WINGMAN is the author's story of his wartime experiences as a fighter pilot with the 334th Fighter Squadron of the Fourth Fighter Group, the United States Army Air Force's (USAAF) top scoring fighter group in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) during World War II.

Speer, who had graduated from flight school in October 1943 as a newly minted fighter pilot, shares with the reader his experiences in New York with his wife, a fellow pilot and his spouse shortly before both men were shipped overseas. Speer also conveys to the reader a very palpable sense of what life on an operational airbase was like for a fighter pilot in wartime, from the mission briefing, being driven out to the runway where the pilot's fighter plane stood ready for action with its crew nearby with whom the pilot formed a special bond (for it was the crew chief and the skilled personnel under his charge who ensured the reliability of the aircraft for combat), and on to flying missions deep into Germany. These missions entailed bomber escort and taking the war to the enemy by attacking ground targets and taking on enemy fighters wherever they were found, be it aloft or on the ground.

Speer's time with the Fourth Fighter Group would last a little more than a month. He was shot down on his 17th mission on May 29, 1944 by flak and would be a POW for the next 11 months. Up to the time Speer was forced to crash land his P-51 Mustang fighter in Germany, he had been credited with shooting down 1 enemy fighter and destroying 5 other enemy aircraft on the ground. Much of Speer's POW experiences are detailed in this book as well.

Wingman fully encapsulates one pilot's experiences, both in the air and as a prisoner of war in Germany who endured many hardships and managed to make an incredible escape to Allied lines shortly before V-E Day.