
After Pearl Harbor, Wouk joined the Navy and served in the Pacific Theater. During his off hours, he wrote. His publisher's contract for Aurora Dawn was sent to his ship.
Wouk won a Pulitzer Prize for "The Caine Mutinty" and was the first recipient of the Library of Congress' award for lifetime achievement in fiction. His centenary was marked by Sailor and Fiddler: Reflections of a 100-Year Old Author (2015).
Wouk passed at his Palm Springs home just days of his 104th birthday.