Michael Lee Lanning
Encyclopedia
Michael Lee Lanning is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel
and the author of military non-fiction
.
to James Maurice and Alice Coskey Lanning. He married Linda Moore of Roby, Texas
on December 20, 1967. They have two daughters, Reveilee Ann and Meridith Moore. He currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona
.
he reported to Vietnam where he served as an infantry platoon leader, reconnaissance platoon leader, and rifle company commander in the 2d Battalion, 3d Infantry of the 199th Light Infantry Brigade. Subsequent tours of duty took him throughout the United States and Germany as he served as an instructor in the U.S. Army Ranger School, a mechanized infantry
company commander in the 3rd Infantry Division, and executive officer of an infantry
battalion in the 1st Cavalry Division. Non command assignments included Public Affairs Officer for the 1st Cavalry Division and I Corps and the plans officer for the American Forces Information Service
.
. More than a million copies of his books are in print in fifteen countries, and editions have been translated into eleven languages. He has appeared on major television network
s and the History Channel as an expert on the individual soldier on both sides of the Vietnam War
.
Books
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
and the author of military non-fiction
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
.
Biography
Lanning was born in Sweetwater, TexasSweetwater, Texas
Sweetwater is the county seat of Nolan County, Texas, United States. The population was 11,415 at the 2000 census.-History:Sweetwater received a U.S. post office in 1879. The Texas and Pacific Railway started service in 1881, with the first train arriving on March 12 of that year, beginning...
to James Maurice and Alice Coskey Lanning. He married Linda Moore of Roby, Texas
Roby, Texas
Roby is a city in and the county seat of Fisher County, Texas, United States. The population was 643 at the 2010 census.- History :In 1885, shortly after Fisher County was organized, a dispute arose between business partners from Mississippi and a town called Fisher. Both wanted their land to host...
on December 20, 1967. They have two daughters, Reveilee Ann and Meridith Moore. He currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
.
Education
- Trent High School, Trent, TexasTrent, TexasTrent is a town in Taylor County, Texas, United States. The population was 318 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Abilene, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Trent is located at ....
1964 - Texas A&M UniversityTexas A&M UniversityTexas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
, College Station, TXCollege Station, TexasCollege Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, situated in East Central Texas in the heart of the Brazos Valley. The city is located within the most populated region of Texas, near three of the 10 largest cities in the United States - Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio...
, BS Education, 1968 - East Texas State University, Commerce, TXCommerce, TexasCommerce is a city in Hunt County, Texas, United States, located in rural East Texas. The population was 7,669 at the 2000 census, however recent growth and its proximity to Interstate 30 and the eastern Metroplex has put the population around 9750...
, MS Journalism 1977 - U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, KS, 1979
Military career
Upon graduation from Texas A&M in 1968 Lanning was commissioned a second lieutenant and received infantry, airborne, and ranger training at Fort Benning, Georgia. After a tour as a platoon leader in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, NCFort Bragg, North Carolina
Fort Bragg is a major United States Army installation, in Cumberland and Hoke counties, North Carolina, U.S., mostly in Fayetteville but also partly in the town of Spring Lake. It was also a census-designated place in the 2010 census and had a population of 39,457. The fort is named for Confederate...
he reported to Vietnam where he served as an infantry platoon leader, reconnaissance platoon leader, and rifle company commander in the 2d Battalion, 3d Infantry of the 199th Light Infantry Brigade. Subsequent tours of duty took him throughout the United States and Germany as he served as an instructor in the U.S. Army Ranger School, a mechanized infantry
Mechanized infantry
Mechanized infantry are infantry equipped with armored personnel carriers , or infantry fighting vehicles for transport and combat ....
company commander in the 3rd Infantry Division, and executive officer of an infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
battalion in the 1st Cavalry Division. Non command assignments included Public Affairs Officer for the 1st Cavalry Division and I Corps and the plans officer for the American Forces Information Service
American Forces Information Service
The American Forces Information Service was a United States Department of Defense-providing news service that supplied information about the U.S. military. Department of Defense Directive 5105.74 disestablished AFIS on October 1, 2008 and created the Defense Media Activity...
.
Military Decorations and Badges
- Defense Meritorious Service MedalDefense Meritorious Service MedalThe Defense Meritorious Service Medal is the third-highest award bestowed upon members of the United States military by the United States Department of Defense...
- Bronze Star Medal for Valor
- Bronze Star Medal with one oak leaf cluster.
- Meritorious Service MedalMeritorious Service Medal (United States)The Meritorious Service Medal is a military decoration presented to members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguished themselves by outstanding meritorious achievement or service to the United States subsequent to January 16, 1969...
with two oak leaf clusters - Air MedalAir MedalThe Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...
- Army Commendation Medal
- National Defense Service MedalNational Defense Service MedalThe National Defense Service Medal is a military service medal of the United States military originally commissioned by President Dwight D. Eisenhower...
- Vietnam Service MedalVietnam Service MedalThe Vietnam Service Medal is a military award which was created in 1965 by order of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The distinctive design was the creation of sculptor Thomas Hudson Jones, a former employee of the Army Institute of Heraldry. The medal is issued to recognize military service during...
- Army Service RibbonArmy Service RibbonThe Army Service Ribbon is a military decoration of the United States Army that was established by the Secretary of the Army on 10 April 1981 as announced in Department of the Army General Order 15, dated 10 October 1990....
- Overseas Service RibbonOverseas Service RibbonAn Overseas Service Ribbon is a service military award of the United States military which recognizes those service members who have performed military tours of duty outside the borders of the United States of America. There are different versions of the Overseas Service Ribbons for the U.S. Army,...
- Vietnam Campaign MedalVietnam Campaign MedalThe Vietnam Campaign Medal is a military recognition awarded by the Republic of Vietnam, , to any member of the United States, Australian, New Zealand and allied military forces serving six months or more in support of Republic of Vietnam military operations.Established in 1966, the decoration is...
- Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation
- Combat Infantryman BadgeCombat Infantryman BadgeThe Combat Infantryman Badge is the U.S. Army combat service recognition decoration awarded to soldiers—enlisted men and officers holding colonel rank or below, who personally fought in active ground combat while an assigned member of either an infantry or a Special Forces unit, of brigade size...
- Senior Parachutist Badge
- Ranger TabRanger TabThe Ranger Tab is a service school military decoration of the United States Army signifying completion of the 61-day long Ranger School course in small-unit infantry combat tactics in woodland, mountain, and swamp operations. In December 2009 a British NCO earned the Ranger tab...
- Expert Infantryman BadgeExpert Infantryman BadgeThe Expert Infantryman Badge, or EIB, is a military badge of the United States Army. Although similar in name and appearance to the Combat Infantryman Badge , it is a completely different award: while the CIB is awarded for participation in ground combat, the EIB is presented for completion of a...
Writing career
Lanning is the author or co-author of 17 non-fiction books on military historyMilitary history
Military history is a humanities discipline within the scope of general historical recording of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, their cultures, economies and changing intra and international relationships....
. More than a million copies of his books are in print in fifteen countries, and editions have been translated into eleven languages. He has appeared on major television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
s and the History Channel as an expert on the individual soldier on both sides of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
Books
- The Only War We Had: A Platoon Leader's Journal of Vietnam New York: Ivy Books/Random House, 1987.
- Vietnam 1969-1970: A Company Commanders Journal New York: Ivy Books/Random House, 1988.
- Inside the LRRPs: Rangers in Vietnam New York: Ivy Books/Random House, 1988.
- Inside Force Recon: Recon Marines in Vietnam (with Ray Stubbe) New York: Ivy Books/Random House, 1989.
- The Battles of Peace New York: Ivy Books/Random House 1992.
- Inside the VC and NVA: The Real Story of North Vietnam's Armed Forces (with Dan Cragg), New York, Fawcett Columbine, 1992.
- Vietnam at the Movies New York: Fawcett Columbine, 1994.
- Senseless Secrets: The Failures of U.S. Military Intelligence From George Washington to the Present. New York: Birch Lane, 1996.
- The Military 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Military Leaders of All Time. New York: Citadel, 1996.
- The African-American Soldier: From Crispus Attucks to Colin Powell. New York: Birch Lane, 1997.
- Inside the Crosshairs: Snipers in Vietnam New York: Ballantine, 1998.
- Defenders of Liberty: African-Americans in the Revolutionary War New York: Kensington, 2000.
- Blood Warriors: American Military Elites New York: Ballantine, 2002.
- The Battle 100: The Stories Behind History's Most Influential Battles Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, 2003.
- Mercenaries: Soldiers of Fortune From Ancient Greece to Today's Private Military Companies. New York; Ballantine, 2005.
- The Civil War 100: The Stories Behind the Most Influential Battles, People, and Events of the War Between the States. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, 2006.
- The Revolutionary War 100: The Stories Behind the Mot Influential Battles, People, and Events of the American Revolution. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, 2008.