He served in the United States Marine Corps, including deployment to Vietnam for 13 months.
In 1975, he moved to Colorado, where he writes books, contributes to national publications such as American Heritage, America's Civil War, True West, and Western Horseman, and teaches school.
He has served as consultant and appeared on screen as an expert commentator for The History Channel, the Discovery Channel, and PBS documentaries, including "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" for PBS's The American Experience, based on his book The Last Outlaws.
Hatch is regularly invited to speak at colleges, seminars, and civic and historic organizations.
[2] In 2005, Hatch's Black Kettle: The Cheyenne Chief Who Sought Peace But Found War received the Spur Award for literary excellence as the best biography of the year from the Western Writers of America.