William Broyles, Jr.

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Biographical Details

"Bill Broyles grew up in Baytown, Texas, attended Rice University and then Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar. After working in the civil rights movement, he served as a Marine infantry lieutenant in Vietnam, earning the Bronze Star, the Combat Action Ribbon, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Gold Star, among other decorations.

"He was the founding editor of Texas Monthly, which under his direction won three National Magazine Awards. He later became editor of California magazine and editor-in-chief of Newsweek.

"Mr. Broyles has lectured and taught at several colleges and universities, the U. S. Naval Academy, and the Smithsonian Institute. He has written numerous articles for major newspapers and magazines as well as a critically acclaimed memoir, Brothers in Arms: A Journey from War to Peace, an account of his return to Vietnam in 1984. A member of the New York Vietnam Veterans Memorial Commission, he served on the professional jury that selected the finalists in the design competition for the memorial; he also wrote the foreword to Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam, edited for the commission by the Company’s director of content development, Bernard Edelman.

"Mr. Broyles was co-creator and executive consultant to the hit TV series, ‘China Beach,’ which won four Emmys. As co-author of the screenplay for ‘Apollo 13,’ he was nominated for both an Academy Award and a Writer’s Guild Award, and received the PEN Center Literary Award for best screenplay. The film also received the Chicago Film Critics Association award as best picture, as well as two SAG awards.

"Mr. Broyles was co-writer of the Sean Connery/Catherine Zeta-Jones movie, ‘Entrapment.’ He also wrote the screenplay for "Castaway," starring Tom Hanks, who was nominated for an Oscar as Best Actor. More recently, he authored the screenplays for quot;Planet of the Apes" (2001), "Unfaithful" (2002), "The Polar Express" (2004), "Jarhead" (2005), and "Shadow Divers" (2007 - announced)."

• Advisory Board, Veterans Advantage