Born and raised in Montana, Lawrence V. Drake has lived all over the U.S. He has worked as a flight instructor, crop duster, and aerobatic instructor, owning and flying a variety of airplanes including antiques and amateur-built. He became an entrepreneur in manufacturing and established a national trade association. Fascinated by his father's WWII experience from a young age, Lawrence has collected an extensive library on the CBI (China, Burma, India) Theater including first-hand accounts and audio histories. Two of his father's original nose art paintings are in the Commemorative Air Force collection and a reproduction is in the National Museum of WWII Aviation. Lawrence V. Drake is the author of a number of books including Schellville, Red Boots Rebel, and When Silence Calls. He has written articles in dozens of national periodicals.