Lewis H. Burruss, Jr. was born in Richmond, Virginia, in the early days of America's involvement in World War II, to Captain and Mrs. Lewis Burruss.  Captain Burruss, a career soldier, was serving in the Coast Artillery Corps in Puerto Rico at the time.  "Bucky," as the younger Lewis has been called all his life, was the couple's fourth child and first son.  He was raised at various Army posts around the country and overseas.  After graduation from high school, Burruss attended Emory and Henry College in Virginia, where he earned a B.A. with majors in History and English, and a minor in German.  After a brief stint as a sales manager in the furniture industry, Burruss enlisted in the Army in 1965 and attended the Infantry Officer Candidate School, where he was commissioned as a Distinguished Graduate to the rank of Second Lieutenant, Infantry, in 1966.  He volunteered for the Special Forces and served with them until late 1970, by which time he had attained the rank of Captain and served two combat tours in Vietnam.  Both of those combat tours were served with the Special Forces' country-wide reaction force, the Mobile Strike Force.  During this time he was awarded the Silver Star, four Bronze Stars, the Air Medal, and three Vietnamese Crosses of Gallantry.

     

After attending the Infantry Officers Advanced Course, Burruss served in Germany for three years, commanding airborne and mechanized infantry companies.  He then returned to the Special Forces at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and was an instructor and faculty advisor in the Special Forces School, teaching in the Special Forces Officers Course, the Operations & Intelligence Course, and the Military Freefall Course (including night jumps with combat equipment from altitudes of up to 30,000 feet.)

     

In 1977, he attended and successfully completed the rigorous British Special Air Service Selection Course.  He was then selected by the late Colonel Charlie A. Beckwith to help form and train the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment - Delta, more commonly known as the Delta Force.  Burruss served his last nine years in the Army in the Delta Force.  He commanded the unit's first operational element, and later served as the commander of Delta's Selection and Training Detachment, as the Operations Officer and as the Deputy Commanding Officer.  During this time Burruss participated in the ill-fated Iran rescue attempt, the invasion of Grenada, and a number of classified operations in the Middle East, South and Central America, and elsewhere.  He was commended by the British armed forces for his assistance to the Special Air Service in the Falkland Islands campaign.  Lieutenant Colonel Burruss retired from the Army on 1 January 1987 to pursue a career in writing.  His published works include Mike Force, a personal account of his 22 months in Vietnam (Pocketbooks, 1989) and four novels, A Mission for Delta, Clash of Steel (both Pocketbooks, 1990), Heart of the Storm, and All That Matters, (Writers Club Press, 2000.) He has also written numerous op-ed pieces for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

     

In addition to writing, Burruss has, since retiring from the Army, served as a professional staff member for the Committee on Armed Services, U.S. House of Representatives; successfully investigated rhino horn smuggling in Africa; participated in the humanitarian relief effort in Somalia, (where he unofficially provided his former comrades in the 5th SFGA with operational intelligence) and was vice president of a small international security firm that provided protection for foreign royalty and other high-profile persons. He is an active supporter of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, and a life member of the Special Forces Association, Special Operations Association, and Veterans of Foreign Wars.

     

Burruss now resides in his ancestral home in Gloucester County, Virginia.