Jungle Ace

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.