Terry Trafton grew up in Southern Indiana. A military veteran and university professor, Trafton taught full time at the University of Maryland in Japan and was an adjunct professor at Okinawa University. He has written frequently on Okinawan life and culture. Trafton holds a doctorate from Northern Illinois University and currently resides in Coastal North Carolina with his wife, Dr. Joyce Trafton, their son and daughter, and two grandsons.