About the author: Chuck Cecil was born and spent his early years in Wessington Springs. He graduated from Rapid City High School, was an aerial photographer in the Korean War and graduated in 1959 from South Dakota State University in Journalism. He was a reporter/photographer for the Watertown Public Opinion in the 1960s and later owned the RFD News Group. Now a retired university administrator and newspaper editor/publisher of eleven weekly newspapers, he is a freelance writer concentrating mostly on history for articles for local, state and national publications. He writes a prize-winning weekly column in the Brookings Register. He has written and published twenty books. Cecil is a member of the Board of Directors of the Brookings County Historical Society and edits its quarterly newsletter. He is a former member of the South Dakota Historical Society and edits its quarterly newsletter. He is a former member of the South Dakota Historical Society Board of Directors.

Image description: The cover depicts a group of men in military uniforms. The title, subtitle, and author's name are printed in the center of the cover.