Thomas R. Jones Sr. served in the Vietnam War in 1967 as a Senior Hospital Corpsman with the 3rd Recon Battalion, 3rd Marine Division. Although he survived the war, he — like so many war veterans — came back a different person.

After the war, Jones struggled with his memories of Vietnam — the conflicts, the killing, the brutality. Jones turned to his computer as an outlet for the feelings that stirred inside of him and wrote Lost Survivor, a tale of a young Vietnam soldier who adapts to the jungles of Vietnam, but not to the home to which he must return. Although Lost Survivor is a work of fiction, the book is a blend of Jones' personal experiences combined with stories of people who knew.

When he returned from the war, Jones was placed in charge of the radioisotope and nuclear medicine laboratory at the Great Lakes Naval Hospital, and worked with returning Vietnam veterans to face their fears of being home. From 1981 to 1986, Jones served as Assistant Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs. In that position, he counseled Vietnam veterans across the state. He also coordinated the state of Illinois' contingency activities with the building of the Vietnam memorial in Washington D.C., and served as a fund-raising and government liaison to build the Illinois Vietnam memorial.

Today, Jones is Chief Deputy Director of Budget and Fiscal Management for the Illinois Secretary of State. He and his wife, Carol, live in Springfield, Illinois.

Jones hopes his book will help fellow veterans work toward a feeling of peace in their own lives. He also hopes family members and friends of veterans will read the book to not only understand war, but to understand survival.