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The Most Heroic Airmen of World War II

Khalid Elhassan August 10, 2022 38 min

21. Alcohol Marred the Life of This Hard-Charging Ace

Ace Facts - Pappy Boyington and one of his four wives — Pappy Boyington and one of his four wives. Los Angeles Public Library

After his Medal of Honor award, Gregory Boyington was sent on a public relations tour to sell bonds. By all accounts, the Marine ace partied hard while he was at it. The hard-living Boyington was notorious for being a heavy drinker. Alcoholism caused him many problems in his professional and private lives, and contributed to multiple divorces – he got married four times. The booze, marital difficulties, heavy indebtedness, and a reputation for being a troublemaker precluded a career in the Marine Corps after the war.

Robert Conrad as Pappy Boyington in ‘Baa Baa Black Sheep’. Flickr

Accordingly, Boyington retired from the USMC on August 1^st, 1947, with the rank of Colonel. He then worked a variety of civilian gigs, including refereeing and participating in professional wrestling matches. He also wrote an autobiography, Baa Baa Black Sheep, which was published in 1958, plus a novel about the Flying Tigers. Baa Baa Black Sheep was made into an NBC series, albeit a significantly fictionalized one, that aired for two seasons from 1976 to 1978. In it, Boyington was portrayed by actor Robert Conrad.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.