WW2: The Black Sheep Squadron (Documentary)

[opsspec1991]

WW2: The Black Sheep Squadron (Documentary)

Marine Attack Squadron 214 (VMA-214) is a United States Marine Corps fighter squadron. The squadron is best known as the Black Sheep of World War II fame and for one of its commanding officers, Colonel Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, whose memoirs also inspired the 1970s television show Baa Baa Black Sheep, (later syndicated as Black Sheep Squadron) which dramatized the squadron’s exploits during the war.

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut1mfliFJFE

 

[TWright]

I had the opportunity to meet "Pappy", a few years before he died, at the Reno Air Races. He was there selling copies of his autobiography. I was not dumb enough to pass that up and now have a personalized autographed copy. Very cool dude.

 

[Eidolon]

I would recommend 3 books for anyone who wants to get probably the most objective and accurate picture of the Black Sheep and Gregory Boyington. Black Sheep One and The Black Sheep by Bruce Gamble and They Were Eagles Once by Frank Walton (XO of VMF214 under Boyington).

Boyington was a human with a lot of demons and he wrote his autobiography (intentionally or not) in such a way as to put himself in the best possible light. There were a lot of things left out ( like the fact that he was unwelcome at the yearly Flying Tiger reunions he wrote about in the beginning of his book)