Harvey R. Ball (1921-2001) enlisted in 1942 and served as a communications sergeant for Company L, 383rd Infantry Regiment on Leyte and Okinawa. After returning home to Worcester, Massachusetts he opened his own business, Harvey Ball Advertising, where he created the iconic 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.