From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Anthony Swofford (born August 12, 1970 in Fairfield, California) is a United States Marine and is author of the book Jarhead, published in 2003, which is primarily based on his accounts of various situations encountered in the first Gulf War. This memoir was the basis of the 2005 movie of the same name, directed by Sam Mendes.  The title is derived from the name of the traditional high and tight haircuts favored by the Marines. Description above from the Wikipedia article Anthony Swofford, Jr., licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.