Harvey Ball (1921–2001) enlisted in 1942 and served as a communications sergeant for Co. L, 383rd Infantry Regiment on Leyte and Okinawa. After returning home he opened his own business, Art and Advertising, where he created the infamous “Smiley Face” for a client in 1963. In addition to joining the National Guard and then the Army Reserves, volunteering at the Legion Post, and designing the city’s Korean War Memorial, he found time to write his memoir. His daughter Jackie, a public school art teacher, helped by typing up his hand-written pages and then editing and organizing the chapters.