Black Sheep One: The Life of Gregory "Pappy" Boyington

Pappy Boyington was an enigma! I laughed and I cried several times when reading this incredible story. Thank you, Bruce Gamble for writing this. You put me right into the action with your vivid descriptions.

The book was not what I anticipated. I mer Colonel Boyington when I was a kid, at an air show. I thought the book would be flattering, it is not. It exposes more of who Boyington was as a result of alcoholism, womanizing and an unstable childhood. While it notes his brilliance as a pilot, it questions the veracity of his accomplishments. It's a good read and seems well researched.

Excellent read. Ever since I was a kid I've been fascinated by the Vought F4U Corsair, the iconic WW II airplane associated with Boyington. I watched the TV series starring Robert Conrad(I really liked him in "The Wild Wild West" series), so I've followed Boyington's career over the years. This is a warts and all biography and there are a lot of warts, particularly his alcoholism, back in a time when it was not recognized as a disease, and his hugely dysfunctional family. That he functioned at all with this background is a testament to his character but, my god, the damage suffered and inflicted! Reads a little like Malcom Lowry's "Under the Volcano" or Nicholas Cage in "Leaving Las Vegas". The author details what a bunch of screw-ups the AVG personnel fundamentally were, Boyington's post-war career, when he went from a pinnacle of fame to rock bottom(multiple times), and his complicated relationships with both family and friends. An interesting series of snapshots from a time and place that no longer exists. Well worth reading!

I got this thinking it would be another entertaining story of WWII aviation. Instead it told the sad story of Greg "Pappy" Boyington's life. Through alcoholism and a lack of integrity, Boyington managed to screw up his life. Although, by all accounts he was an excellent, fearless pilot, he lied about his exploits, never actually achieving more kills than Joe Foss. It's actually questionable whether he earned the Medal of Honor. Even he said it was awarded to him only because they thought he was dead. His name was familiar, probably from the 1970's TV show featuring his character leading a bunch of misfit pilots who did nothing but got drunk and fooled around between skirmishes. The truth of the story wasn't like that at all.Even so, the book is well worth the read and is well-researched and written despite numerous grammatical errors. Such as using the word "fliers" when it should be "flyers." "Fliers" are handbills, pamphlets. I recorded only 70 grammatical errors.

This book is the dressing down of a national hero and aviation icon. One thing is to write about history, and another is speculative Monday morning quarterbacking. A great story smeared by a lot of speculation. Throughout the book, the author constantly speculates that this or that incident must have been caused by Pappy's drinking or alcoholism. He has obviously a beef with the well-worn work hard/party hard military tradition. If you take out all of the instances where Gamble speculates that alcohol 'must have been involved', the book would have been at least a 1/4 shorter. I am aware that this book is old and this review might be pointless by now, but for those looking for a rousing story of a national hero, keep looking. This is not it. More than a "warts and all" bio, it reads like it was written out of spite and envy. I am glad I only bought the mass paperback edition because this book is not going to be part of my ample military history book collection.

Excellent Biography of a brave, complex, talented Marine!

When I say misfit, it not intended to be necessarily negative. Gregory Boyington, by his own words and admissions, was not a man who fit in well anywhere. Because of several ill influences on his behavior (perhaps a charitible way to describe alcoholism, childhood neglect, a case of what has often been called "short man's system"-an overwhelming need to prove one's ability and courage to all around-, constant indebtedness, and a overdeveloped ability to exaggerate), Mr. Boyington's behavior was apparently frequently less than desirable wherever he went-EXCEPT in the cockpit of a WWII fighter plane. Described by his unit as a disaster as a commanding officer on the ground, apparently no one who flew with him ever doubted his ability in the air, making him a hero and a legend.For all the "negativity" that the author concentrates on, it is clear that this is not so much an attempt to "tear down a hero" as to explain why the man (Boyington) behaved as he did, which ended up tarnishing his image. To my thinking, rather than being left with an image of a man who fit Boyington's own description ("Show me a hero, and I'll show you a bum.), Mr. Boyington comes off a a hero who had a hard time learning to control his own inner demons. To have finally conquered most of them shows a man whose character was far better than the drunken "bum" who was retired from the Marine Corps to avoid the embarrassment (to the Corps) of having to be thrown out. While it is a shame he was not able to take control of his behavior when he was younger, it is also a minor miracle that he was able to do it late in life. He earned back some of what had been lost, and earned it the hard way.If you are ignorant of Mr. Boyington's shortcomings and admire the hero image that was cultivated for him prior to his return the the US upon the close of WWII, this book is not for you. It does cover many negative points. If you know that Mr. Boyington was far from perfect, then this might be the book you want to read. It does explain the "bum" behind the hero, well enough that some of the tarnish is removed from Boyington's image.

gifts

In diesem fast 500-Seiten-Buch (Paperback-Ausgabe) geht es nicht nur um die kriegerischen Leistungen eines der berühmtesten amerikanischen Jagdflieger des 2. Weltkrieges, es ist vielmehr eine komplette Biografie von seiner (alles andere als einfachen) Kindheit bis zum Tod 1988 und vermittelt vielerlei Einblicke in seine Zeit, die Orte, an denen er lebte, und die Funktionsweise des amerikanischen Militärs und auch der amerikanischen Medien.Das Buch ist akribisch recherchiert (20 Seiten Quellenangaben) und alles andere als unkritisch - Boyingtons Alkoholismus, seine Finanzprobleme und seine Frauengeschichten nehmen breiten Raum ein.Ein Punkt Abzug dafür, dass nicht richtig herauskommt, wie es Boyington überhaupt gelang, aus den Black Sheep eine Eliteeinheit zu machen.

Livre difficile a trouver et mon pere a été ravi de le voir disponible ici! Vraiment, tres bonne qualité! a recommander!

good book, well written.

En France, la légendaire série télévisée Les Têtes Brûlées a consacré l'image de Greg "Pappy" Boyington, commandant d'une escadrille de Corsairs écumant le Pacifique Sud contre les Japonais pendant la guerre du Pacifique. Il est vrai que Boyington, patron de l'escadrille VMF-214, est l'un des as les plus hauts en couleur de l'US Marine Corps. Personnage turbulent, membre de l'American Volunteer Group en Chine, abattu dans le Pacifique Sud et prisonnier un an au Japon, récipiendaire de la Medal of Honor, alcoolique notoire, Boyington a contribué lui-même à sa propre légende.Bruce Gamble, ancien membre de l'US Navy converti à l'écriture historique, présente dans cette biographie un portrait bien plus prosaïque, mais néanmoins encore bien coloré, du fameux chef d'escadrille que fut Greg Boyington. Un livret photo central est présent et particulièrement fourni ; dommage en revanche qu'il n'y ait pas de cartes, car il y a nombre de lieux à localiser dans la vie du Marine. Dommage également que les notes de bas de page listant les sources ne soient pas reprises dans une bibliographie indicative.Le principal mérite de la biographie de Gamble est cependant de nous présenter l'homme tel qu'il fût, et ce dès son enfance : une famille troublée, alcoolique, les difficultés financières, un énorme besoin de reconnaissance, de la persévérance et l'envie de voler. Boyington entre d'ailleurs dans les Tigres Volants pour résoudre ses problèmes de dettes : il revendique 6 avions japonais abattus, mais seulement 2 peuvent être confirmés. Ce problème des confirmations de victoires revient souvent dans sa carrière. Prenant la tête des Corsairs du VMF-214, il rajoutera à la liste 22 victoires (dont plusieurs contestées) avant d'être abattu et fait prisonnier par les Japonais. Le récit des conditions de détention au Japon jusqu'à la capitulation en 1945 est sans doute l'un des passages les plus intéressants du livre. La presse le couvre d'éloges mais peu de gens connaissent alors ses déboires personnels, qui n'éclatent au grand jour qu'après la guerre, à tel point que l'USMC s'en débarrasse en le mettant à la retraite pour raisons médicales en 1947. Boyington se débat ensuite entre trois nouveaux mariages, ses crises d'alcoolisme, et la publication de deux livres, ses mémoires et une nouvelle très critique envers Chennault, qui lui vaudra beaucoup d'ennemis. Dans les années 1970, son image est redorée par la série télévisée dans laquelle il est incarnée par Robert Conrad. Mort en 1988 d'un cancer, Boyington, au vu de cette biographie, n'arrive pas à susciter l'enthousiasme : ses exploits militaires sont en quelque sorte gâchés par tout le reste.Au final, une biographie fort instructive pour les passionnés d'histoire militaire qui veulent découvrir le vrai Boyington derrière l'image fournie par Les Têtes Brûlées. Attention toutefois, ce n'est pas une lecture facile, car certains passages de la biographie sont, à mon sens, détaillés à l'excès.