Gregory "Pappy" Boyington was a legendary World War II fighter pilot who served with the American Volunteer Group — the FlyingTigers — in China and later as a Marine Corps fighter squadron commander in the Solomons campaign. The subject of earlier biographies and a television series, Boyington receives a "warts and all" treatment by Wukovits, an expert on the Pacific war. Boyington was a black sheep to his superiors and many associates, and inspired either love or hate. But he was a superb leader in mentoring his F4U Corsair pilots to an outstanding performance against Japanese opponents and the formula for success in post-war life. Boyington was shot down in January 1944 and spent the rest of the war in a Japanese prison camp, where his leadership and courage helped sustain the morale of fellow prisoners. He received the Medal of Honor shortly after the war ended.
展开▼
