William T. Walraven was born in Holland ( Netherlands) and lived as a child during the WWII years in a small village on the German border, witnessing the invasion of Holland by the German forces, its cruelty and the breakthrough by the American and English forces. He joined the electrical department of a large coal mine and was trapped by a cave-in for several days. He studied electro-hydraulic engineering and after first immigrating to Canada in 1958 went to the United States in 1966 and became Chief engineer for a large machine manufacturer. After several years of also being technical assistant to the sales department, he was promoted to vice president of international sales and marketing, with the primary duty of organizing a worldwide ditribution network. Many years he travelled all over the world, setting up agents. He then started his own successful business in international trading. He resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA