Photography by John Michael

‘Green Berets’ Author Moore Dies at 82

HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Robin Moore, a nonfiction author best known for writing “The French Connection” and “The Green Berets,” has died after a long illness. He was 82.
Moore died Thursday night at a hospital in southwestern Kentucky.
Born Robert L. Moore Jr. on Oct. 31, 1925, in Massachusetts, he wrote several books under the name Robin Moore.
“The French Connection,” published in 1969, was about a New York drug bust. It inspired a movie that won five Academy Awards in 1971, including best picture.
“The Green Berets,” published in 1965, was made into a movie starring John Wayne in 1968. Moore also co-wrote “The Ballad of the Green Berets,” which became the signature song of the Special Forces unit.
Moore spent time in Vietnam with the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) to write the book, and his connection with the Green Berets endured after the book was written. In 2005 he and his wife, Helen, moved to Hopkinsville, which borders Fort Campbell, the sprawling Army post that is headquarters to a Green Beret group.
Maj. Gen. Gary L. Harrell, deputy commander of the Army’s Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, called Moore a “devoted advocate” for the Special Forces and said his writings became textbooks for the Army’s unconventional forces.
“They were both educational and inspirational and introduced the world to the Green Berets.” Harrell said in a statement posted Friday on an Army Special Forces Web site. “He will be missed.”