Baa Baa, Baa

[flyingjibus]

What year was this?

[bruce lockwood]

Re: Baa Baa, Baa

Any idea as to where the photo was taken? If at Reno my guess would be 1977-1980 time period as I remember getting a book signed by him around then.

But I also recall talking with Pappy in 1986 in Grand Junction Colorado. I flew an airshow there with the Corsair and he signed a painting for me at that time.

Hope that helps a little.

Happy Holidays,
Bruce

[flyingjibus]

Re: Baa Baa, Baa

My guess would be Reno. The only other possibilty would be the Hillsboro airshow in Oregon. I think I am somewhere between 4-6 years old in that photo. I was born in '77. I suppose I could just ask the person who took it (dad), but he has a serious case of C.R.S.

[BuckyD]

Re: Baa Baa, Baa

Hey Flyingjibus-

I believe it was Reno '78, or a couple years later. (I'd have to 'dig deep in my archives' to verify for sure). Pappy signed & personalized my copy of his book there that same year as your photo. I knew he was gonna be at Reno 'that year', so I brought along my hardbound book copy that I'd purchased from a used book dealer in San Francisco a couple years before. Pappy was charging $25.00 each f/a new copy of his hardback w/his autograph & he was personalizing them per the buyer's request. I patiently waited in line with the eager race fan buyers & when my turn came up, I asked if he'd kindly sign my old copy of his book & had $25.00 ready in hand should I need to buy a new copy to obtain his autograph signature. Pappy smiled & signed my book & when I offered him the 25 bucks, he put his hand up & w/a serious look on his face bluntly said to me- "Bucky, I don't charge for my autograph, -those are free. The books, however, sell for 25 dollars..." Boyington was a real character, but a class act all the way & one of America's great WW2 air combat heroes.

BTW- That year at Reno also, Japanese Zero fighter pilot- Mike Kawato was just down the vendors line from Boyington, selling his book titled- "Flight into Conquest" & had made the claim of being the one who shot Boyinton's Corsair down. (That claim was suspect & later debunked by noted WW2 aero historian/author- Henry Sakaida, a Japanese-American then residing in Temple City, Ca.). Pappy was pretty good-natured about Kawato capitalizing on his downing event, and even sometimes posed for pictures of the two of them posed together on request.

I recall Pappy selling & signing his book that year also down at Chino for the '78 Gathering of Eagles Airshow, that my late good friend- Bill Noack helped organize. (I did the '79 Chino GOEA event poster art w/Alaska pal/partner-artist Terry Pyles, f/that year's theme- "Year of The Bomber"). From memory- I think both Boyington & Kawato were there then too, selling books (But Boyington wasn't real happy about the fact initially there).

Kawato signed & dated my copy of his book at Chino '78 GOEA (signed it on Sun. 8/27/78), but Pappy didn't date his signature, so I'm going from memory, but I know it was shortly-afterwards at Reno NCAR. Think Boyington was at Reno at least a couple years selling his book, & I just noted your second post noting your age in the photo. Maybe it was Reno '82 then... Gotta head-off to work at the seaplane hangar!

DBD

[flyingjibus]

Re: Baa Baa, Baa

I rememember Kawato-san being there as well. My dad got him to sign his book with "You remember those tin cans you sent us!" above his name. funny stuff.

I remember Pappy being really friendly and talking to me for a good amount of time. I actually met him twice. My dad had me get is autograph on some generic Corsair photo(thats what I'm doing in the photo) while he took a picture. Then we saw him again and brought the photo you see above and had him sign that. Pretty clever on my dads part.

I get a little choked up thinking about it.

I always make a point to say hello and thank you to Bud Anderson whenever he is at Reno. He is a little harder to get to smile. Still love the guy, I get the impression that he gets tired of people asking him about Yeager all the time.

[Lockheed Bob]

Re: Baa Baa, Baa

I donated my signed copy of "Baa Baa Baa" along with a Franklin Mint model of a F4U-1 with the name "Lu Lu Belle" to his squadron VMF214 which is stationed in Yuma,AZ. !was taken to a loft in their hanger & it was decorated in fake palm trees,bamboo bar, etc. It looked like a WWII base. They put my donations in a glass case & I had a cold beer in his memory. "Pappy" does live on.That was around 2004.

[Dan Elliott]

Re: Baa Baa, Baa

Hi. Pappy also was at the Antique Fly-in at the late great Evergreen Field in Vancouver Washington. That would have been in the early to mid 80s in August, just 4 or 5 weeks before Reno. He was there at least 2 different years I'm sure. Dan Elliott

[flyingjibus]

Re: Baa Baa, Baa

Hi. Pappy also was at the Antique Fly-in at the late great Evergreen Field in Vancouver Washington. That would have been in the early to mid 80s in August, just 4 or 5 weeks before Reno. He was there at least 2 different years I'm sure. Dan Elliott

Ahh that would be something close enough that we would have gone to. Perhps its there...

[Plane Nuts]

Re: Baa Baa, Baa

I saw Pappy and Kawato at NCAR in the 80's. Don't remember what year.

[J.SMITH]

Re: Baa Baa, Baa

Pappy signed my book at Reno in 1982

[Ken from PG]

Re: Baa Baa, Baa

I bought both of his books in Reno on Sept 14, 1985 and Kawato was just around the corner from him. Pappy died in January of 1988 and I believe he was there the previous September.

[split-s]

Re: Baa Baa, Baa

A more sober opinion of Col. Boyington is not quite so charitable. Being a rivet-counter even as a kid, I was disillusioned with the TV series before it was out of production.

Boyington was a charismatic rogue and a talented, instinctive pilot. He was also a scoundrel and an alcoholic and most authorities consider his autobio to be as much a work of fiction as fact. He profiteered from misrepresenting himself and those with whom he served. His former comrades-in-arms have not sung his praises in the interval.

Still, where else could a 14-year-old warbird junkie have watched Corsairs flying every week in 1976?

$

http://www.amazon.com/Once-They-Were...tt_at_ep_dpi_1

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Sheep-Br...ref=pd_sim_b_3

[Lockheed Bob]

Re: Baa Baa, Baa

He was still one hell of pilot. He didn't get all those rising sons for nothing. Don't forget he said: "Show me a hero & I'll show you a bum". At 77 I could name a few more both past & present who aren't angels. Enough said.

[bluffman]

Re: Baa Baa, Baa

Odd that nobody mentioned Mike Kawatu's book: Bye, Bye, Black Sheep. I bought this one and Boyington's Baa, Baa, Black Sheep at Reno in !986. They had booths side by side the day I bought the books, and seemed to be friendly, despite talk of friction between them. Kawatu also signed one of those white headbands with the "hinamaru", and some Japanese writing on it. He told me what it said, but my aging mind can't recall this.

I clicked on Amazon, and found Mike's book. Sells for $7.61, if anyone is interested.

Lockheed Bob, Like you, I also know of a few "tarnished angels"! I think you would agree with me that it took "characters" like that to get things done sometimes.

Larry

[BuckyD]

Re: Baa Baa, Baa

Larry-

Just for the record- the original title of Mike Kawato's book was- "Flight Into Conquest", and then the author changed it over to "Bye Bye Blacksheep" for subsequent print runs to further-capitalize on his claim of shooting Boyington down & help boost book sales.

I bought the first-titled version from Mike at Chino '78 Gathering of Eagles, right after its' release.

Just read an web blog last night, where an air race fan recalled being on hand at Reno '86, to witness a major shoutin' & cussin' dogfight match go down between Pappy & Kawato at the vendors' row behind the grandstands near their sales booth locations. What set it off, or what was said wasn't mentioned , but the fan did note Pappy seemed to have the upper hand in the encounter...

DBD