Pappy Boyington

Colonel Gregory "Pappy" Boyington (December 4, 1912 - January 11, 1988) was an American fighter pilot who flew with the American Volunteer Group (the Flying Tigers) in China and became a US Marine Corps ace in World War II.

Later life

Boyington was a tough, hard-living character who was known for being unorthodox. He was also an alcoholic, which plagued him in the years after the war, and contributed to multiple divorces as well as disciplinary problems with the Marines.

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Many people know him from the 1970s television show Baa Baa Black Sheep, a drama about the Black Sheep squadron based very loosely on Boyington's memoir of the same name, with Boyington portrayed by Robert Conrad. Like Chuck Yeager in the movie The Right Stuff, Pappy had a short walk-on role as a visiting General during the second season of the show. Many of Boyington's men were very irate over this show charging it was mostly fiction and presented an over glamorized portrait of Boyington. At least on the television show, Boyington was depicted as owning a bull terrier dog, named "Meatball," although it is not certain he owned such a dog in real life.

Related Topics:
Baa Baa Black Sheep - Robert Conrad - Chuck Yeager - The Right Stuff - Bull terrier

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While artist depictions and publicity photos often show Boyington with aircraft number 86 ("Ma Belle") covered in victory flags, this was not his combat aircraft. In fact, he rarely flew the same aircraft more than a few times. It has been said that he would choose the F4U in the worst shape, so none of his pilots would be afraid of flying their own aircraft.

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Boyington was an absentee father to three children by his first wife. One daughter committed suicide; one son graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1959.

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Boyington died of cancer on January 11, 1988 at the age of 75.

Related Topics:
January 11 - 1988

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He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery on January 15, 1988, in plot 7A-150 with full honors accorded to a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, including a missing man fly-by conducted by the F-4s of the Marine detachment at Andrews Air Force Base. Before his flight from Fresno, California VMA-214 (the current incarnation of the Black Sheep Squadron) did a flyby. They intended to do a missing man formation, but one of the four aircraft suffered a mechanical problem.

Related Topics:
Arlington National Cemetery - January 15 - 1988 - Missing man fly-by - F-4 - Marine - Andrews Air Force Base - Fresno, California - Black Sheep Squadron - Missing man formation

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After the burial service for Boyington one of his friends, Fred Losch, looked down at the headstone that he was standing next to, the boxing legend Joe Louis. Bruce Gamble comments on this by saying, "Ol' Pappy wouldn't have to go far to find a good fight."

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