Baa Baa Black Sheep

New York: Bantam Books, 1987. Sixteenth Printing. Pocket Paperback. good. pocket paperbk, 350, wraps, illus., map, text somewhat darkened, discoloration inside covers, some wear to cover edges The author was a U.S. Marine Corps officer, and a fighter ace during World War II in the Pacific Theater. 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 both the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross. Boyington was initially a US Marine Corps aviator with the Pacific fleet before being recruited by the legendary "Flying Tigers" (1st American Volunteer Group) in the Republic of China Air Force in Burma at the end of 1941 and part of 1942, during the military conflict between China and Japan, and the beginning of the United States involvement in World War II. Boyington is best known for his exploits in the Vought F4U Corsair in VMF-214. During his squadron's first tour of combat duty, he shot down 25 by December 27, 1943. The World War II air war in the Pacific needed tough men like Colonel Pappy Boyington and his Black Sheep Squadron. The legendary Marine Corps officer and his bunch of misfits, outcasts, and daredevils gave new definition to "hell-raising" - on the ground and in the skies. Pappy himself was a living legend - he personally shot down 28 Japanese planes, and won the Congressional Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross. He broke every rule in the book in doing so, but when he fell into the hands of the vengeful Japanese his real ordeal began. Here, in his own words, is the true story of America's wildest flying hero, of his extraordinary heroism, and of his greatest battle of all - the fight to survive.