Jack D. Hunter, R. I. P.

The Associated Press: Author Jack D. Hunter dies at 87; wrote 'Blue Max': "ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (AP) — Author Jack D. Hunter, whose World War I aviation novel 'The Blue Max' was made into a film in the 1960s, has died. He was 87.

The Florida Times-Union, where Hunter had worked as a writing coach, said he died Monday in St. Augustine after a battle with cancer.

'The Blue Max,' published in 1964, was his first novel. It was about a German infantry corporal who joins that country's air corps. He sets out to shoot down 20 enemy planes and win its highest honor, nicknamed 'The Blue Max.'

The book was made into a 1966 movie starring George Peppard, James Mason and Ursula Andress."

I never read The Blue Max, but I enjoyed several of Hunter's other novels.

Hat tip to Scott Cupp.