Jungle Ace: The Story of One of the USAAF's Great Fighter Leaders, Col. Gerald R. Johnson

The brief but accomplished life of Army Air Forces fighter ace Gerald Johnson (1920-45) is the subject of John Bruning's latest book. During three years in the Pacific theater, Johnson shot down twenty-four Japanese aircraft in 265 combat missions. At the age of twenty-four, he commanded the highest-scoring fighter group in the Pacific, the 49th. Tragically, though Johnson had survived three combat tours, which included a mid-air collision with a Japanese aircraft and being shot down by friendly fire, he disappeared while flying a courier mission one month after the war's end. At the time he was one of the USAAF's youngest full colonels.