Living on Staten Island, NY and commuting to work in Manhattan, Robert von der Osten, a second-generation German-American, struggled to find his place in the world. With the attack on Pearl Harbor, he soon found it with the United States Navy, serving in the newly created amphibious force, onboard the USS LST-388. Following the war, he served on the NYPD police force for twenty years, then as a high school and college instructor in Alabama. An armchair historian, von der Osten never forgot his WWII experiences, and continued to compile notes and articles to add to his war journals to eventually turn into his book, LST388.

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Barbara von der Osten, an international traveler and scuba diver, earned her Bachelor’s Degree in International Affairs at Florida State University and worked for a government consulting group in Washington, D.C. for several years. Tired of living inside the beltway, she eventually moved back to Florida. Her post-Washington, DC career has spanned various roles, from marketing specialist, to research analyst, to paralegal, yet writing is her first love and one she has finally returned to.