I read in the Corsair book I just bought from Kagero, that Pappy Boyington died a alcoholic and a drifter!
Is that really honestly true??
For what guys like he did and many after that NOT right is it?
Just because they thought that he was dead, and when he showed up after the war they rather pretended that he didn’t exist. Go figure.
Guys like that deserve all the respect etc we can give them.
It’s thanks to them that we can still enjoy a free world.
Sad if it’s true. A real war hero. He deserved better.
I don’t think the drifter part is true.
His son has said AA helped his dad, but never made him stop drinking totally.
He went to airshows, did interviews and the like, right up to the time he died.
Most countries have a way to shove the hero’s into the background when they are done using them, sad but true.
Don
Whilst on my boat last weekend I met a 55 year old bloke lately of the SBS. He was in his own words “f***ed up” by the Falklands war and his experiences there. This man was as much a casualty as if he had come home without his legs and reminded me of nothing so much as someone who has been smoking dope in industrial quantities for 20 years. He has been abandoned by his country and many of his old comrades have fallen victim to the demon drink and mental illness. It is a measure of just how let down he feels that the one person he would now cheerfully “slot” is Margaret Thatcher.
I am so deeply deeply ashamed.
Boyington, by his own admission, was an alcoholic. He was also an excellent pilot and a charismatic leader.
There’s an excellent biography of Boyington, Black Sheep One by Bruce Gamble. This is the best book about Boyington out there. One of the things that Bruce Gamble says in the introduction is that while researching Pappy’s life, he really came to admire the man’s spirit and truly appreciate just how much he accomplished while working under the horrible burden of alcoholism.
Regards,
Even though I am now down under I would have been about 12 years old and in Cornwall during the Falklands conflict. My local town lost several boys and some my dad had taught (schoolteacher). I am sure this gentleman is not alone in feeling let down by the country he served and society as a whole and we definitely have a duty to honour and respect all servicemen past and current. If only policy would do the same - look at the refusal to accept gulf war syndrome or illness believed by many to be linked to vaccinations. Then there is the controversy over nuclear tests and subsequent health problems. The list is long. I am sure your respect would have helped - thankyou.
It’s a indeed a terrible thing when anyone is consumed with their past experiences to the point of escaping into alcohol and drugs, especially our Hero’s, however, the law of averages dictate a certain percentage of any population will resort to mind altering substances as a way of dealing with guilt, abandonment, reticule, or whatever. The sad reality is, some people are going to crash & burn no matter HOW much others try to help them. [:(]
It’s very easy to lay the blame on others for their demise, but as the old saying goes; “We can’t help what cards we are dealt, but we CAN help what we do with them once they’re in our hands”. A far greater percentage of Veterans have adjusted well and go on to lead productive lives, using their past experiences as motivation to continue.
snibble: Certainly you can choose to bear the responsibility (shame) of others actions if you want to, but the reality of life is, it rains on both the rich and the poor, the pretty and ugly, the great and the meek.
God bless the Veterans, all over the world!
Take care,
Frank
A mighty Amen hooker!
Jerry