This
isn't him, but it reminds me of Greg "Pappy" Boyington. In the
70's Maryland's Terrapin Club's (sports boosters) front man was
an ex-Marine Major named Bob Ayres. Bob had once been assigned to
"control" Pappy during a war bond tour. Pappy really,
really liked
Bourbon and women, and was apt to disappear if left on his own
parole.
I don't remember whether Bob told us this story, or if I read it in Baa
Baa Black Sheep.
Anyway, Boyington would frequently be hung-over, or still drunk during
his Flying Tiger missions. He'd be okay getting there, and during
the
fighting, but liked to nap on the way back. He devised a
harness of
rubber bands to hold the stick on a proper bearing. His internal
clock
and engine revs by his wingman would wake him when it was time to
land. I used "when men were men,"
but I do think "when men could be men" is more accurate.
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His gravestone is in Arlington not very far from the Tomb of the Unknowns, been there several times. He was something....
ReplyDeletehttp://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=2075
Now we send the girls to fight!
ReplyDeleteTim
Had it not been for WWII, peace would have killed Pappy twenty years earlier.
ReplyDeleteCasca
Another interesting man was Robin Olds. Olds went from flying a P-38 in WWII to planning Operation Bolo in Vietnam.
ReplyDeleteOlds was a hard drinking man as well. It must come with the personality type that excelled at this particular form of war fighting.
I think Olds passed away only a few years ago. He was interviewed for the History Channel's 'Dogfights' series.
I had a running argument at work, could there really be a G.I. Jane. Of course not !!!
ReplyDeletegeorge
Robin Olds was one of a kind. He flew an F-4 in Operation Bolo. Later, his fame got him appointed to head the Air Force Academy. The brass hated him and his mustache. He didn't care. At graduation at the Academy, a flight of F-105s did a low flyover, and one "inadvertently" broke the sound barrier. Most of the glass windows of the Academy shattered, and that was most of the place. The brass looked grim, he was smiling! They were pissed at him and got rid of him after that.
ReplyDeletePolititians rise throught the ranks in peace time, not warriors. And they dispise real men. Not housebroken and all that.
ReplyDeleteTim
The regional airport in Coeur d'Alene, ID was renamed "Pappy Boyington Field" a few years ago. My dad was part of the group that made it happen, along with the Northern Idaho Marine Corps League.
ReplyDeleteOOO-RAH!
Looks a little pale to pass for Boyington. "Papa" Boyington was an American Indian, of the Coeur d'Alene tribe. That's not a politically correct term, but as far as I'm concerned, "Native American" means anyone born in this country.
ReplyDeleteThats a Wildcat of the 3rd MAW, most likely flown by Smokin Joe Foss, the true leading Marine ace. Also brought you the American Football League.
ReplyDelete