David Drake has passed away, and we are lessened by his absence.

I’ll leave the heart-felt remembrances of his life to those who knew him personally. I only ever met Mr. Drake once. He was doing a reading and question&answer of his newest book at LibertyCon. The session, which was scheduled for one hour, stretched out to almost twice that. He took the time to not only give thoughtful, sometimes humorous answers to all comers after his reading, but also stayed long to speak with everyone who came up to the table afterward to shake his hand and talk with him.

I’m glad that I took the opportunity to meet him, because his easy-going and charming manner made the almost 30 years of being a fan of his work melt away. For just a moment, I was talking to one of my heroes.

I thanked him for Redliners and for all of the help that book gave me when I was going through one of the darkest times in my life. I was careful to not take too much time from someone who had so many who wanted to talk with him, but the moment I did get will stay with me forever.

I started reading Hammer’s Slammers as a young private when one of the covers caught my eye at the AAFES book store in Augsburg. My first sergeant caught me reading it during CQ duty that weekend, and he gave me two more the next morning. I worked my way through his catalog in the intervening years. There was usually a David Drake novel right next to something from Heinlein in my rucksack no matter where I was going.

Drake was a true gentleman in a time when such men have become rare. Through his work, multitudes have been inspired, instructed, and entertained. In an age where concepts like brotherhood, honor, and duty are either deified or vilified, he portrayed them in the same way he lived them, with honesty and clarity.

Godspeed, David Drake. We will mourn you until we join you. Keep a space open around the campfire for us. I want to hear more of your stories the next time we meet.