David McCampbell finally achieved his dream of active flight command when he was assigned to lead Fighter Squadron 15. But he had no idea what was really in store for him. With dizzying stakes, McCampbell and his men would ultimately help bring an end to the Pacific War. But when the squadron was established in 1943, most of its men were completely new to aerial combat. It was a shaky start for Air Group 15, with a string of deadly training crashes and an uncertain future. However, by the time the squadron formally entered World War II with a series of pulse-pounding island strikes, they were ready. Nicknamed 'Satan's Playmates,' during six critical months of combat, the squadron destroyed a record-setting 660 enemy planes across air and ground. Twenty six of the men-some barely out of their teenage years-would eventually become aces, ascending to an elite group of pilots and stamping their names in the history books. Expert military historian Stephen L. Moore places readers in the heart of the action, waiting with baited breath as pilots attempt to narrowly escape the clutches of the Japanese.
