I am the niece of the subject of the book I published "Letters from Pearl Harbor". I received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Spanish Education and a Master of Arts Degree in Spanish and Latin American Literature from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. I spent most of my adult life living overseas, mainly in South and Central America. I've traveled throughout the world and spent considerable time in Hawaii over the years. I now reside in Northern Virginia with my husband, Charles R. Cookson, and am pursuing a degree in Landscape Design. I spend a great deal of my spare hours researching World War II, specifically the campaign in North Africa and Operation Market Garden.