Born in 1954 in Sheffield, England, JIM MORAN lives in Yorkshire with his wife and daughter. Following a grammar school education, Jim has had a forty-year-long career as a civil engineering surveyor working on major highway and airbase construction projects, both in the UK and overseas. Jim has been a student of the history of the United States Marine Corps, massing a huge collection over the past forty years. He has assisted Hollywood productions on uniform and equipment details for _Flags of our Fathers_, _The Pacific_ (HBO mini-series) and _Windtalkers_. Jim is an associate member of the Second Marine Division Association, US Marine Raider Association, Marine Corps Association, and US Marine Corps League as well as being the 'on-board ' historian to the US Marine Corps League, Det 1088 (UK).