Paul Fussell (22 March 1924 – 23 May 2012) was an American cultural and literary historian, author and university professor.[1] His writings cover a variety of topics, from scholarly works on eighteenth-century English literature to commentary on America’s class system.[1] He is best known for his writings about World War I and II,[1] which explore what he felt was the gap between the romantic myth and reality of war.[2]

Fussell attended Pomona College from 1941 until he enlisted in the US Army in 1943. He landed in France in 1944 as a 20 year-old second lieutenant with the 103rd Infantry Division,[7] was wounded while fighting in Alsace, and was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He was honorably discharged from the Army in 1946, returned to Pomona to finish his B.A. degree in 1946-7