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Authors who served in the military but didn’t write much about it

Mario Puzo, author of "The Godfather," was brought up in a poor family in New York. He served in Germany in World War II and later went to college on the GI Bill.

Mario Puzo, author of “The Godfather,” was brought up in a poor family in New York. He served in Germany in World War II and later went to college on the GI Bill.   (Evan Kafka / Associated Press)

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There are many novelists who wrote brilliantly about war -- Kurt Vonnegut, Joseph Heller, Tim O’Brien -- in part because they’d been there. Others who enlisted and went to war never made that experience the focus of their work. Here are nine authors whose service in the armed forces may come as a surprise.

Edward Gorey

Edward Gorey, author of “The Gashlycrumb Tinies” and other delightfully macabre works, was drafted into the Army at age 18. He spent World War II working as a clerk at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah.  (Susan Ragan / Associated Press)

Elmore Leonard

Known for his mystery novels, Elmore Leonard served with the Seabees in the Navy during World War II.  (Dermot Cleary / Associated Press)

Gore Vidal

Bestselling novelist and political critic Gore Vidal skipped college and enlisted in the Army, serving on a supply ship in the Aleutian Islands.  (Franco Origlia / Getty Images)

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