Griffin grew up in New York City and Philadelphia. He joined the Army in 1946. His MOS was counter-intelligence and in this capacity he served in the Constabulary in Germany, thus earning the Army of Occupation Medal. After completing his active duty military service, Griffin attended Philipps-Universität Marburg at Marburg-an-der-Lahn. His college days were cut short in 1951 when he was recalled to serve in Korea, first as an official Army war correspondent, then as public information officer for U.S. X Corps, which included the 1st Marine Division. Griffin received the Combat Infantryman Badge for service at the front lines. His knowledge of combat and garrison life and his friendships with military personnel from different services would well serve his writing. Many of his books are dedicated to fallen comrades who died in Korea or later on in Vietnam or while serving with the international peacekeeping force dispatched during the Lebanese Civil War. Griffin is modest about his own service. He once told a Barnes & Noble interviewer:

My own military background is wholly undistinguished. I was a sergeant. What happened was that I was incredibly lucky in getting to be around some truly distinguished senior officers, sergeants, and spooks.

After the end of the Korean Conflict, Griffin continued to work for the military in a civilian capacity as Chief of the Publications Division of the U.S. Army Signal Aviation Test & Support Activity at Fort Rucker, Alabama. After his first three novels proved successful, he left this job to pursue writing full-time. To date, he has some 130 fiction and non-fiction works to his credit. In recent years, his son, William E. Butterworth IV (previously editor of Boys' Life, the magazine of the Boy Scouts of America) has co-authored some of his books.

Griffin's knowledge of military jargon and administrative writing style shows when fictional orders and dispatches are incorporated in his novels. Many of his characters must battle red tape and bureaucratic mix-ups, sometimes making humorous end-runs around the system.

Griffin's friend, Philadelphia Police Sergeant Zeb Casey, was a source of inspiration and advice for the Badge of Honor series.

Griffin is the co-founder of the William E. Colby Seminar on Intelligence, Military, and Diplomatic Affairs at Norwich University in Vermont, along with his friend, historian, and Patton biographer Colonel Carlo D'Este.

Pseudonyms

• W. E. B. Griffin
• Alex Baldwin
• Webb Beech
• Walker E. Blake
• James McM. Douglas
• Eden Hughes
• Edmund O. Scholefield
• Patrick J. Williams
• W. E. Butterworth
• John Kevin Dugan

Griffin's mother was Pennsylvania Dutch, a fact that motivated him to learn German and study at Marburg. Incidentally, one of Griffin's duties was delivering food to German general officers and their families, including the widow of would-be Hitler assassin Claus von Stauffenberg. His exposure to German military and civilian aristocracy doubtless supplied much of the inspiration for such Griffin creations as Oberst Graf von Greiffenberg, who appears in several of the Brotherhood of War novels.

Griffin is married to an Argentine wife, and has a stepson, Ignacio. The couple met while Griffin was duck-hunting in Argentina. They divide their time between Buenos Aires and the United States.

Mrs. Griffin's father is a former Colonel in the Húsares de Pueyrredon; Griffin has mined his father-in-law and other Argentine contacts to develop Argentine and Argentine-American characters for several of his novels which have been set in South America.

• The Brotherhood of War Series (U.S. Army)
• Book I, The Lieutenants,ISBN 0-515-09021-2
• Book II, The Captains, ISBN 0-09-961420-0
• Book III, The Majors, ISBN 0-09-961430-8
• Book IV, The Colonels, ISBN 0-515-07351-2
• Book V, The Berets, ISBN 0-09-961440-5
• Book VI, The Generals, ISBN 0-515-08455-7
• Book VII, The New Breed, ISBN 0-399-13305-4
• Book VIII, The Aviators, ISBN 0-7126-3689-7
• Book IX, Special Ops, ISBN 0-515-13248-9
• The Corps Series (United States Marine Corps)
• Book I, Semper Fi (1986), ISBN 0-00-647227-3
• Book II, Call to Arms (1987), ISBN 0-515-09349-1
• Book III, Counterattack (1990), ISBN 0-399-13493-X
• Book IV, Battleground (1991), ISBN 0-515-10640-2
• Book V, Line of Fire (1992), ISBN 0-399-13671-1
• Book VI, Close Combat (1993), ISBN 0-399-13766-1
• Book VII, Behind the Lines (1995), ISBN 0-399-14086-7
• Book VIII, In Danger's Path (1998), ISBN 0-515-12698-5
• Book IX, Under Fire (2002), ISBN 0-515-13437-6
• Book X, Retreat, Hell! (2004), ISBN 0-515-13861-4
• Men at War Series (Office of Strategic Services/OSS) Originally published under the pseudonym of Alex Baldwin
• Book I, The Last Heroes (also published as In The Line of Duty) (1984)
• Book II, The Secret Warriors (also published as Covert Operations) (1985)
• Book III, The Soldier Spies (also published as Give me Liberty) (1986)
• Book IV, The Fighting Agents (also published as Into Enemy Hands) (1989)
• Book V, The Saboteurs (2007)
• Book VI, The Double Agents (2008)
• Badge of Honor Series (Philadelphia Police Department)
• Book I, Men in Blue (1988)
• Book II, Special Operations (1989)
• Book III, The Victim (1991)
• Book IV, The Witness (1992)
• Book V, The Assassin (1993)
• Book VI, The Murderers (1994)
• Book VII, The Investigators (1997)
• Book VIII, Final Justice (2003)
• Book IX, The Traffickers (2009)
• Book X, The Vigilantes (2010)
• Honor Bound Series (OSS)
• Book I, Honor Bound (1993)
• Book II, Blood and Honor (1996)
• Book III, Secret Honor (1999)
• Book IV Death and Honor (2008)
• Book V, The Honor Of Spies (2009)
• The Presidential Agent Series (contemporary counterterrorism)
• Book I, By Order of the President (2005)
• Book II, The Hostage (2006)
• Book III, The Hunters (2007)
• Book IV, The Shooters (2008)
• Book V, Black Ops (2009)
• Book VI, The Outlaws (2010), ISBN 0-399-15683-6
• Written under W. E. Butterworth
• Comfort Me With Love (1961)
• Hot Seat (1961)
• The Court-Martial (1962)
• The Girl in the Black Bikini (1962)
• Hell on Wheels (1962)
• The Love-Go-Round (1962)
• Where We Go From Here (1962)
• Le Falot (1963)
• The Wonders of Astronomy (1964)
• The Wonders of Rockets and Missiles (1964)
• Fast Green Car (1965)
• Stock-car Racer (1966)
• Air Evac"" (1967)
• The Image Makers (1967)
• Soldiers on Horseback; The Story of the United States Cavalry (1967)
• Helicopter Pilot (1967)
• Road Racer (1967)
• Orders to Vietnam (1968)
• Redline 7100 (1968)
• Grand Prix Driver (1969)
• Stop and Search (1969)
• Wheel of a Fast Car (1969)
• Fast and Smart (1970)
• Marty and the Micromidgets (1970)
• Moving West on 122 (1970)
• Susan and Her Classic Convertible (1970)
• Steve Bellamy (1970)
• Crazy to Race (1971)
• My Father's Quite a Guy (1971)
• Flying Army; The Modern Air Arm of the U.S. Army (1971)
• Return to Racing (1971)
• Wheels and Pistons; The Story of the Automobile (1971)
• Dateline: Talladega (1972)
• The High Wind: the Story of NASCAR Racing (1972)
• The Narc (1972)
• The Racedriver (1972)
• Skyjacked (1972)
• Team Racer (1972)
• Race Car Team (1973)
• Yankee Driver (1973)
• Dave White and the Electric Wonder Car (1974)
• Return to Daytona (1974)
• Tires and Other Things: Some Heroes of Automotive Evolution (1974)
• Black Gold : The Story of Oil (1975)
• Stop, Thief! (1975)
• Careers in the Services (1976)
• Mighty Minicycles' (1976)
• The Roper Brothers and Their Magnificent Steam Automobile (1976)
• An Album of Automobile Racing (1977)
• Christina's Passion (1977)
• Hi-fi : From Edison's Phonograph to Quadraphonic Sound (1977)
• The Air Freight Mystery (1978)
• Next Stop, Earth (1978)
• Tank Driver (1978)
• The Hotel Mystery (1979)
• Under the Influence (1979)
• Wrecker Driver (1979)
• Slaughter by Auto (1980)
• Leroy and the Old Man (1980)
• Flunking Out (1981)
• Hot Wire (1982)
• A Member of the Family (1982)
• Moose, the Thing, and Me (1982)
• Written with Richard Hooker
• M*A*S*H Series
• M*A*S*H Goes to Paris (1974)
• M*A*S*H Goes to New Orleans (1975)
• M*A*S*H Goes to Morocco (1975)
• M*A*S*H Goes to London (1976)
• M*A*S*H Goes to Miami (1976)
• M*A*S*H Goes to San Francisco (1976)
• M*A*S*H Goes to Hollywood (1976)
• M*A*S*H Goes to Vienna (1976)
• M*A*S*H Goes to Las Vegas (1976)
• M*A*S*H Goes to Montreal (1977)
• M*A*S*H Goes to Texas (1977)
• M*A*S*H Goes to Moscow (1978)
• Written under pseudonym of Eden Hughes
• Leroy and the Wolves (1980)
• The Wiltons (1980)
• The Slelkerks (1982)
• Written under pseudonym of Webb Beech
• No French Leave (1960)
• Article 92: Murder-Rape (1965)
• Warrior's Way (1965)
• Make War in Madness (1966)
• Written under pseudonym of Walker E. Blake
• The Loved and the Lost (1962)
• Once More With Passion (1964)
• Doing What Comes Naturally (1965)

• Written under pseudonym of James McM. Douglas
• Hunger For Racing (1967)
• A Long Ride on a Cycle (1969)
• Racing to Glory (1969)
• The Twelve-cylinder Screamer (1970)
• Drag Race Driver (1971)

• Written under pseudonym of Edmund O. Scholefield
• Tiger Rookie (1966)
• Bryan's Dog (1967)
• L'il Wildcat (1967)
• Maverick on the Mound (1968)
• Yankee Boy (1971)

• Written under pseudonym of Patrick J. Williams
• Fastest Funny Car (1967)
• Grad Prix Racing (1968)
• The Green Ghost (1969)
• Racing Mechanic (1969)
• Up to the Quarterback (1969)