Matthew Eberz

Matthew Eberz was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and worked full-time since he was fourteen. From dishwasher to bus boy to lunch wagon driver in the tough wharf section of Philly he put himself through school and upon graduation from Penn State University he entered the service as a Second Lieutenant serving in the Army's Transportation Corps at Fort Eustis, Virginia. He rose to the rank of Regular Army Major in the United States Army and served numerous assignments including Platoon Leader, Unit Commander, Battalion Operations Officer, Division Transportation Officer, Chief World Wide Military Command & Control Systems Europe, and Deputy Director of the United States Army Artificial Intelligence Center at Fort Monroe Virginia. While a member of the armed forces he received numerous decorations for performance and dedication to duty including the Defense Meritorious Service Medal from General James McCarthy, and the Army Commendation Medal for attempting to save the live of a German soldier.
As a child, Matt almost died four times before the age of twelve. At the age of six, he and his brother were playing with their father's "unloaded" rifle. His brother aimed it at him but the weapon was so heavy he could not hold it level, he squeezed the trigger and the "unloaded" weapon fired a 30-06 round striking the ground between Matt's feet, leaving a hunk of cement missing from the basement floor. Two years later, dressed in his rubber boots, heavy winter coat and two pair of pants, ten-year old Matt and his brother were "skating" on the frozen basement of an unfinished home. Matt skated to the far side, the ice collapsed and he went down. His brother crawled across the breaking ice and pulled him from the freezing water and a most certain death by drowning. The next year Matt was riding his bike when he was knocked across a parking lot by a hit-and-run driver. When he was eleven, while walking to a friend's house through a wooded area that used to be part of an old farm, the logs that covered an old cesspool collapsed and Matt fell into the not so empty pit. One log did not break away from both sides of the pit; a part of the rotten log remained attached to its other half still on the surface and he was able to shimmy himself up the log to safety. And this was all before his thirteenth birthday, and before he went into the army - where it was supposed to be dangerous.
In high school Matt was an above average finishing in the top portion of his class and he was on the school newspaper and editor of the Yearbook, but his passion was basketball student but his abilities never caught up with his desire and he was a "last cut" four years running.
In college he joined the US Army, entered ROTC, became a Ranger, and captain of the Penn State rifle team. Upon graduation he was enrolled in graduate school but left for active duty.
While a member of the Army he was assigned to Ft. Sheridan, Illinois, where he first came across the graves of nine German POWs. Using some obscure and almost forgotten documents at the tiny post library, he researched the POWs, how they came to be there and the work they did during that war period. This information peaked his curiosity and was the beginning of his first novel, Tenth Man. Matt later continued the writing and authored three novels, the Sam Call series of mysteries.
Post his army service, Matt continued in the computer industry developing major computer systems for private industry. One of his signature creations was the ADAM alert notification system, which supports the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), sends immediate messages to police, hospitals, news media and individuals in targeted areas to speed in the recovery of missing children.
As an Army Officer he was certified in both weapons and technology; scoring expert in rifle and 45 caliber pistol, while receiving certifications in TOP SECRET software technologies of SINGARS, WWMCCS and DODDIS.
While in the private sector Matt certified as an Architect of VITAL Technologies by Apple Corporation, as a M&DS Architect by Lockheed Martin, and created / managed the development of over 100 applications/systems including systems for The Coca Cola Company, Bell South, ChoicePoint, NCMEC and federal agencies.
The efforts of Matt and his teams resulted in not only the recovery of over 100 kidnapped children by way of the ADAM program, but also nominations for Best of the Web by and Best Use of the Web award by MIT. Matt has been in the data business over twenty years and has both a unique exciting career including positions as:
• Active duty: March 1975-June 1992
• Platoon Leader, Transportation Company, Amphibian
• Executive Office, Transportation Company
• Executive Office, Headquarters Company
• Commander, Maintenance Detachment
• S2/3 Office, Supply and Transport Battalion
• Commander, Transportation Company
• 1st Armored Division Transportation Officer
• Chief, World-Wide Military Command and Control System
• Training with Industry Program, Apple Corporation
• Deputy Director, US Army Artificial Intelligence Center
• Project Manager and Performance Engineer, Lockheed Martin
• Vice President, Technology, ChoicePoint
• Freelance Consultant
• Writer
• Owner/Operator Sam Call Productions

Matt's first novel was Tenth Man, the writing of which was based on many actual events. The story began with Matt finding some paperwork concerning Audi Murphy, the most decorated soldier in American History that was "lost" in an old Army file cabinet. That finding, plus the intriguing story of the German POWs who are buried on Fort Sheridan peaked his interest and Tenth Man was born. Although the novels are technically works of fiction, Matt strives to keep all the fact as accurate as possible, using real people, real places and real events as much as possible. He often jokes that the "good guys" in the stories are real people and real names, and the "bad guys" are real people with fictitious names, and if they are willing to acknowledge they are really those bad people, Matt is willing to admit that are right. You will often see the names of fallen World War II soldiers in his stories, which he does in tribute to their service and sacrifice. The story of the battle of Monte Casino in the Tenth Man is as told to him by a member of the German Whermacht who fought in that battle. The story of Gwen's tragic death is unfortunately true, and she was lost to the world way too soon. As you read the story you will see the places, restaurants, events, even a baseball score, are correct for the day and place. Matt really has a thing for accuracy, and it drives him crazy to read a story where Bob is in downtown Atlanta, leaves at rush hour and then 10 minutes later is in Alpharetta (try 90 minutes).

Where Tenth Man was developed around Matt's military service and experience, Very Public Data was created from his time in the public records industry; and you can judge for yourself what he thinks about the security of your data after you finish reading Very Public Data.

The third novel in the Sam Call Series is Honor For Sale. If anyone thought that lawyers were in the most back stabbing and cutthroat business then they never were in Real Estate. Honor For Sale is a story centered around that business and it tells a story of what the pressure for commissions and sales can do, even to the most honest of people.

A fourth in the Sam Call series is in the works, currently titled, Honor and Sacrifice tells a complex story of mystery and deception that started in 1942 on the beaches of New Jersey, touched the US Supreme Court, the FBI and the infamous, J. Edgar Hoover.

Recently, Tenth Man has been made into a Screenplay currently titled Grave Honor. Its fate; creation and release, is currently in the hands of one of Hollywood's great directors. Tenth Man fans are eagerly awaiting good news.