In World War I, James Warner Bellah enlisted in the Canadian army and became a pilot overseas in the Royal Flying Corps, and later the Royal Air Force. In World War II he started as a lieutenant in the 16th Infantry Div., was detailed to the General Staff Corps before Pearl Harbor and became assigned to Headquarters First Division, later with the 80th Infantry Div. Still later he served on the staff of Adm. Louis Mountbatten in Southeast Asia. He was attached to Gen. Orde Wingate's Chindits in combat in Burma, also to Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell and to Col. Cochran's First Air Commandos. When he left the service he carried the rank of colonel. He was the author of 19 novels, including "The Valiant Virginians" and "Blood River".