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

by John R. Bruning

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612340869
Publisher:	Potomac Books Inc.
Publication date:	05/30/2002
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

John R. Bruning is the author of Jungle Ace: Col. Gerald R. Johnson, the USAAF’s Top Fighter Leader of the Pacific War (Brassey’s, Inc., 2001). He lives near Portland, Oregon.

Table of Contents

	Preface	ix
	Introduction	xv
Part 1	Of Innocence Lost
1	Chrysalis	3
2	The Would-Be Dentist	9
3	Jackpots and Dodos	17
4	I Wanted Wings	31
5	The Green Death Squadron	39
Part 2	Frozen Wings
6	The Backwater War	55
7	Three Missions to Kiska	57
Part 3	Jungle Wings
8	New Guinea Dog Days	69
9	The Long Hard Summer	81
10	On the Deck	93
11	Wewak Slaughterhouse	103
12	First Command	109
13	October Heartbreak	115
Part 4	Bloody Tuesday
14	Wavetop Surprise	127
Part 5	Fighter Leader
15	Republic's Abortion	143
16	Summer Homecoming	167
Part 6	Puck in a P-38
17	Knights Over Balikpapan	177
18	Storm Over Leyte	187
19	Wingtip to Wingtip, Wave After Wave	221
20	Last Leave, Last Look	233
Part 7	Point of Departure, Point of Despair
21	Goodnight, Sweetheart	239
	Epilogue	243
	Glossary	249
	Notes on Sources	251
	Index	253
	About the Author	261

Editorial Reviews

"Compelling . . . Johnson is bound to return to his rightful place of recognition in the top tier of American fighter aces and World War II combat leaders."

"Compelling . . . Johnson is bound to return to his rightful place of recognition in the top tier of American fighter aces and World War II combat leaders."

“In Jungle Ace, John Bruning tells the long overdue story of Col. Gerald Johnson, one of the Pacific’s top aces and one of the war’s top air commanders. Bruning has a gift for painting high-speed aerial action in swift, accurate strokes that put the reader in the cockpit. Jungle Ace is an action-packed story, filled with the screaming high tension of conflict and the poignant agony of a comrade’s sudden death. This gripping account makes you realize how tough a war it was, and Johnson's letters home are a vivid reminder that ordinary men rose to extraordinary heights to survive it.”

“In Jungle Ace, John Bruning tells the long overdue story of Col. Gerald Johnson, one of the Pacific’s top aces and one of the war’s top air commanders. Bruning has a gift for painting high-speed aerial action in swift, accurate strokes that put the reader in the cockpit. Jungle Ace is an action-packed story, filled with the screaming high tension of conflict and the poignant agony of a comrade’s sudden death. This gripping account makes you realize how tough a war it was, and Johnson's letters home are a vivid reminder that ordinary men rose to extraordinary heights to survive it.”

From the Publisher