The Bones of Geronimo

About the Book

The Bones of Geronimo is a book about two border patrol agents of Sierra Vista, Arizona, one of which is a descendant of Geronimo. These two agents experience the thrill of the chase to capture illegal aliens crossing the border at night. They have an outstanding arrest record for undocumented and illegal aliens in their joint portfolio. They make numerous excursions into the desert, and by campfire, Gerald Gerome Geronimo—otherwise called Jerry by his associate—tells stories of his great-grandfather, Chief Geronimo. The flashbacks to the Indian wars between the Mexican Army and the United States Army add flavor at points in the current events. They capture ten undocumented aliens and, by executive order from President Obama, are ordered to release them if they had not committed any other crime but entry into the United States. Samuel Jackson Silverstone, known as Jack to his friends, obeys the order but plants GPS tracking devices into their rears under the guise of a tuberculosis injection. He returns the illegal aliens to the spot they were captured and turns to watch them run away. Jerry and Jack return to the sheriff’s office and turn on the tracking computer to watch the screen display ten individuals disperse into the desert. Two of the individuals return to Mexico and drop off the screen’s attention. The other eight individuals are seen throughout the night walking toward town. They observe their movements and wait. They respond to alarms that are set off concerning robberies and murder and exercise their rights to arrest offending criminals. Jerry is troubled by the news of his goal to return the bones of Geronimo to his birthplace requested by the Apache chief of the Bedonkohe tribe. His request was to be buried in the Triplet Mountains of San Carlos near the headwaters of the Gila River. Geronimo was buried at Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma, where his formal request was ignored. However, Jerry learns that the Skull and Bones Society from Yale University has stolen the bones of Geronimo for their collection, particularly by Prescott Bush and six other bones men in 1918. Jerry’s group appeals to the congress and Pres. George W. Bush concerning the return of the bones of Geronimo.

About the Author

The author was born in Pittsburg, Kansas, on July 20, 1948. It is a small town in the southeast corner of the state. He joined the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War era in August 1966. He served four years in the military, acquiring the GI Bill for his college education. He attended the University of Missouri in Kansas City, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration and continued on in graduate school. He obtained his master’s in business administration in May 1975 and received his certificate in public accounting in June 1976. The author is the former general manager for the Board of Public Utilities in Kansas City, Kansas, and a former board member for the American Public Power Association. He has served on the Board of Western Fuels Association and is a member of The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. In his last eight years in public service, he lived in the United States territory of the Virgin Islands on St. Thomas. He served as the chief financial officer for the Water and Power Authority and as a special financial consultant to the government of the Virgin Islands. The author began his new career in writing after the death of his wife, Deanna, in 2004 and now lives in Kansas City, Kansas. Mr. Drake is the father of three children. His eldest daughter, Terry Christine Drake, lives in Kirkland, Washington, with her two sons, Sean and Jacob; his youngest daughter, Dresden Marie Drake-Goldberg, lives in Frisco, Texas, with her husband, Stephen Arnold Goldberg, and their twin girls, Hannah and Harper; and the author’s son, Brandon Lee Drake, lives in Tampa, Florida, just after serving eight years in the United States Navy stationed in Japan.