Fussell studied at Pomona College and at Harvard University. After he graduated, he served in World War II from 1943 until a year after the war ended in 1946. He was awarded a Bronze Star Medal and a Purple Heart. After the war, he taught at Connecticut College (1951–55) before moving to Rutgers University in 1955 and finally the University of Pennsylvania in 1983. He also taught at the University of Heidelberg (1957–58) and at King’s College London (1990–92).