Clay Blair
Clay Drewry Blair Jr. (May 1, 1925 – December 16, 1998) was an American journalist and author, best known for his books on military history. Blair wrote some two dozen history books and hundreds of magazine articles that reached a popular audience. Early life and military service Blair was born in Lexington, Virginia. Blair enlisted in the United States Navy in 1943, during World War II. Around 1944, he attended Basic Enlisted Submarine School followed by Quartermaster Class A School, after which he was assigned to Sperry (AS-12), a submarine tender. During 1945, Blair was posted to the fleet submarine Guardfish (SS-217). He was on that boat's last two war patrols off Japan. Blair served on Guardfish into 1946, after the war was over, then was discharged from the Navy. His highest rank was Quartermaster 2nd Class. Education and journalism career Blair attended both Tulane University and Columbia University. He attended the first as a prospective architecture student, but decided instead to go to New York and attend the Columbia School of Journalism. In the end, he did not graduate from either institutions. Blair later wrote for Time and Life magazines. At Time-Life during the 1950s he covered the Pentagon,