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To the Remarkable Person We Met On a Florida Beach

Brenda and I are deeply grateful to the remarkable person we were fortunate to meet on a Florida beach, who prefers to remain anonymous. The bond we formed through our shared experiences of losing our fathers at a young age—and navigating the challenges and triumphs that followed—was both profound and inspiring. Your generosity in acquiring ten signed copies of my investigative memoir, Because: A CIA Coverup and a Son’s Odyssey to Find the Father He Never Knew, to share with those dearest to you, means more than words can convey. That you asked me to inscribe each copy with a personal note from you makes it all the more meaningful. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for allowing my father and me to tell our story—one of love, faith, strength, sacrifice and commitment.

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By James b. Wells

JAMES B. WELLS is a retired criminology and criminal justice professor in the School of Justice Studies in the College of Justice, Safety, and Military Science at Eastern Kentucky University, and is the recipient of the 2025 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences John Howard Award, an award given intermittently, upon significant demand, to recognize an individual who has made significant and sustained contributions to the practice of corrections. A former carpenter, soldier, and correctional officer in a super-maximum-security prison and later as a researcher/planner assisting architects in prison design, he has multiple degrees, including an M.S. in Criminal Justice, a Ph.D. in Research, and an MFA in Creative Writing. He’s authored or co-authored over sixty-five books, chapters, articles, and essays, as well as over a hundred and fifty research reports for various local, state, and federal agencies. Recent essays from his research and memoir work appear or are forthcoming in Collateral Journal, About Place Journal, Wild Roof Journal, Military Experience and the Arts, The Wrath-Bearing Tree, Shift, Proud to be: Writing by American Warriors, Trajectory Journal, and From Pen to Page III: More Writings from the Bluegrass Writers Coalition.

His investigative memoir about his father's still CIA-classified death in Vietnam in 1965, titled Because: A CIA Coverup and a Son’s Odyssey to Find the Father He Never Knew, will be launched on Father's Day weekend, 2025. Links to publications, presentations, trailers, social media, blog, and other information can be found at https://jamesbwells.com. James enjoys spending much of his leisure time with his spouse on their Lexington, Kentucky farm located on the palisades of the Kentucky River, where he is an organic gardener and beekeeper.

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