William H. McMichael

I found my professional niche in life 34 years ago when I was "hey-you'd" into writing stories about my Army unit for our base newspaper. Since leaving the service in 1993, I've worked as a reporter, photographer and team editor. I've done spot reporting, enterprise work, news features and investigative projects, both overseas and at home.

U.S. military operations and culture were my primary focus through seven years at the former Tribune Co.'s Daily Press and a total of 16 years with Gannett's Military Times papers and The News Journal of Wilmington, Del. The Times work included more than three years covering military operations, policy and spending at the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill. I've also reported on veterans' health care and VA efficacy, crime and federal/district courts, science and environmental issues, municipal policy, joblessness, drug abuse, social services, and land use and development, among other topics.

I wrote my first book, on the Navy's Tailhook scandal, while holding a full-time reporting gig. Now retired from the daily news biz, I'm consumed with reporting and writing my second. It centers on the famous Hesse family jewels that were stolen in Germany after World War II, what happened to the high-value gems that weren't recovered after the thieves were caught, and an amazing discovery some 15 years later in the wreckage of a private plane in the rugged Montana mountains. I'm aiming for publication in 2020.