thedrifter
03-12-09, 06:41 AM
Tough Lit Guys
By Robert Mizrachi | Published Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Author Max Miller (left) and Colonel Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, a Marine fighter ace who shot down 26 planes.
In this 1952 photo, Miller prepares for the annual La Jolla Rough Water Swim with what appears to be an oil (suntan? to aid in keeping him warm?) and a cigarette. Boyington (“a tough, hard-living character who was known for being unorthodox,” according to Wikipedia) had retired from the Marines about five years earlier.
Boyington became an author as well, producing an autobiography that became the basis for the ’70s TV show Baa Baa Black Sheep. The program’s intro read: “In World War II Marine Corps Major Greg ‘Pappy’ Boyington commanded a squadron of fighter pilots. They were a collection of misfits and screwballs who became the terrors of the South Pacific. They were known as the Black Sheep.”
Ellie
thedrifter
03-12-09, 07:06 AM
Why not honor Marine airmen?
Comments 3 | Recommend 1
March 11, 2009 - 7:48 PM
With all due respect to the Pearl Harbor survivors, both military and civilian, I believe the upcoming air show re-enactment of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor of Dec. 7, 1941 is inappropriate in light of today's economic conditions.
If the objective of the marketing director is to remind us of that day, it should be titled "Remember Pearl Harbor" not "Tora, Tora, Tora." Why Japanese planes re-enacting that day in history for the 50th Anniversary of MCAS? Seems like the glorification of Japanese pilots to me.
Why not a show paying tribute to Marine pilots of WWII like Joe Foss, winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor, or Pappy Boyington and other famous Marine airmen? I never hear of the Japanese celebrating their signing of the surrender to the U.S. aboard the Missouri in 1945 or attacks on them. Think about it! A U.S. Marine Corps Air base is using old enemy's planes to re-enact an attack on the U.S.A.! What next, a 9/11 re-enactment?
I'm sure the Confederate Air Force has some Wildcats and Corsairs that could give us a dogfight simulation of heroic Marine pilots downing Japanese planes. Re-enact their valor and courage instead. This would be more exciting watching American planes in action! Keep the Japanese planes from our skies unless they a being downed by Marine pilots in a simulated dogfight.
Some have said we must remind ourselves of Pearl Harbor or it will be lost in our history books, the young will forget and our teachers don't teach it. As a retired social studies teacher, I disagree. Along with textbooks, movies, documentaries and other media, the event is taught at the elementary, middle and high school level. Of course, not all will remember the importance of that "Day Of Infamy."
Taxpayers have been watching enough of our money go up in smoke (so to speak) without seeing more of it wasted trying to set a Guinnes Book record with a "Wall of Fire" over 8,700 feet long and 140 feet High. Shouldn't our money be spent to better equip our Marines in Afghanistan and Iraq? They deserve the best we can give them rather than waste money on a silly record!
Who provides the fuel for a fire of those dimensions? I suspect it is MCAS. If so, I would prefer it be used to power the helicopters, Hornets and Harriers for the Air Ground Task Force demonstration. Let private enterprise spend their money on record breaking.
There are dangers in attempting a fire of this size, not to mention the pollution. Will the proceeds from the concessions at the show pay for the extravaganzas? I doubt it.
The Air-Ground Task Force promises to highlight the importance of MCAS to Yuma and the accomplishment of its mission in defending our nation. It should be receiving the most attention and publicity rather than the the other two venues of the show.
Viewing this part of the show will give people a much greater appreciation of what MCAS does for our city and country. Of course, "the show must go on" but I had hoped it would be without "Tora, Tora, Tora" or the "Wall of Fire."
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WAYNE HUTCHISON
Yuma
Ellie