Colin D. Heaton served as an infantryman, weapons specialist and sniper in the US Army and US Marine Corps. He earned a BA in History with Honors from UNC-Wilmington, North Carolina, MA in World History from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and MPhil in European Studies from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow Scotland, with emphasis on insurgency and counterinsurgency operations in WW II and the laws of warfare. He was awarded an honorary PhD for research and primary source contributions.

He is the author of over a dozen books, with one book, The Star of Africa (1^st edition 2012) being published in English, French, Swedish, Finnish and Polish. The second edition released in September 2025 is being converted into a limited series for streaming.

Colin works as a historical adviser and consultant on numerous film and TV projects, including most recently  Tom Hanks and Steven Spieberg’s – WW II series Masters of the Air. He has interviewed hundreds of veterans and civilians over the last half century spanning 125 years of warfare from many nations, with a focus on WW II.

He is also the host of the Forgotten History channel on YouTube produced by 10^th Legion Pictures.