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John R. Bruning

Military historian John R. Bruning is the co-author, with Sean Parnell, of the national bestseller Outlaw Platoon. He is also the co-author, with Jeremiah Workman, of Shadow of the Sword, among many other titles.

Reporters closely followed Richard Bong’s progress in the race of aces. Bong (center) was killed testing a P-80 jet on the same day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima—the one time the wartime press had a bigger story than the exploits of America’s top fighter ace.

For World War II Pilots, the Race to Be an Ace Sometimes Turned Deadly

When the line between duty and ambition began to blur.