And one of the things that bothered us is that uh we’d been in that flight suit for day after day and and and probably didn’t rinse them out as often as we should.

I was never terribly impressed with the u with the gourmet cooking.

Uh although I really had no problem.

I like spam.

I liked it then.

I still like it.

And I managed to handle powdered eggs.

Uh so that wasn’t a real problem.

Miserable.

It wasn’t about the food was the worst problem.

Yeah.

Spam and Vienna sausage.

And they rotated one for breakfast, one the other for lunch, and the third for noon.

And then they’d repeat it.

They would change it slightly the next day and instead of having spam for breakfast, you’d have a vegan sausage for breakfast.

However, life wasn’t wasn’t that bad.

Mosquitoes, yes.

Heat, yes.

You can put up with a lot when you’re 20, 22 years old.

Sure.

Though his methods were often questioned, Boeing instilled an incredible sense of camaraderie in the squadron.

He was able to meld the group into a unit.

For a fighter squadron, trust among fellow pilots is absolutely essential.

I’m depending on my wingman to cover my tail while I cover his.

And you can’t do it if you don’t if you have animosity against them.

It just can’t be done.

And that goes for your second section there.

You know, we’re weaving.

We’re doing everything you can to protect each other while we’re trying to get the enemy.

And it all starts back on the base where you had to learn to live together.

Living with Papy Boyington was challenging.

He burned the candle at both ends, working all day and playing all night.

At times his drinking was uncontrollable.

[Music] I just said, “Pappy has to have some kind of release, and this is it.

” Uh, it doesn’t distract from what he’s doing in the air.

That’s obvious.

Although I didn’t I wasn’t one that joined into that myself.

Uh, that’s just the way it was.

And you know, life went on.

One of his characteristics is that when he drank, he frequently became belligerent.

He was a fighter.

He loved to wrestle.

He didn’t care who he fought, but he would frequently challenge somebody to a fight when he drank.

Invariably, he picked the biggest guy around.

This also extended to his skill as a pilot.

He loved to fight.

He was aggressive.

It didn’t matter if he was fighting his own people or fighting the Japanese.

He had that fighting mentality.

One of our one of our first meetings, uh, we were sitting around after dinner and, uh, Boington said, “I’ll fight anybody in the place.

” And turned his head to Frank Walton, who was a big tough old LA cop and our intelligence officer.

He said, “Except Walton.

” And that is the way he fought.

He fought to win and he fought all the time.

He loved it.

He loved it.

Thank God he did.

Boington regularly demonstrated his fighting instincts in the air.

Each time he climbed into a Corsair, his squadron knew what to expect.

Find the enemy’s weakness and attack.

Boington would catch them taking off.

That’s when they were most vulnerable.

The brass used to try to force the fighters to stay close to the bombers and uh it in staying close to the bombers you could fend off the attacking zero Japanese but you couldn’t get a kill.

They would pass through rip off a few rounds at the bombers and then dive out back towards Indian country.

Boington would carry the attack through the enemy planes, taking off, climbing out when they were highly vulnerable.

Even the Japanese learned of Boington’s passion for fighting.

On one particular fighter sweep over Boenville, the Japanese decided not to come up when challenged by the American fighters.

Boington got mad and yelled over the radio, “Come on up and fight.

” To the surprise of everyone, the Japanese radio operator responded, “Why don’t you come down, Major Boington?” The third week in October saw the end of the Black Sheep’s first tour.

In just 6 weeks, the squadron scored 57 confirmed kills and another 19 probables.

The sheep were tired and in need of a break.

They had listed four pilots missing or dead and sent two more away due to injuries.

The remaining 22 were ready for some rest and relaxation in Sydney, Australia.

And then after each combat tour, which usually around somewhere between 5 and 7 weeks, uh you’d go back to Sprito Santos and they’d load you up on a bunch of DC3s and they’d fly all night to to well, you stopped in New Calonia and then down to Sydney, Australia.

When they landed, you immediately made a beline for King’s Cross, which was sort of the Bohemian section of Sydney.

and you found yourself uh starting off probably at the Red Cross hostel and then working out from there to find uh some convenient place to uh call uh your headquarters.

[Music] The first time I was there, I stayed in a Royal Australian hotel.

I’ll never forget that place as long as I live.

Boington was there, too.

We never saw him, though except at the parties at night.

I don’t know what he did during the day, but he had fun.

We all did.

The ground rules were such that it was pretty much open season.

The Marines come into town.

We’d uh find some uh delightful young lady to help us enjoy our rest and recreation.

One of the great things about uh the hotel uh Australia in downtown Sydney was it was had a long mahogany bar and the center section was reserved for Marines.

Freda was the bartender behind that particular section.

There was this one Freda that uh everybody went to and you’d line up in front of Freda before the bell rang and you’d order and she was allowed one bottle of scotch a night if I remember and you got there early you’d order four scotches and she put the glasses off here with all the scotch and stuff in them and then when the bell rang you grabbed your drinks and poured them down as fast and went back and ordered some bourbon or whatever was there.

I can remember when we get ready to come back, we’d go by and buy a a chicken that had already been cooked.

We’d carry that back cuz uh flight rations on the way back were not exactly up to airline standards.

So, this would help us a great deal.

So, we’d usually eat the chicken and then sleep the rest of the flight.

The black sheep’s return to combat began with a controversy surrounding their beer filled luggage.

We carried our gear in a parachute bag, canvas parachute bag, and before taking off for resuming our flight back to the islands, we had to carry it in and have it weighed so they could figure in this non-flying officer there said, “You got too much weight.

” And uh we suspected he may have been looking for some of the beer that we were carrying back for this.

Don’t know.

But uh we argued without success.

Boington argued without success and then turned to us and said, “Drink the beer, boys.

” And we left the bottles.

Full of pleasures and memories of Sydney, the Black Sheep flew back to the Solomon Islands.

They knew what lay ahead.

The Allies had moved up the islands and the final push to Rabal was just beginning.

New pilots were added to the squadron, bringing the total to 40.

Boington spent the first weeks explaining to the new pilots how the Black Sheep fought.

Soon, word came that the squadron was returning to combat, but unfortunately without Boington.

A longtime nemesis of Boington, Colonel Joe Smoke had transferred Boington away from the fighting to a non-flying job.

Smoke was military proper and did not approve of Greg Boington.

The two men detested each other.

On Frank Walton’s recommendation, Boington went over Smoke’s head and secretly visited an old drinking buddy, General James Moore at headquarters.

Moore could not argue with Boington’s success, and granted him another combat tour.

[Music] And when Smoke learned of this, he was so insensed that he dredged up a very obscure regulation in which officers were not allowed to go to group headquarters and on their own business.

And using this regulation, Smoke had Boington arrested and put him in hack for a couple of weeks, meaning that he was confined to his own quarters or to the environment of Turtle Bay Airstrip.

And he was not allowed to visit the clubs.

And before the completion of his so-called sentence, Boon got on a transport with several of his other pilots and just went to begin another combat tour.

During their second tour, the Black Sheep confirmed their suspicions regarding the importance of fighter strafing raids.

Guns loaded with armor-piercing incendiary slugs could slice the forest and any Japanese hot spots in the way.

The black sheep found themselves lending a hand to the ground marines who were fighting intense Japanese opposition.

The assistance was greatly appreciated.

In reports filed by ground marines, references to the irreressible black sheep began to appear.

Well, at one time we were I was sitting under ready alert at the end of the runway in case some Japanese plane came in and some of the ground marines came out of the bush and were saying in effect, you guys do the greatest job.

All we were doing is firing at the guns that they had put up in the hills to pop down on us.

He says you were saving our lives and uh I I just can’t believe what you’re doing.

And my answer to him was that we’re in awe of you.

We wouldn’t anymore want to go back in the bush and fight the way you do.

You do both of us do what we’re trained for.

As Bogenville became secured, the Black Sheep knew that soon they would be fighting over the Japanese fortress at Rabal.

The Japanese were determined to maintain their position at Rabbal because if it fell, then the only choice the Japanese had was to retreat to the Philippines.

[Music] At Rabal, the Japanese had five airfields full of aircraft ready to provide heavy opposition to Allied attacks.

The Marines knew the casualty rate over Rabal was going to be high.

After being summoned to the air command headquarters, Hington learned that he would be leading an 80 plane strike against Reabal.

This initial raid was disappointing for the Black Sheep because the Japanese were intimidated by the enormous size of the American force.

They sent up only a few aircraft and kept the rest of the Zeros safely on the ground.

During the next few weeks, the story was different.

The Japanese were better prepared.

Sorty after sorty, the black sheep applied pressure to the Japanese.

They escorted numerous B-24 bomber runs and they unleashed a series of Boington’s deadly fighter sweeps.

The fighting was rough and the casualties were high.

In one week alone, the Black Sheep lost six pilots.

As the squadron’s number of kills increased, so did Boyington’s personal tally.

he was getting close to the all-time ace record.

The attention in the United States was was focused on this so-called victory race.

At the time, the leading ace of all the American forces was Joseph Foss, who had scored 26 credited victories during the defense of Guadal Canal, mostly in 1942 and the first few weeks of 1943.

So he was the leading ace with 26 victories.

Boon started to approach that number and almost every time he went flying, the media would crowd around upon his return to find out how he had done that particular day.

As the story unfolded, more and more press arrived wanting to cover the story of his record-breaking flight.

Good news about the war was a rare commodity, and Boington’s story was every pressman’s dream.

A self-made man, an outsider, moving into sacred territory.

Boyington was not as sure.

As the squadron approached the end of the second tour, and the number of days available to break the record became fewer, Boington began doubting his chances.

In a letter he wrote to his mom, Boington confessed, “The Japanese are getting pretty tough out here.

I don’t know whether I will be able to break Joe Foss’s record before I go home or not.

As you have always taught me, nothing is worthwhile unless you earn it.

” [Music] Early in the morning on January 3rd, 1944, Boington met his squadron on the airirstrip at Torankina.

He had nothing to drink the night before and had slept well.

On this day, Boington was taking his sheep on a large fighter sweep of Rabal.

As they approached the coast, the black sheep met an enormous number of opposing Japanese planes.

A dog fight ensued, and Boington and his wingmen found themselves alone with at least 20 zeros.

Boington did what he could.

A number of black sheep witnessed Boington shoot down a zero, but then dramatically disappear.

There was no sign of his wingman either.

[Music] No one could believe what had happened.

By afternoon, most people figured Boington was not returning.

Earlier, angry pilots had climbed into their corsairs and gone looking for Boington.

Shooting up anything Japanese along the way, but they found nothing.

There was no story for the press, no happy ending.

Major Boington was gone.

Perhaps Frank Walton expressed the loss of Boyington best when he wrote to his wife, “We all miss the skipper.

But even more important than our personal loss is the loss to combat aviation.

Someday I can tell you more, but he was the dean of all combat pilots.

We loved him and respected him, and our boys were all willing to die for and with him, and some of them did.

But I’m sure they considered it an honor to do so.

For the next months, rumors spread like wildfire.

There were claims that Boington was alive, hiding in a jungle, waiting for his men to pick him up.

Others believed Boyington had taken a submarine home and was already back in the States.

There was also a story that someone had found Boington’s May West life jacket riddled with bullet holes.

[Music] Without their leader, the black sheep had little chance of remaining together.

They were finished as a group.

By January 9th, they had completed their second tour and were relaxing on Turtle Bay, enjoying swims during the day and movies at night.

They would soon be disbanded and sent to different assignments.

The sheep had every reason to be proud of the squadron’s performance.

They were credited with 94 confirmed planes shot down, another 35 probably shot down, 50 aircraft damaged, and 21 destroyed on the ground.

The total was 203 enemy planes destroyed or damaged.

They had also lost 12 pilots while reaching this mark.

The squadron’s name and number was given to a new squadron training in the United States.

This group was to be given little chance to continue the legacy created by the original Black Sheep.

The role of a Marine fighter squadron had changed by the time the new Black Sheep were deployed.

They now operated from carriers and VMF 214 was stationed on the USS Franklin.

Tragedy on a grand scale awaited the squadron.

On March 19th, 1945, the Franklin was within a 100 miles of the Japanese coast.

Before dawn, 12 Black Sheep departed for a fighter sweep, leaving the remaining pilots and crew on board.

A single Japanese duty dive bomber slipped through the radar and dropped two bombs on the deck of the Franklin.

The carrier erupted.

[Music] [Applause] [Music] Rescues were made when they could be, but the intense fire and constant explosions prevented many attempts.

Seven pilots were pulled from the water and another five were declared missing.

26 squadron crew members were also dead.

There was no reason to consider a future for the squadron.

Those pilots who could still fly were sent to other squadrons and the rest were sent home.

The Black Sheep squadron was disbanded and would not return for a number of years.

As the war in the Pacific drew to a close, prisoners of war were being released.

And as it turned out, some stray sheep were found.

Major Gregory Boington was alive and in good health at the Omorei prison in Tokyo.

On the day Boington disappeared, he had jumped from his aircraft and was picked up out of the water by a Japanese submarine.

He was taken from prison to prison and ended up in one outside of Tokyo.

And here the prisoners were put to work walking across the causeway every morning to clear the rubble from the streets after the B29 raids the previous night.

And again, they were underfed.

They were often beaten.

The Japanese performed experimental surgeries on certain prisoners.

And it was a rough existence for all of them.

But in August of 1945, a small fleet sailed into Tokyo Bay after the Japanese had surrendered.

And uh Hal Stasson, who had been a former governor of Minnesota, was one of the first people to greet Greg Boington and the other Amorei prisoners.

And then they were brought aboard a hospital ship, given uh delousing and showers and hot meals.

And then eventually Boington was flown back to the United States where he received a hero’s welcome.

Word soon spread that Papy Boington was alive.

Out in the Pacific on on one occasion he said, “If you see me shot down over a ball and bail in and go smashing into the ocean, don’t worry about it.

I’ll meet you at the Sir Francis Drake and have a drink after the war.

” And and he he made good on it.

The world listened to Papy’s incredible story.

Somehow or other, they they found all the black sheep in the in the country and the Marine Corps arranged transportation and flew us all out to San Francisco and put us up at the uh St.

Francis.

St.

Francis and they they had a three-day party there.

I’m still got a hangover from it.

After the party, the Marine Corps sent Boington and Frank Walton on a cross-country tour selling war bonds.

In every community he visited, Boington received a hero’s welcome.

And in Seattle, the city closed the streets.

The war bond tour ended with a visit to the White House where Boington was joined by fellow black sheep as he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Truman.

A fitting end to the black sheep’s legacy.

The black sheep today are reserved when asked to tell their history.

As far as they are concerned, a Hollywood movie and a 1970s television series based on their experiences did not tell their story.

what it was like to be 20some years old, flying and getting shot at during the day and sleeping in a jungle at night.

So today, the black sheep keep their story private.

They know what they did and they know why they did it.

Well, I don’t think that special mention should be made of the black sheep.

We were one of many squadrons who who fought the war of the Solomons with some success.

And it gave us great satisfaction because we developed under the pressures of flying combat, friendships for which there is no replacement.

I’m proud of the squadron.

I’m proud to have been a member of it even for a short period of time.

I’m not going to apologize for the black sheep squad.

It was a hell of a good outfit, great people, longtime friends, and we did our job, and we ought at least be credited with that.

I will not take second place to anybody.

[Music] Yeah, he uh he made young men brave.

He was a real leader in the air.

The day it was decided, we were all in a tent or quite a few guys were in a tent and we played around with Boon’s bastard and kind of liked it.

But then the PR guy that was with us said, “You might do some good.

” and that wouldn’t go too good in the press.

And so they compromised and made a bastard shield for us in order to keep the bastard but not have it in print.

And it ser served pretty well.

And we liked it in in heraldry.

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