Richard M. Ketchum was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on March 15, 1922. He received a degree in American history from Yale University in 1943. After college, he served as commander of a Navy submarine chaser in the Atlantic. He owned an advertising agency until 1951, when he joined the United States Information Agency, eventually becoming director of overseas publications. He was hired by American Heritage in 1956 and co-founded Country Journal, where he also served as editor. He wrote several history books including Decisive Day: The Battle for Bunker Hill, Saratoga: Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War, and The Borrowed Years, 1938-1941. He died on January 12, 2012 at the age… of 89.