What brings Col. Boyington to my attention is the shameful treatment he recently received, albeit posthumously, at the hands of the student senate at his alma mater, the Univ. of Washington.
Back in my early teens I delivered newspapers and on my route list was someone with the unusual name of Nimitz. I didn’t find out until later, when she left me a note card and a Christmas tip, that she was the wife of Admiral Chester Nimitz who commanded the Pacific Fleet in WWII. Back then Highway 17 running from Oakland down to San Jose was known as the Nimitz Freeway, just as Interstate 580 which roughly ran along the base of the Oakland Hills before turning east to the central valley was known as the MacArthur freeway, named for General Douglas MacArthur who oversaw a large part of America’s liberation of the Western Pacific islands from the Japanese.
I don’t know where it started, but somehow the names of these two highways seemed to get left behind. Traffic reporters no longer used them, and one day before I moved to Texas I realized that I hadn’t heard them in years. Now, I note with interest that Microsoft Word’s built in dictionary doesn’t recognize either of these names, which brings me to the matter of Greg Boyington.
I first heard of Col. Boyington when I studied the history of the South Pacific campaign, and in particular, Guadalcanal. Boyington’s major claim to fame was his leadership of US Marine Corps Fighting Squadron 214 in the Solomon Islands where he took a bunch of people no one expected anything much from, and turned them into a first class outfit, which far exceeded expectations.
His military career began as a member of the ROTC while studying engineering at the University of Washington. After serving active duty in the 1930’s he become a draftsman and engineer for the Boeing Aircraft. In February 1936 Boyington was appointed as an aviation cadet in the Marine Corps Reserve and attended training at Pensacola, Florida. He graduated 13 months later and served in a number of aviation related roles until November 1940 when he returned to Pensacola as an instructor.
In August 1941 Boyington resigned from the Marine Corps to join General Chennault’s American Volunteer Group, the Flying Tigers, in China where he flew 300 combat hours. After Pearl Harbor the AVG was disbanded and Boyington returned to the Marine Corps, which eventually led him to leadership of what became known as the Black Sheep Squadron. On January 3, 1944 he was shot down during a mission over the Japanese base at Rabaul, where he was shot down and believed dead. In fact, he was imprisoned for 20 months and was only freed after the Japanese surrender. Returning to the States Major Boyington was promoted to Colonel, awarded the Navy Cross and the Medal of Honor. His life after that was undistinguished, aside from his publication of Baa Baa Black Sheep, an autobiographical account focused largely on his experiences in the war.
What brings Col. Boyington to my attention now is the shameful treatment he recently received, albeit posthumously, at the hands of the student senate at his alma mater, the Univ. of Washington, and excellent account of which appears in TCS Daily although it was also reported by other news sources. Apparently someone wanted to erect a small memorial statue to the Colonel on campus. In debate on the motion one member of the senate questioned “whether it was appropriate to honor a person who killed other people,” and whether “a member of the Marine Corps was an example of the sort of person UW wanted to produce.” Another suggested that “many monuments at UW already commemorate rich white men.”
These arguments seem to have ruled the day, and little attention appears to have been paid to the man whom the student senate should have been proud to commemorate; a soldier who overcame his personal weaknesses and rose to the occasion by leading a group of misfit pilots to success in the Solomon Islands phase of the war; who earned their respect by his leadership, and who survived a brutal imprisonment without hatred of the people who held him captive. And, perhaps also important, Boyington was not rich, nor was he exactly white. His ancestry was part Sioux.
Perhaps Col. Boyington’s greatest strength was his ability to tell it like it is. His account of himself is, was as Oliver Cromwell would have it; warts and all. I should know because I read it myself, years ago. Instead of self-glorification and overt patriotism, there is compassion, for the enemy, as well as the men who served with him. He freely admits his own faults, and probably was harder on himself than he should have been.
But what is most tragic about this account is not the dishonor or the lack of appreciation that certain students of the University of Washington have for this man, but the underlying attitude that their actions betrayed. Clearly, they cared little about the men and women who served and died so that they would have to freedom to neglect their memories today. They failed to see that sometimes killing people is necessary, as Barry Goldwater so well stated it; “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice.“
What people such as this would create is a nation of wusses. They would have us sit, wringing out hands when an enemy appears, and blame themselves, rather than accepting the fact that the world is a dangerous place and you can’t have peace without being prepared for war because some troublemaker out there is always waiting for his chance. They would have us forget the tragic glory of out past military heroes because they can’t accept that their role was, necessary, and that is the tragedy. We must be prepared to defend ourselves because if we don’t, no one else will. It is not American Imperialism that is at issue. People who raise that argument are ignorant of, or deliberately ignoring, the truth. And people who refuse to recognize this truth will always be the first to complain when there is no hero to rescue them from the peril their own folly got them into.
We need more men like Gregory Boyington, and the others who fought along with him; people too numerous to recount here, but who answered the call, just as he did, and who did it honestly, without seeking glory or self aggrandizement, but for the pure truth that it was something that had to be done, and they could do it.
Steven, I have often pondered the same question in my mind as the title of this commentary.
It is up to people like you and I to recount the stories of the heroes that sacrificed so greatly to give us the freedom we have today. People in Universities have lost touch completely with the reality of our past and with the people that we are so indebted to. It is really a shame and a disgrace that our true American History seems to be an embarassment to these University types.I think these people are much more than wusses, they are just plain ignorant and anything but intelligent or educated. The world can be a cold a brutal place and it can also be a beautiful and joyful place too. I’m proud to be an American. I’m so grateful to be free. I’m glad I’m not filled with vitriol and hubris as these University types are.
It is a fortunate accident that my piece (The way We Think) appears next to this writing. The treatment of Boyington is a specific example of the danger to which the essay called attention. Indeed, with a faculty and opinion-maker students such as these, the thesis is supported that what we have to fear today is not the strength of the Islamists but our own self-inflicted weakness.
people don’t seem to equate war with freedom,yet freedom was never achieved by turning the other cheek.
the comments from the student senate is not surprising. what do you expect from liberal,
left-wing, socialistic Seattle? It’s the home of “baghdad jim mcdermott”, patty murray and maria
cantwell. just another day in the “socialist republic of king county”.
I was touched by this. And horrified at what is going on at that school, and certainly many others. We must do our part to make sure that this surrenderism and relativism to the extreme do not go unanswered. How else can we save this nation? Who else will stand up?
King County, the new home of the American neuter.
Are there any type of movements in the works to create some type of local committee in each local
area of these Universities to recommend or at least begin to study how to recommend more
conservative faculty..I mean this is our future and it does not bode well. If there is anything more
more important than putting something in action here please tell me what it could be? They are
wolves in sheep’s clothing.
Meanwhile, San Francisco wants to erect a statue for draft-dodgers. It should be made of macaroni noodles and spray painted yellow. Seattle people who care should take their city back from the ignorant pacifists by speaking out.
Ignorant Pacificists?
While I too disagree with the decision the student body made, I applaud them for their courage to be American and decide for themselves how they want their campus to be represented. If we don’t like it, enroll and change it. All of this name calling is beneath us. The chronic question “what are ‘they’ teaching our kids?” is belayed by most of the folks obvious lack of knowledge about the man in question himself. He is not the fella we all saw on TV in the seventies, nor was he a leader of “misfits”, a term that is derogatory to the men, decent men who both flew with him and in VMF 214 after him. Let us not lose the forest for the trees.
Before we slam another’s ignorance, we better be sure of the facts ourselves.
Ignorant warmongers? That does not seem to fit us either.
wise-pacifist in this day and age would be an oxymoron. Left coast people don’t value military contributions because they don’t think war is ever necessary because to them evil does not exist. Just angst.
Left coast people don’t value military contributions, eh? That’s funny. I’m from Oregon and as
I type this, I’m wearing my U.S. Air Force uniform… and I’m at work, on duty, serving overseas.
(I’m taking a break, to anyone who might be concerned with me neglecting my duty by typing this
message). That was a pretty sweeping statement. And for the record, I’m a Christian and a conservative myself. Maybe next time you could do me a favor and not clump everyone together just because of their
location. To generalize and entire section of the nation is fairly ignorant in and of itself.
And I’m not condoning the actions of the UoW group – it disgusts me, in fact. Also, no offense
was intended.
SSJ Mike,
First, thank you for being where you are and for what you are doing.
Second, I think you’d be the first to agree no one wants peace more than do our service men and women … our warriors. There is no greater wisdom or virtue in pacifism than in fighting in a just cause. Each has its place and time. Right now, we are at war; a real war brought on by those who attack our way of life and have no respect for life. It is a confusing war in that it is hard to tell who exactly is an enemy and who a friend. Regardless, our options are to wage it here or wage it on the ground of the enemy. The latter forces their hand, while the former invites another 9/11. It is a “hearts-and-minds” war which we can only win by depriving an ideological enemy of its base constituency; the hardest kind to win. But, we must win it.
I’ve lived on both coasts and, although there is an element of truth in Roberta’s statement, the real division is between urban, primarily liberal America and the heartlands. The last several election results highlight that quite well. If the “wussification” of America has taken hold, it is strongest in our cities; where dependency is greatest and conformity necessary to good order. We are caught in a culture-war on two fronts. First is war with a culture pitted against our own, the second a war waged over our own culture. I suppose, that is often the case in war. Yet, it has become a distinct part of our culture to wage war against war, and very hard to shake off.
The hawks line up arguments supporting war, while the cautious line up arguments just as valid to avoid it at all costs. Some in either camp are guilty of choosing without making the least calculation, but most do. Many of those “wusses” have been in earlier wars and some have lost dear ones to war. Many are wise enough to see the pain to come, but insufficiently knowing to realize it will come anyway if we don’t act. Some are just scared that their time for courage is upon them, and worry they won’t measure up. I respect both the reasoned hawk and the passionate pacifist, but I respect most those young people over there who just get on with the job.