In our correspondence he never revealed what happened to the two pilots, and I never asked. He had been involved in ardent sexual relationships with two pilots in his squadron. It was all true, of course, except for one detail: there were no women in the real story. “ related his experiences as a womanizing, heavy-drinking, hell-for-leather fighter pilot breaking all the rules in search of a good time and a chance to vanquish the hated enemy. Now flying the P-51 Mustang, he added three more kills to his total before the war ended.”Īs Case explains, immediately after the war, Jack wrote a book about his career as an Army pilot, which coincidentally also was published in 1979: Jack was an Army Air Force pilot… Flying the twin-engined P-38 Lockheed Lightning, he became one of the Army’s first aces, fighting the Germans in North Africa… Highly decorated and an early military celebrity, he eventually ended up in England… Shortly after D-Day, he was shot down by ground fire, but managed to make his way, with French underground assistance, back through the Normandy battle lines to safety and his squadron, of which he was now the commanding officer. … letter came from a very special person. “…The most gratifying reader response came from one of a handful of letters forwarded to me from Avon Books soon after the first edition appeared in 1979. (Let’s hope Hollywood is listening.)Ĭase explains about the most moving response he received: The novel continues to win the love of readers-on YouTube there’s a score written for a projected film, and a Russian fan has created a stunning video of a trailer for a film of Wingmen. Most assumed that I was a veteran of the conflict and, therefore, long dead.”Ĭase arranged to reissue Wingmen, with Cheyenne Books in 2012 and then with Lethe Publishing in 2014. There were dozens of reviews, and many, many mentions on blogs and forums.

In an amazing coincidence, author Elliott Mackle had reviewed the book for in June, 2011, one month before I emptied the attic. “…on a whim, in July, 2011, I googled ‘Wingmen Ensan Case’ and was astounded to discover that it had not disappeared from existence, but had become a sort of cult classic. In emptying the attic to move, Case rediscovered the notes and correspondence for Wingmen and a copy of the original manuscript, and so, he explains:

I moved away…to the backwoods of South Georgia.” “In 2011, I retired from the employment of a small (but busy) resort island, where I had worked in another homosocial environment as a police officer for twenty years.

Wingmen ensan case