A Dream of Flying
Boyington was born in St.Maries, Idaho. He grew up believing that his name was Gregory Hallenbeck (or Hollenbeck). In his late 20s, in 1935, he would learn that his birth name was Boyington. At an early age Gregory became excited about aviation and took his first flighton September 18, 1919. In 1926 the Hallenbeck family moved to Tacoma andGregory attended Stewart Junior High School and then Lincoln High School.
Thefamily moved to Seattle in 1930 and in October that year he started at theUniversity of Washington. He participatedin Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and attended summer military trainingat Fort Worden, in Port Townsend. Although he had an interest inarchitecture, the depressed job market in that field led him to major inAeronautical Engineering.
He received his Bachelor of Science and wentto work for Boeing, but dreamed of flying. He read of the Aviation CadetProgram in 1935, with paid flight training, it became his avenue to realize hisdreams. The application process required a birth certificate and while seeking hisrecords discovered that his name was Gregory Boyington. His mother then told him ofher previous brief marriage and his birth.
Boyington was accepted into the Aviation Cadet program and completed elimination flight training at the Naval Air Reserve Base,Sand Point, Seattle (later Warren G. Magnuson Park). His instructor was aUniversity of Washington graduate, Richard Mangrum (1906-1985), who would go onto receive the Navy Cross and Distinguished Flying Cross for valor in World WarII and reach the rank of lieutenant general. Also graduating in his class was fellowUniversity of Washington graduate Robert Galer (1913-2005) who would also beawarded the Medal of Honor.
In 1936 Boyington passed the naval aviation courseat Pensacola, Florida, and became a Marine Corps aviator. Lieutenant Boyingtonhad assignments to bases in the United States. However, his Marine Corpsservice was troubled with drinking, fighting, debt problems, and womanizing, personalissues that would trouble him his entire life. His behavioral problems forced him to find analternative and that was the well-paid American Volunteer Group, the FlyingTigers. He could pay off his debts and leave a bad situation.
He joined theFlying Tigers on August 4, 1941, and resigned his Marine Corps Reserve commission.During his combat time with the Flying Tigers in China, he won 3.5 aerialvictories and destroyed three aircraft on the ground.
Returning to the Marines
On April 21, 1942, Boyington resigned from the AmericanVolunteer Group and returned to the United States and was reappointed to theMarine Corps as a major. In January 1943 he went to the South Pacific where hisduties did not include combat missions. His first flying assignments were trainingflights and patrols that proved uneventful.
In September 1943 he was madecommander of a reconstituted Marine Fighter Squadron, VMF-214. The squadron wouldbe named the Black Sheep Squadron and its commander Major Boyington was nicknamed "Pappy" due to his advanced age of 30 years old. The squadron, composed ofreplacement pilots, destroyed 97 enemy aircraft and 28 vessels in 84 days. Thesquadron had eight pilots who became Aces, each one with five or more aerialvictories. Major Boyington proved to be a brilliant combat leader andexceptional at dog fighting and gunnery. During his command the Marine Corpspublished his tactics to guide other fighter pilots.
Prisoner of War and Medal of Honor
On January 3, 1944, Major Boyington was shot down over Rabaul and takenprisoner. He spent 20 months in Japanese prisoner-of-war camps. He was assumedby many to be dead. In March 1944, while he was listed as missing in action, PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) awarded him the Medal of Honor.
The Medal ofHonor citation describes his extraordinary heroism above and beyond the call ofduty as Commanding Officer of Marine Fighter Squadron 214. His heroic actionswere against Japanese forces in the Central Solomon’s from September 12, 1943, to January 3, 1944. Major Boyington had exhibited innovative leadership while hissquadron was outnumbered.
The citation records that he struck at the enemy withdaring and courageous persistence, leading his squadron into combat with devastating results to Japanese shipping, shore installations,and aerial forces. On October 17, 1943, Major Boyington led a force of 24fighters and circled above a Japanese airfield that had 60 fighters on the ground.Boyington challenged the Japanese to come up and fight. When they did, Boyington’s group shot down 20 enemy aircraft with no losses. The citation goeson to state that Major Boyington had 20 aerial victories while leadingMarine Squadron 214. His total aerial victories made him a leading Marine CorpsAir Ace in World War II.
During hiscaptivity Boyington received a great deal of publicity regarding his exploits, making him one of the best-known aerial Aces. While he was held, his mother received coded messages from other prisoners suggesting that he was alive. The Marine Corps advised her to be wary ofsuch messages.
Home at Last
On August 29, 1945, it was reported that Boyington had beenfound alive in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. He was recovered and startedthe trip home. In September 1945 Lieutenant Colonel Boyington returned to theUnited States. His mother and children were flown to San Francisco to meet him.
From here Boyington went on a two-month national Victory Bond tour of thecountry that included numerous speeches, parades, and public honors. OnSeptember 17 Seattle was one of the stops and had a welcome home at its VictorySquare. A band performed and thedistinguished speakers included GovernorMonrad "Mon" Wallgren (1891-1961). Following the Seattle event, Major Boyingtonheaded to the small community of Brewster, in Okanogan County, where his family wasliving. Two hundred school children lined the street to greet the hero. Later aparade was held in Okanogan, where 15,000, many times the townpopulation, cheered the hero.
On October 5, 1945, at aWhite House ceremony President Harry Truman (1884-1972) awarded 14 Medal ofHonors including Boyington. With his retirement from the Marine Corps on August1, 1947, he was promoted to colonel.
After the War
Colonel Boyington (Retired) became a well-known war herowith a 1958 book on his wartime exploits titled BaaBaa, Black Sheep and the televisionseries of the same name (later called Black Sheep Squadron) that ran for twoseasons, from 1976 to 1978. The television series portrayed Marine Fighter Squadron 214as misfits, which offended squadron veterans. The squadron contained fine pilotsthat were in a replacement pool, not hard-drinking troublemakers and misfits.
Gregory Boyington died in January 1988. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
A monument at the University of Washington pays tribute tothe seven graduates of that university who have been awarded the Medal ofHonor. This includes Gregory Boyington and fellow aviator Robert Galer.
In 2014Lincoln High School launched a drive to construct a monument to honor theirfamous graduate. In 2007 the Coeur d’ Alene Idaho airport was renamed Coeur d’Alene Airport -- Pappy Boyington Field.
A Dream of Flying
Boyington was born in St.Maries, Idaho. He grew up believing that his name was Gregory Hallenbeck (or Hollenbeck). In his late 20s, in 1935, he would learn that his birth name was Boyington. At an early age Gregory became excited about aviation and took his first flighton September 18, 1919. In 1926 the Hallenbeck family moved to Tacoma andGregory attended Stewart Junior High School and then Lincoln High School.
Thefamily moved to Seattle in 1930 and in October that year he started at theUniversity of Washington. He participatedin Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and attended summer military trainingat Fort Worden, in Port Townsend. Although he had an interest inarchitecture, the depressed job market in that field led him to major inAeronautical Engineering.
He received his Bachelor of Science and wentto work for Boeing, but dreamed of flying. He read of the Aviation CadetProgram in 1935, with paid flight training, it became his avenue to realize hisdreams. The application process required a birth certificate and while seeking hisrecords discovered that his name was Gregory Boyington. His mother then told him ofher previous brief marriage and his birth.
Boyington was accepted into the Aviation Cadet program and completed elimination flight training at the Naval Air Reserve Base,Sand Point, Seattle (later Warren G. Magnuson Park). His instructor was aUniversity of Washington graduate, Richard Mangrum (1906-1985), who would go onto receive the Navy Cross and Distinguished Flying Cross for valor in World WarII and reach the rank of lieutenant general. Also graduating in his class was fellowUniversity of Washington graduate Robert Galer (1913-2005) who would also beawarded the Medal of Honor.
In 1936 Boyington passed the naval aviation courseat Pensacola, Florida, and became a Marine Corps aviator. Lieutenant Boyingtonhad assignments to bases in the United States. However, his Marine Corpsservice was troubled with drinking, fighting, debt problems, and womanizing, personalissues that would trouble him his entire life. His behavioral problems forced him to find analternative and that was the well-paid American Volunteer Group, the FlyingTigers. He could pay off his debts and leave a bad situation.
He joined theFlying Tigers on August 4, 1941, and resigned his Marine Corps Reserve commission.During his combat time with the Flying Tigers in China, he won 3.5 aerialvictories and destroyed three aircraft on the ground.
Returning to the Marines
On April 21, 1942, Boyington resigned from the AmericanVolunteer Group and returned to the United States and was reappointed to theMarine Corps as a major. In January 1943 he went to the South Pacific where hisduties did not include combat missions. His first flying assignments were trainingflights and patrols that proved uneventful.
In September 1943 he was madecommander of a reconstituted Marine Fighter Squadron, VMF-214. The squadron wouldbe named the Black Sheep Squadron and its commander Major Boyington was nicknamed "Pappy" due to his advanced age of 30 years old. The squadron, composed ofreplacement pilots, destroyed 97 enemy aircraft and 28 vessels in 84 days. Thesquadron had eight pilots who became Aces, each one with five or more aerialvictories. Major Boyington proved to be a brilliant combat leader andexceptional at dog fighting and gunnery. During his command the Marine Corpspublished his tactics to guide other fighter pilots.
Prisoner of War and Medal of Honor
On January 3, 1944, Major Boyington was shot down over Rabaul and takenprisoner. He spent 20 months in Japanese prisoner-of-war camps. He was assumedby many to be dead. In March 1944, while he was listed as missing in action, PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) awarded him the Medal of Honor.
The Medal ofHonor citation describes his extraordinary heroism above and beyond the call ofduty as Commanding Officer of Marine Fighter Squadron 214. His heroic actionswere against Japanese forces in the Central Solomon’s from September 12, 1943, to January 3, 1944. Major Boyington had exhibited innovative leadership while hissquadron was outnumbered.
The citation records that he struck at the enemy withdaring and courageous persistence, leading his squadron into combat with devastating results to Japanese shipping, shore installations,and aerial forces. On October 17, 1943, Major Boyington led a force of 24fighters and circled above a Japanese airfield that had 60 fighters on the ground.Boyington challenged the Japanese to come up and fight. When they did, Boyington’s group shot down 20 enemy aircraft with no losses. The citation goeson to state that Major Boyington had 20 aerial victories while leadingMarine Squadron 214. His total aerial victories made him a leading Marine CorpsAir Ace in World War II.
During hiscaptivity Boyington received a great deal of publicity regarding his exploits, making him one of the best-known aerial Aces. While he was held, his mother received coded messages from other prisoners suggesting that he was alive. The Marine Corps advised her to be wary ofsuch messages.
Home at Last
On August 29, 1945, it was reported that Boyington had beenfound alive in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. He was recovered and startedthe trip home. In September 1945 Lieutenant Colonel Boyington returned to theUnited States. His mother and children were flown to San Francisco to meet him.
From here Boyington went on a two-month national Victory Bond tour of thecountry that included numerous speeches, parades, and public honors. OnSeptember 17 Seattle was one of the stops and had a welcome home at its VictorySquare. A band performed and thedistinguished speakers included GovernorMonrad "Mon" Wallgren (1891-1961). Following the Seattle event, Major Boyingtonheaded to the small community of Brewster, in Okanogan County, where his family wasliving. Two hundred school children lined the street to greet the hero. Later aparade was held in Okanogan, where 15,000, many times the townpopulation, cheered the hero.
On October 5, 1945, at aWhite House ceremony President Harry Truman (1884-1972) awarded 14 Medal ofHonors including Boyington. With his retirement from the Marine Corps on August1, 1947, he was promoted to colonel.
After the War
Colonel Boyington (Retired) became a well-known war herowith a 1958 book on his wartime exploits titled BaaBaa, Black Sheep and the televisionseries of the same name (later called Black Sheep Squadron) that ran for twoseasons, from 1976 to 1978. The television series portrayed Marine Fighter Squadron 214as misfits, which offended squadron veterans. The squadron contained fine pilotsthat were in a replacement pool, not hard-drinking troublemakers and misfits.
Gregory Boyington died in January 1988. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
A monument at the University of Washington pays tribute tothe seven graduates of that university who have been awarded the Medal ofHonor. This includes Gregory Boyington and fellow aviator Robert Galer.
In 2014Lincoln High School launched a drive to construct a monument to honor theirfamous graduate. In 2007 the Coeur d’ Alene Idaho airport was renamed Coeur d’Alene Airport -- Pappy Boyington Field.
