A good look at how wartime relationships can be sustained. After connecting and surviving in Korea, each continued with their life trajectories. Ted Williams was a major league baseball player and arguably "The Greatest Hitter Ever". John Glenn went into flight testing and ended up as the first astronaut to orbit the earth, before going into politics and becoming a US Senator representing Ohio. Williams rarely related to anyone who was not a child, a marine, or a fisherman and spent the rest of his life either griping or fishing. Glenn was quite successful in politics even seeking a presidential nomination. Never close friends, these men touched each other infrequently but enough to sustain their original wingman configuration. ( )

The Wingmen by Adam Lazarus

Fascinating factual account of two famous men who became fast friends as Marine pilots during the Korean War.

One of the reasons I was drawn to this book was that it reminded me of one of my maternal uncles telling me a few stories about his time as a soldier in Korea. Additionally, I wanted to find out what these two men, a professional baseball player and an astronaut, might have in common. The book was well researched, the writing flowed and was easy to read, and the men came to life on the page.

I actually started a list of “similarities” and “differences” and realized that the main thing John Glenn and Ted Willams had in common was the trust and admiration that formed between the two men while flying missions together. They both had planes damaged, limped back to base, and survived to return home. Ted returned to play professional baseball while John opted to stay career Marine in various positions till his last as the first astronaut to orbit the earth. There was a lot to take in from how they were raised to how they were buried.

I didn’t know a lot about either man before reading this book but came away with an understanding of and appreciation for the good things they both did. I felt I got to know them and learned a bit more ab the Korean War, too.

NOTES:
1) My father was in WWII, my uncle fought in Korea, I wrote letters to men in Vietnam, and have been through the Gulf War in Saudi Arabia – this book had me thinking about how war impacts the soldiers, their families, and the country the war takes place in.
2) I googled after finishing and found out that Ted’s rather controversial son died a couple years after his choice of burial for his father and chose the same for himself.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensginton Publishing – Citadel Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars ( )