Duke M. McCoy was born on May 26, 1922 in Dismal Swamp, North Carolina to Olav and Sally Mae Jacobsen, and by all accounts he was a pretty amazing kid.

At 14 he struck out on his own to see the world and have some adventures. The circus seemed a natural place to start, and in no time young Duke was the star of the show. He made a darn fine income for being just a kid, and so he was able to send some home each week to help his family. Always thinking of others, that’s just how Duke was.

Soon the audiences became too big for just circus tents, so Duke headed off to Hollywood and movie stardom. His career was going great guns, but he put it all behind him when World War II broke out and his country needed him to serve. He enlisted, and to nobody’s surprise, became a highly decorated war hero.

After the war Duke had difficulty adjusting to the slow pace of civilian life. Fast driving -- especially if the police were in hot pursuit -- seemed, if you’ll excuse the pun, to be just the ticket. Eventually he went legit, and became a top racecar driver.

But Duke’s professional success soon collided with personal tragedy when his parents were brutally murdered by a vicious gang of thugs. These punks crossed the wrong guy. Duke, with the help of his lion, captured them and delivered them to justice.

Duke continued to fight crime as a private eye, solving a number of baffling cases. His ability to solve mysteries and recover lost treasures eventually led him to Egypt, land of the pyramids. Part archaeologist/part treasure hunter, Duke soon encountered the jewel of his life, which turned out not be just another sparkling rock, but the lady that was to become the love of his life.

They married and returned to her home state of Georgia where they had two fine sons together. All was going well, or better than well, until Duke fell on the wrong side of Senator Joe McCarthy who set about smearing Duke’s good name and reputation. (In those days politicians had time to go after ordinary folks, and not just their opponents at election time as they do now.)

When Duke discovered that a former Nazi he had already battled in the war was the liar behind this defamation, he went back to Germany to settle the score. With his name now clear, Duke and the family moved to Texas and bought a ranch.

Life was anything but easy on the ranch, and one day the well went dry. While trying to dig a new one Duke hit oil, and hit it big.

Soon the money was piling up so fast that Duke couldn’t see his own wife and kids over the stack of dollars. He lost his way, and darn near lost his family until his wife set him straight one day.

Duke took the money and directed it to charitable causes. He set out to save the world, but in just a short time he was in danger of losing his wife and family for a second time.

But he could not mend his ways. Duke was still wild at heart, and needed adventure. Try as he might, the lure of racing cars, working as a spy and traveling around the world in a hot air balloon while reading Shakespeare was just too overpowering.

For years Duke lived a wild and strange existence. He had no contact with home, until one day when he learned that his wife had died and his sons were without a parent. Devastated, Duke tried, but failed to be the father his sons needed.

Soon the boys were off to college, and Duke set off to again save the world. But even this challenge bored him and he found himself circling back to his first love: the Circus. An even bigger challenge turned out to be computers, where Duke became a major player in the early days of Silicon Valley.

With the science and technology bug biting him, Duke went off to Nevada to work on secret aircraft at Area 51. There he experienced something mysterious that changed him forever, and which sent him into hiding for 5 years.

After cleansing himself by meditating in Tibet, Duke moved to the Pacific Northwest and got involved in a number of new businesses endeavors, including fishing, and solar power.

By most measures Duke was a huge success.

But as he looked out across his life he realized that although he had found adventure and wealth, he had lost his sons on the way. Duke tried hard to rebuild the relationships, but as with a broken china cup, the best repair can’t compare with not breaking it in the first place.

For the first time Duke understood things completely. And while much of his own life and energy had been misdirected, there was still one thing he could do. One thing, perhaps the most important thing he’d ever done, and something he needed to do before he died.

And this is how the Adventure Boys story begins ...