 Under his birthname James A. Horowitz, Salter himself was a fighter pilot with the rank of Captain who saw combat from February to August 1952.He kept a detailed diary of his tour and the novel closely follows a chronology of events he experienced as an F-86 Sabre pilot with the 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, based at Kimpo Air Base, Korea.Salter was 31 when he published the novel and made his protagonist the same age.