I LOVE history. Especially Shreveport history. There are so many amazing stories from our little corner of the world. If you're into Shreveport history, you should follow the fine folks at Twin Blends Photography on Facebook...because those guys uncover some truly remarkable stories and photos.

Their latest "gift" to the community comes in the form of Shreveport Police Officer R.L. "Bob" Drake. As the story goes, Twin Blends had a photo of an Officer from the 50s and were hoping to identify the man.The man's son reached out and identified him as Bob Drake...and unloaded some amazing tales. Perhaps, the most intriguing involved reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes.

Here's the story according to his son Robert and retold by Twin Blends:

He was on duty one day in 1945, a Sunday, when billionaire Howard Hughes was taken to the Shreveport Police Department to prove his identity. Sundays at that time made downtown Shreveport look like a ghost town. Hughes was found sitting on a street curb drinking milk and eating crackers without any identification. The police assumed he was a vagrant and took him to the police station where people were booked in, where Bob Drake was working that day. Hughes said he had landed his plane at the city airport and walked into town. The local manager of the Hughes Tool Company was asked to come down and identify Hughes which he failed to identify. He had never met Hughes. The only person that identified him was his co-pilot later that day.

The Twin Blends Facebook post also includes a personal letter from John Wayne and some AMAZING photos. You can see the photos and all the details of Drake's incredible career below.

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