UW Student Senate Shoots Down Pappy Boyington

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VW

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Most of you have heard of Gregory Boyington.  Mr. Boyington died in 1988.  He was 75-years-old.  Perhaps you see the name and aren’t quite sure.  If I say Colonel Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, does that help?  How about Colonel Gegory “Pappy” Boyington, Commander of VMF-214 or better known as “The Black Sheep Squadron”?  Now you are nodding your head.

Col. Boyington was born in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and later on moved here to Tacoma when he was a teenager.  The Young Mr. Boyington graduated from Tacoma’s Lincoln High School and attended the University of Washington, graduating in 1934 with a degree in aeronautical engineering and even worked at Boeing for a year as a draftsman and engineer.

Boyington joined the Marines, learned to fly, and quit the Marines to join the Flying Tigers a few months before Pearl Harbor.  In the spring of 1942, he left the Flying Tigers, finagled a commission as a Major in the Marines and in August of 43, he took command of a ragtag bunch of unassigned pilots.  Some were combat vets and some were fresh from flying school.  He whipped them in to combat shape in 4 weeks.  Pappy was called Pappy because he was 10 years older than most of his men.  Pappy shot down 26 Japanese airplanes.  He shot the last one down before he himself was shot down on the same day in January of 1944.  He served out the rest of the war as a POW.  Pappy was awarded the Navy Cross and the Medal of Honor.

The citation for his MOH:

    The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR to MAJOR GREGORY BOYINGTON UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS RESERVE for service as set forth in the following CITATION

    For extraordinary heroism above and beyond the call of duty as Commanding Officer of Marine Fighting Squadron TWO FOURTEEN in action against enemy Japanese forces in Central Solomons Area from 12 September 1943 to 3 January 1944. Consistently outnumbered throughout successive hazardous flights over heavily defended hostile territory, Major Boyington struck at the enemy with daring and courageous persistence, leading his squadron into combat with devastating results to Japanese shipping, shore installations and aerial forces. Resolute in his efforts to inflict crippling damage on the enemy, Major Boyington led a formation of twenty-four fighters over Kahili on 17 October and, persistently circling the airdrome where sixty hostile aircraft were grounded, boldly challenged the Japanese to send up planes. Under his brilliant command, our fighters shot down twenty enemy craft in the ensuing action without the loss of a single ship. A superb airman and determined fighter against overwhelming odds, Major Boyington personally destroyed 26 of the many Japanese planes shot down by his squadron and by his forceful leadership developed the combat readiness in his command which was a distinctive factor in the Allied aerial achievements in this vitally strategic area.

He is interned in Arlington National Cemetery.

Fast forward to 2006.

Andrew Everett, a UW senior and a former Air Force weather forecaster, thought so, and he brought the resolution before the UW's student senate. He told the students that he wasn't interested in a large statue, but rather something smaller "so that all who come here in future years will know that the University of Washington produced one of the country's bravest men . . . ," according to the resolution. Asked where the money would come from, Everett said he was drawing up a proposal for funding from several UW departments and from certain alumni. He argued that Pappy Boyington had many of the qualities that the University of Washington hoped to produce in its students.

Seems like a small thing, right – A small statue to pay tribute to a man who heroically defended his country?  You would be mistaken.

When presented to the UW Student Senate, this was what they said:

Jill Edwards moved to table the matter, saying other resolutions were there first. Another student senator asked why Everett was interested in honoring this particular alum. Another senator asked why a monument shouldn't commemorate all who fought in the war. Karl Smith wanted to strike the section of the resolution where Boyington was credited with destroying 26 enemy aircraft. Jill Edwards "didn't believe a member of the Marine Corps was an example of the sort of person UW wanted to produce," according to the meeting's minutes.

The resolution's sponsor, Andrew Everett, gamely said a destroyed aircraft didn't necessarily indicate the enemy pilot had died. Mikhail Smirnoff noted that the resolution didn't require that the statue necessarily be finished. Jon Lee said he didn't want the campus inundated with memorials. Deidre Lockman argued that the resolution focused too heavily on the negative aspects of war. Mikhail Smirnoff supported the resolution but said "he understood the sentiment of not wanting to reward those who fought in the war, but that he thought those who fought in WWII were heroes and that it was a much different war than the controversial war in Iraq," as per the minutes.

UW senior Ashley Miller said the university already had enough monuments to rich white men.

Talk about educated idiots.  None of these droolers had a clue.  Ms. Miller was perhaps the most idiotic of them all.  Gregory Boyington was not rich, he died in poverty – partly because he was an alcoholic and partly because despite his success as a fighter pilot, he was lousy with money.  And as for white?  Wellllll...not exactly.  He was mostly Sioux.  Check out his picture.

Does he look white to you, Ashley?

Two outta three wrong, Ashley – You are an idiot.   I’d even venture to guess with a name like Ashley, you are probably some rich white girl who will probably marry a rich white guy and have 1.6 little rich kids.  I don’t know, but either way, you are still an idiot.  I hope a potential employer see some of these things these idiot kids said and remembers it.

According to the Tacoma News Tribune, Jill Edwards also said this:

Jill Edwards, a UW sophomore, questioned whether a member of the Marine Corps was the type of person the school wanted to produce.

Excuse me Ms. Edwards?  Do you and Ashley share the same brain cell between you?  You may not like the Marines because of some dumb ass liberal notion, but Jill old Girl, there aren’t many people on this earth that want to go up against a platoon of Marines.  That helps ensure that dumb asses like you are free to say dumb ass things.  Thank whoever or whatever you consider holy there are young men willing to take on the title of United States Marine.  Dumb ass!

The Senate voted it down, but at least they’ve become the subject of a fair amount of well deserved ridicule.

Pappy Boyington was a hero.  He wasn’t perfect, but nobody could fly and fight like him.  Thank God for men like Pappy.  Without them, we’d be a lot worse off.

God help America.  These clueless idiots are our future.

VW

Comments

[SemperFi]

Well said VW! I had the privilege to shake Pappy's hand and thank him for his service to the country -- a concept apparently foreign to certain students at UW -- at an EAA Oshkosh Air Show in the early '80s.

[UTRIQUE PARATUS]

So if guys like this didn't bother to put THIER LIFE on the line for the life of those at home WHERE WOULD YOU BE NOW?
SHUT UP AND PAY FOR YOUR LIFE,SOMEONE ELSE PAID!

[LLassise]

I don't jump into discussions often but this one I had to weigh in on. Why didn't Ms. Edwards throw Bob Galer under the bus along with Greg? Or didn't she know Bob was another UW grad and MOH who was forced to take many lives in defense of this country? Does she even know the location of Guadalcanal, Vella Lavella or Piva Yoke Bougainville? I recommend Ms. Edwards read some of my interview material conveyed to me by many of Bob's young fliers he commanded, she would be ashamed of her comments.

These young left-wing morons have no idea the personal price these fine men paid at a time when this country needed unique leadership the most. Ms. Edwards needs to holster her mouth and unlock her brain before she treads on such sacred issues. If not, she is truly doomed for failure.

[UWstudent]

I go to the University of Washington and interact with the student government on campus a fair amount and have even worked within the student government on various committees. I am ashamed that these so called representatives would say these things about the quality of persons in our military. I hope that the rest of America realizes that not all of us out here in the west are tree hugging, bunny loving, bleeding heart liberals; nor however, does that mean that we want or glorify war. It does in fact, mean that we are in support and recognize the sacrifices and hardships that these fine soldiers, airmen, sailors and MARINES (ooh-rah) endure for our freedoms.