"Stanley wanted to meet me because he'd liked 'Dispatches,' my book about Vietnam," Herr wrote in Vanity Fair in 2010. Herr is survived by his wife, Valerie; daughters Catherine and Claudia; and siblings Steven Herr and Judy Bleyer. NEW YORK (AP) " Michael Herr, the author and Oscar-nominated screenplay writer who viscerally documented the ravages of the Vietnam War through his classic nonfiction novel "Dispatches" and through such films as "Apocalypse Now" and "Full Metal Jacket," died after a long illness. Admirers of "Dispatches" included some prominent filmmakers, and Herr began a career in movies. "If you think you don't want to read any more about Vietnam, you are wrong," critic John Leonard of The New York Times wrote when "Dispatches" came out.

Source: New Zealand Herald June 25, 2016 01:52 UTC