JON'S TOP 10 WWII (#3) GREG "PAPPY" BOYINGTON'S BLACK SHEEP SQUADRON

1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries Podcast

Jon Hagadorn

Society & Culture, History

4.4 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 27 June 2025

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Gregory "Pappy" Boyington (December 4, 1912 – January 11, 1988) was an American combat pilot who was a United States Marine Corps fighter ace during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross. A Marine aviator with the Pacific fleet in 1941, Boyington joined the "Flying Tigers" (1st American Volunteer Group) of the Republic of China Air Force and saw combat in Burma in late 1941 and 1942 during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

In September 1942, Boyington rejoined the Marine Corps. In early 1943, he deployed to the South Pacific and began flying combat missions in the F4U Corsair fighter. On August 14, 1943, he took command of Marine fighter squadron VMF-214 ("Black Sheep").

In January 1944, Boyington, outnumbered by Japanese "Zero" planes, was shot down into the Pacific Ocean after downing one of the enemy planes. He was captured by a Japanese submarine crew and was held as a prisoner of war for more than a year and a half. He was released shortly after the surrender of Japan.

The television series Baa Baa Black Sheep was inspired by Boyington and his men in the "Black Sheep" squadron. It ran for two seasons in the late 1970s.

Catch all 120 of our WWII stories at www.bestof1001stories.com

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Thank you.
0:01.0	I'm going to be.
0:02.0	I'm The
0:23.6	The The
0:40.3	The The The
1:13.6	The The Welcome back to another episode of 1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories, and Mysteries podcast.
1:56.8	This one for our legend series is the story of Marine Major Greg Pappy Boyington
2:01.1	and the Black Sheep Squadron fighter pilots of World War II fame.
2:05.4	For 80 consecutive days, they fought to destroy the Japanese Air Force
2:09.0	in the skies over the Solomon Islands in the Pacific
2:11.2	in an effort to break the Japanese stronghold on those islands,
2:14.8	which we badly needed as air bases if we had any chance of winning the war in the Pacific.
2:20.3	You are listening to the sounds of an F4 U. Corsair, a clean, sleek aircraft with a 2,000-horsepower engine.
2:28.3	Its rated speed of 415 miles per hour at sea level made it the fastest aircraft in the Pacific Theater at the time
2:35.0	when the U.S. forces were pushing through the Solomons trying to get close to Japan.
2:40.5	The Corsair carried six 50 caliber machine guns, three mounted on each wing.
2:45.9	We'll meet the F4U Corsair when Boyington reaches a spiritu Santo in the Solomans in
2:51.1	in 1943.
2:53.5	The squadron took on the name Black Sheep, primarily due to Boyington's reputation as a troublemaker,
2:59.4	a tough-fisted brawler, and an officer who didn't do well when it came to taking orders.
3:04.6	If you think it got the name because the young men who formed that group were a bunch
3:07.7	of losers and misfits, think again. That was hype, created by the popular 70s TV show,
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 17 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jon Hagadorn, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Jon Hagadorn and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.