Col. Gregory Boyington

My past hero is Col. Gregory Boynton, a United States Marine Corps pilot in World War Two. Most knew him by his nickname Pappy Boynton. He was born in St. Maries, Idaho, on December 4th, 1912. Gregory Boynton took his first airplane ride when he was only six years old at a local air show. Gregory had been interested in aviation ever since the day of his first plane ride. When he got older, he decided to join the Marine Corps were he was hand picked to go into a special flight training program. Gregory Boynton was picked later to fly with the Flying Tigers in China. The U.S. government arranged to supply fighter planes and pilots to China, under the cover of the Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company to help China in the war against Japan. CAMCO recruiters visited US military aviation bases looking for volunteers and they picked Gregory Boynton. The pilots flew missions over China guarding supply trains. They paid the pilots $600.00 a month and a huge bonus for every Japanese fighter they shot down. This income was double or even triple the salary that the military paid their pilots.

When Col. Gregory Boynton got out of the Flying Tigers and went back home, the United States had entered World War Two, so he was sent to be stationed in the South Pacific. He later became commander of the 214 squadron nicknamed the “Black Sheep." The Black Sheep squadron was famous for being a whole squadron of misfits. This was a big achievement for Gregory Boynton. During his time with the 214 squadron, he shot down 28 Japanese Zeroes from his F4U Corsair in the Pacific theater. Near the end of the war, Pappy was shot down on January 3, 1944, on a mission over Rabaul. He spent over a year in a Japanese prison camp. Then he was traded for a Japanese prisoner.

I picked Col. Gregory Boynton as my hero for many different reasons, one being that he was a very brave person. When he was captured by the enemy, many other people would have just given up. Not my hero. Col. Gregory Boynton was a fighter. He would never give up. One other reason I picked Col. Gregory Boynton is that he went to war for his country and did not give up until the enemy was finally defeated. I think that Col. Gregory Boynton is a very special person for serving our country with pride and dignity and for never giving up. These are some of the many reasons why I picked Col. Gregory Boynton to be my hero. Col. Gregory Boynton died on January 11, 1988, in Fresno, California. He is now buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. You can go there now and visit a true hero’s final resting place.

Bibliography Web http://www.acepilots.com/usmc_boyington.html http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/ghboying.htm http://www.acepilots.com/usmc_boyington3.html