Abel Ortega Jr., the second youngest of seven children of Naomi and Abel F. Ortega, was born in 1964 and raised in San Antonio, Texas. As a child growing up, he would enjoy listening to his father’s POW experiences from WWII not fully understanding the true meaning of those stories. As he became a man, he finally understood and realized what his father went through. Those stories brought forth an obligation out of respect for the man he calls his “Hero” to compile his father’s experiences in a book so that they would not be forgotten. Those feelings would inspire him to spend two-and-a-half years researching the Prison Camps and Hell Ships. Abel Jr. currently lives in San Antonio with his wife Lorrie and two sons, Justin and Austin.