Colonel John (Jack) Edward Cobb USA (ret.) had been a soldier, scientist, pilot, parachutist, war crimes investigator (Nazi hunter), writer and publisher. He has 32 years experience in the subject from the foxhole to the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He led a rifle platoon in the three final and decisive campaigns in Germany and Belgium and commanded a battalion in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive of 1968. He was inducted into the Infantry Officer Candidate Hall of Fame at Fort Benning, Georgia in 1970.

The author of War Class has written numerous scientific studies and reports, edited literature and film, and prepared position papers and speeches for industry and government leaders. In addition to the novel War Class, he has written/published six other titles.  John Jack Cobb has been a guest on the New York television show Chance of a Lifetime. He was also selected to present one of his books on Wordsmith, a VHS presentation for use by Virginia state libraries for information and education.

Cobb graduated from The Citadel and earned a masters degree from the University of New Hampshire as a graduate fellow. He is also a graduate of the Army’s Command General Staff College, the Armed Forces Staff College and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Colonel John Edward Cobb, USA (ret.) died in 2003.

According to the book description of War Class: A Novel, it “tells of young men coming of age during the back drop of WWII. Set in September 1940 at the The Military College, Charleston, SC, a city both beautiful and seductive, a place rich in history and culture. The invincible Germany Army has overrun France and the Low Countries. The battle for Great Britain begun. However, Europe is of no concern to the Class of ‘44—America is not yet at war. For the in coming class, 1940 is a time of innocence and happiness.

Brett Ashley and Cal Sinclair are roommates at the highly respected Military College. Despite their very different personalities, they were a perfect combination. It seemed all would go well for Ashley and Sinclair. Ashley thrived in the military environment. Sinclair became an honor student. Ashley met Kit Montague, the registrar’s daughter, the first day he arrived. She pursued and he happily offered little resistance. Kit introduced Cal to Liz Rutledge, a beautiful young debutante from a prominent Charleston family. They became an inseparable foursome.

But then came the war. In 1943, their class is called to active duty, a year short of graduation. Friends and brothers of the classes of 1942 and 1943 drove the enemy from the beaches of Normandy back to his borders. Now the time has come for the Class of’44 - "The Class That Never Was" - to carry the battle to the heart of Northwestern Europe.

An alumnus of one Carolina university said of the time—"We were just boys, pure boys, and then there was the war and half of us were dead or wounded."  Jack Cobb details a passionate new perspective of what the fighting was like at the front, and a fascinating picture of life in the aftermath of war. His Brett Ashley, the rifle platoon leader, and Cal Sinclair, the fighter pilot, capture the heart and imagination as he details how they became skilled warriors who did all that was asked of them. And in the end retained their civility—respect, not hate, for the enemy.

The flames of war were lit in Europe. Brett Ashley, a young South Carolinian with an inherent respect for the military, and his roommate, Cal Sinclair, a laid-back Californian and his polar opposite, are called to war, forced to leave their new loves, Kit and Liz, behind. The time has come for The Military College Class of '44 - "The Class That Never Was" - to carry the battle to the heart of Northwestern Europe. This is a clear, crisp tale of fighting the war at the front, the love of women and the bonding of men.”