Bill Heinz; helped write "M*A*S*H"

W.C. "Bill" Heinz, with his 1932 Remington typewriter. An author, sportswriter, and war correspondent, he used the typewriter in World War II to write about D-Day. (ap/file 2002)

MONTPELIER - W.C. "Bill" Heinz, who witnessed the Normandy invasion on D-day, covered some of the greatest sports moments of his time, and helped write the book "M*A*S*H," died yesterday at an assisted living facility. He was 93.

Born Wilfred Charles Heinz in Mount Vernon, N.Y., he attended Middlebury College and after graduation in 1937 went to work as a copy boy at the New York Sun.

During the war, he was chosen by the Sun to be a war correspondent and covered the invasion of Normandy from the battleship Nebraska. He is credited with helping create a you-are-there style of reporting that influenced a generation of journalists.

"He was a brilliant, incisive war correspondent," said Joe Goldstein, a veteran publicist.

After the war, Mr. Heinz wrote a sports column at the Sun.

In 1948, Mr. Heinz was at Yankee Stadium for a reunion of the 1923 New York Yankees that turned out to be Babe Ruth's farewell. The slugger died from throat cancer two months later.

Mr. Heinz also helped legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi write the book "Run to Daylight," which was made into a movie, and wrote about boxing, horse racing, and other sports after the Sun folded in 1950.

In the mid-60s, Mr. Heinz worked with Maine physician H. Richard Hornberger on "M*A*S*H," which was published under the pseudonym Richard Hooker. The book spawned the hit 1971 movie and television series.

He leaves a daughter, Gayl of Amesbury, Mass., and a grandchild.