James Webb graduated from the Naval Academy in 1968 and immediately went to Vietnam. He was awarded the Navy Cross, the Silver Star Medal, and two Bronze Star Medals for heroism. He later served as a platoon commander and instructor at Marine Corps Officer Candidates School, and as a member of the Secretary of the Navy's immediate staff before leaving the Marine Corps in 1972. He earned his J.D from Georgetown University in 1975, during which time he wrote his first book and worked as a consultant to the Governor of Guam. Mr. Webb has written four novels and traveled worldwide as a journalist. His television coverage of the U.S. Marines in Beirut in 1983 earned him an Emmy Award. In government, Mr. Webb served as counsel to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs from 1977 to 1981, as the first Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs from 1984 to 1987, and as Secretary of the Navy from 1987 to 1988. Currently, Mr. Webb is working on a nonfiction book and is involved as a screenwriter and co-producer on several feature film projects.