Baa...Baa...Best Weekend Ever!

Vought F4U-4B Corsairs of Marine fighter squadron VMF-214 Black Sheep on the escort carrier USS Sicily (CVE-118) in 1950 during the Korean War.

'By Arthur V. Zeigler, USN (www.navsource.org [1]) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons'

Sometimes you never know who you'll meet. This is especially true in my case. I have a history of running into famous personalities and being completely oblivious about who I am chatting up, like the time I asked Rod Stewart where he was from, or the other time I inquired what Seal did for a living. I can be quite clueless!



It shouldn't come as a surprise then, as I bumble around the aviation community similar meetings are bound to happen. I may have met many hollywood-types, but this past weekend had me literally starstruck!

It was Saturday night. I attended the marriage celebration of a fellow aviator and friend.  Tables were assigned. I was at number 18 with another aviator friend and her husband, along with some very friendly looking strangers. Naturally, conversations quickly enlivened the table. One person in particular caught my curiosity --a  retired pilot with an intriguing demeanor and a glimmer in the eyes that convinced me there were a lot of stories I wanted to hear.

Unfortunately, there is only so much time around a dinner table so the evening and its conversations were cut short much sooner than I would have liked. After our goodbyes I was informed that the pilot, who still has my curiosity peaked, is also the only living descendant of aviation legend Col. Gregory "Pappy" Boyington,  one of my personal aviation heroes, and commander of the Black Sheep Squadron which inspired the 1970's TV series "Baa Baa Black Sheep" -- a fantastic aviation show!

his image or file is in the public domain because it contains materials that originally came from the United States Marine Corps. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain.

Via Wikipedia:
Gregory "Pappy" Boyington (December 4, 1912 - January 11, 1988) was a United States Marine Corps officer who was an American fighter ace during World War II. For his heroic actions, he was awarded both the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross. Boyington flew initially with the American Volunteer Group in the Republic of China Air Force during the Second Sino-Japanese War. He later commanded the famousU.S. Marine Corps squadron, VMF-214 ("The Black Sheep Squadron") during World War II. Boyington became a prisoner of war later in the war.




If you are interested learning more about the man and the popular show that canonized his name in Hollywood, here is an interesting interview with Pappy and Bob:





I have met my fair share of interesting people, but this encounter had me giggling like a schoolgirl...just smitten!  I hope you will be too.