Philip Caputo

His latest was a collection of short stories Wandering Souls: And Other Stories which was published in 2025 by Arcade Publishing.

• Name — Philip Caputo • Birth Name — Philip Joseph Caputo • Born — 10 June 1941 • Birthplace — Chicago, Illinois, U.S. • Died — 7 May 2026 • Place of death — Norwalk, Connecticut, U.S. • Known for — A Rumor of War (1977) • Education — Loyola University Chicago (BA) • Occupation — * Author • journalist • Website — philipcaputo.com • Spouse — * Jill Ongemach • Marcelle Basse • Children — 2

Philip Caputo was born in Chicago and raised in suburban Berwyn and Westchester. He attended Fenwick High School and Loyola University Chicago, graduating with a B.A. in English in 1964. From 1965 to 1966 Caputo served in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) as an infantry lieutenant (platoon commander) in the United States Marine Corps. Caputo served in combat and earned several medals and awards upon completion of his tour of duty. After serving three years in the Corps, Caputo began a career in journalism, joining the staff of the Chicago Tribune in 1968. In 1973, Caputo was part of a writing team that won the Pulitzer Prize for reporting on election fraud in Chicago. For the next five years, he was a foreign correspondent for the Tribune. He covered the fall of Saigon in 1975, and he worked in Italy, the Soviet Union and the Middle East. In 1975, he was shot and wounded in the ankle by a militiaman with an AK-47 during the Battle of the Hotels in Lebanon.

Caputo's first two marriages, to Jill Ongemach and Marcelle Basse, ended in divorce. He had two sons from his first marriage. In 1988, he married Consumer Reports editor Leslie Ware. Caputo died from cancer at his home in Norwalk, Connecticut, on May 7, 2026, at the age of 84.

Caputo lectured at approximately 20 universities and prep schools around the country, and was a featured speaker for the National Book Committee, the American Library Association, and the American Publishers Association. He has participated in the Key West Literary Seminar, Tennessee Williams Literary Festival, Chicago Humanities Festival, and the Cheltenham Literary Festival in Cheltenham, England. He also worked as a screenwriter for Paramount Pictures and Michael Douglas Productions. Caputo was a guest on the Charlie Rose Show and the Today Show. He narrated or appeared in several TV documentaries on the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and other subjects.

* • Delcorso's Gallery (1983) • Indian Country (1987) • Equation for Evil (1996) • Exiles (1997) • The Voyage (1999) • Acts of Faith (2005) • Crossers (2009) • Some Rise by Sin (2017) • Hunter's Moon (2019) • Memory and Desire (2023) • Wandering Souls: And Other Stories (2025)

• Ghosts of Tsavo (2002) • In the Shadows of the Morning (2002) • 13 Seconds: A Look Back At the Kent State Shootings (2005) • Ten Thousand Days of Thunder (2005) * • Memoir • A Rumor of War (1977) • Means of Escape (1991) • The Longest Road (2013)

• A Rumor of War: Miniseries • The Vietnam War