The writing of the novel, Long ago and far Away, was encouraged by a Philippine friend who suggested that the author write a novel about the romance and time he spent in the Philippines. The story from the time the main character is drafted to the time he was discharged is based on the author's actual experience and Romance in the Philippines during his Army service during World Ward II. The little details are fictional basically because the experience was about seventy years ago and the author doesn't remember the details. The first section of the novel, before he was drafted, and the final section of the novel after he was discharged, are completely fictional.