Medical Alumni Association of the University of Maryland

By Bill Atkinson
[ALUMNUS PROFILE]
The Literary Alternative
MOST PEOPLE who are disgruntled with their
careers never make a change. They struggle to deal
with overbearing bosses, lousy hours, low pay, and a
routine so mundane that they simply surrender.
Not Wilson A. Heefner, ’60. In the prime of his
pathology career, at the age of 56, Heefner gave up
medicine and retired. He was fed up with the federal government strangling a business
he loved, and tired of a “tyrannical” hospital administrator who fired him three times
(they later became good friends). “I had grown pretty disgusted with medicine,” says
Heefner. “I thought maybe I will get out and do what I really want to do.”
So, Dr. Heefner hung up his lab coat and dove headlong into his passion, military
history.
Now 80, Heefner is a military historian who has written three books and is working
on a fourth. His works focus on military heroes whose brave acts went largely unnoticed
by the general public. His books include Twentieth Century Warrior: The Life and Service
of Major General Edwin D. Patrick; Patton’s Bulldog: The Life and Service of General Walton
H. Walker; and Dogface Soldier: A Biography of General Lucian K. Truscott Jr.
“The subjects that I have chosen are general officers who I felt made significant
contributions to the military in war and peace yet have slipped by most people,” Heefner
says. While his subjects had different leadership styles, all had a common trait—courage.
“They led their troops from the front,” Heefner says. “All of these men had tremendous
personal courage. When they came to the forward lines they exuded it.”
In Dogface Soldier, Truscott takes a jeep to the front lines to rally troops and get a
first-hand look at the fighting. “Bullets were whizzing around, shells were flying and
there is Truscott strutting around for everybody to see.”
At Anzio, Italy, Truscott replaced a commander who directed fighting from a wine
cellar. Truscott abandoned the cellar for a house in the open and proudly flew an American
flag. The house was regularly shelled, but the troops could see their commander on
the front lines.
Sometimes bravery resulted in death. In Twentieth Century Warrior, Patrick worked
his way to forward positions at Luzon wearing a helmet with three stars signifying his
rank, and a distinctive green uniform that earned him the moniker, “The Green Hornet.”
Unfortunately, Patrick was killed after being shot by a Japanese machine gunner
who had seen the helmet.
As a youngster, Heefner was shaped by Word War II. The oldest of three children, he
grew up in Waynesboro, Pa. His father worked at a grocery store and later at the Fairchild
Engine and Airplane Corp. factory in Hagerstown, Md. His mother was a school
teacher, but became a housewife when she had children.
When he was in sixth grade, Heefner’s teacher assigned the class a theme paper:
“What do you want to become when you grow up?” The assignment was easy enough for
Heefner, who envisioned himself as a Marine paratrooper. His mother had other ideas
and instructed him to write about something more “substantial” like becoming a doctor.
That was it; young Heefner agreed to pursue medicine.
Wilson A. Heefner, ’60
Now 80, Heefner is a
military historian who has
written three books and is
working on a fourth. His
works focus on military
heroes whose brave acts
went largely unnoticed by
the general public.
Medicine Bulletin Spring 2012 [22]