Extraordinary people can come from the most ordinary beginnings. But, as author Roland Paulson would argue, it was his humble beginnings that made his life extraordinary.

Paulson’s new book “Valley of the Skunk” is the true story of the Ames native, war veteran and Iowa State and Harvard graduate.

But to list his accomplishments is to overlook what made his story unique. His novel begins where every life tale does, with his family.

Paulson was 10 years old in 1934 when his father was committed to the state mental hospital in Mount Pleasant.

At the height of the Depression and with five children to feed and clothe, his mother took charge working endlessly to provide for the family. Paulson and his identical twin brother, Rodney, were on their own.

“There were two stories in my life I thought were worthy to tell,” Paulson said of his family circumstances. “It was an unusual characteristic at that time to have five kids and a single parent home during the Depression. The other, was my special relationship with my twin brother.”

Paulson said he and his brother began working as well to help the family. At age 10, the two sold pastries from door-to-door, worked in gardens, had a newspaper route and shoveled snow.

“We became loners,” Paulson explained. “We were never close to our siblings. We became hunters and providers. We had to go to work, we had no choice.”

Hunting became the adventure of the brothers’ lives. Using a 16-gauge gun they found, the brothers escaped to the area around the Skunk River which became their haven.

“We became resourceful,” Paulson said of their contributions to the dinner table: rabbits, squirrels and an occasional pheasant.

Paulson said if it weren’t for the “shelter” the Ames community provided for his family, he and his brother would likely have become “criminals.”

“Ames is not trivial,” he said of his childhood home. “We had little parental guidance and the Ames area was an unusually good environment.”

The book recounts one Christmas where, for a week, “everyday something appeared on the front porch — food clothing, even toys” from their Ames neighbors.

The brothers graduated from Ames High in 1942 (with D averages) and enlisted in the Army.

World War II was upon the nation and like many young boys, the Paulson twins romanticized about being soldiers in the war.

“It was easy to romanticize about war,” Paulson said. “War became our answer to what we were going to do with our lives. We lived in a fantasy world.”

The realities of war soon set in though. Having failed his initial physical, Roland Paulson watched as his twin, Rodney, went off to war. It was the first time in their lives they had been separated.

“Rodney sent home a pair of boots so I could break them in before I arrived at boot camp,” he said.

War proved to be much more for the small-town Iowa twins. It was not only a battle ground, it was a classroom.

“We excelled, we both excelled,” Paulson explained.

The twin brothers went on to become officers in the Army Air Corps and heroes.

Returning to Ames after the war, the two attended Iowa State University and graduated with degrees in forestry in 1950.

Remarkably, the often-thought-of “dumb and lazy” students of Ames High had above average grades at ISU.

“It was a surprise,” Paulson said. “We had more in us than we thought we did.”

War again raged, this time in Korea and again, the twins fought. And again both returned stateside for a short time.

In March of 1954 Rodney died in plane accident.

Forty years later, Roland Paulson sat down to write the story of his family, his brother and war.

“I thought it would just be a memoir,” he said. “I just started writing and rewriting. By the time I finished, I had enough for two books.”

Paulson said his book is a true “human interest story.”

“It’s a story of survival and a reminder that people can do anything if they have the determination.

“Most people can excel if they try hard enough,” he said, “regardless of their mistakes.”

The book also acts a tribute to his family and safe haven in and around Ames known as Skunk Valley.

“Valley of the Skunk” is available at area Ames bookstores from The National Writers Press.