by two sons, Timothy of Houston and Paine of Stoke-on-Trent, England; a daughter, Lucia, of Philadelphia; a brother, Stanley, of Winneconne, Wis.; and five grandchildren. His first marriage, to Nan Grabb, ended in divorce in 1970.
After his Army service, Mr. Proffitt attended the University of Arizona, where he earned a degree in journalism in 1968. Soon after, he was hired as a reporter in Newsweek's Los Angeles bureau, and a year later was assigned to Vietnam.
Following his stint in Lebanon, Mr. Proffitt was Newsweek's bureau chief in London, Houston and Nairobi. He retired in 1981 and began writing novels.
After "Gardens of Stone," he wrote "The Embassy House" (1986), about CIA operations in Vietnam, and "Edge of Eden" (1990), about animal poaching in Africa, based on his time there.
Deceased Name: Nicholas Proffitt: 1943 - 2006 Journalist's 1st novel became Coppola film Experience in honor guard at Arlington National Cemetery inspired writer's 'Gardens of Stone' after his years as a war correspondent
Nicholas Proffitt, a war correspondent for Newsweek in Vietnam and Beirut who also wrote a novel and a screenplay based on his service in the honor guard at Arlington National Cemetery, died Nov. 10 at his home in Naples, Fla. He was 63.
The cause was kidney cancer, said his wife, Martie Hudson Proffitt.
An Army brat with a deep appreciation for the grunts in the field, Mr. Proffitt covered the Vietnam War for Newsweek as a correspondent in 1970 and as its Saigon bureau chief in 1971. In April 1975, after three years of reporting on the civil strife in Lebanon as Newsweek's Beirut bureau chief, Mr. Proffitt returned to Vietnam to cover the fall of Saigon.
The eldest son of a career Army sergeant, Mr. Proffitt spent his childhood on military bases around the country. In 1961, after graduating from high school, he enlisted in the Army. He then took a test and was accepted as a West Point cadet, only to drop out after a semester. Obliged to complete his three-year enlistment, he was assigned to the honor guard at Arlington National Cemetery.
His experiences there inspired his first novel, "Gardens of Stone" (1983), about a sergeant who is first frustrated by burying dead soldiers rather than serving in Vietnam, then devastated by the combat death of a friend. The book was made into a film, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring James Caan and Anjelica Huston, in 1987.
Nicholas Charles Proffitt was born in 1943, in Sault Ste. Marie, Wis. Besides his wife and his mother, who lives in Kaukauna, Wis., Mr. Proffitt is survived by two sons, Timothy of Houston and Paine of Stoke-on-Trent, England; a daughter, Lucia, of Philadelphia; a brother, Stanley, of Winneconne, Wis.; and five grandchildren. His first marriage, to Nan Grabb, ended in divorce in 1970.
After his Army service, Mr. Proffitt attended the University of Arizona, where he earned a degree in journalism in 1968. Soon after, he was hired as a reporter in Newsweek's Los Angeles bureau, and a year later was assigned to Vietnam.
Following his stint in Lebanon, Mr. Proffitt was Newsweek's bureau chief in London, Houston and Nairobi. He retired in 1981 and began writing novels.
After "Gardens of Stone," he wrote "The Embassy House" (1986), about CIA operations in Vietnam, and "Edge of Eden" (1990), about animal poaching in Africa, based on his time there.
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