Common Folk Using Common Sense

Hat tip to Neal Boortz, The Jawa Report, Michelle Malkin, ROFASix, Sister Toldjah:

Gregory Boyington was a 1934 graduate of the University of Washington. A year later Greg enlisted in the Marine Corps as a Marine aviator. He finally won his coveted wings in March, 1937, becoming Naval Aviator #5160. He became noticed as a top-notch pilot; he could out-dogfight almost anyone. But because he was an evil US Marine, a person that might kill people, he would not be honored after his death by the moonbats of the University of Washington. He was not an example of the sort of person UW wanted to produce. And he was simply just another rich white man.

UPDATE:There is a petition to the University written by Nicholas Provenzo that you must read. Read it here.

But let’s get back to Greg’s story.

Greg had personal problems. He discovered an affinity for liquor. He was a brawer, and always ready to fight or wrestle at the drop of a hat. He had problems borrowing money and not repaying it, and his creditors sought official help from the Marine Corps. He also decked a superior officer in a fight over a girl. Greg’s career was a hopeless mess by late 1941.

But, of all places, China came to his rescue. Anxious to help the Chinese in their war against Japan, the U.S. government arranged to supply fighter planes and pilots to China, under the cover of the Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company (CAMCO). The pilots were volunteers only in the sense that they willingly quit their peacetime job with the military. On the night of August 4, Greg Boyington found himself in the hotel bar simply “looking for an answer.” Payday had been just a few days earlier, but already he was broke. His wife and children were gone, he was deeply in debt, and many of his superiors were breathing down his neck. Assured that the program had government approval and that his spot in the Corps was safe, he signed on the spot, and promptly resigned from the Marine Corps. While the “American Volunteer Group” deal for pilots normally did contemplate a return to active U.S. military service, in Greg’s case, his superiors took a different view. They were happy to be rid of him, and noted in his file that he should not be reappointed.

He shipped out of San Francisco on September 24, 1941. He flew several missions during the defense of Burma. After Burma fell, he returned to Kunming, and flew from there until the Flying Tigers were incorporated into the USAAF. Boyington claimed to have shot down six Japanese fighters, which would have made him one of the first American aces of the war.

He returned to the States in the spring of 1942. With some finagling, undoubtedly helped by the wartime demand for experienced fighter pilots, he was reappointed to the Marines in November, with the rank of Major. Boyington finally secured assignment to VMF-122 as Executive Officer for a combat tour.

In the summer of 1943, as Boyington convalesced from a broken leg, the US naval air forces needed more Corsairs in the fight. Oddly, the key pieces – trained pilots and operational aircraft – were present in the South Pacific, but many of them were dispersed. He was given the assignment to pull together an ad hoc squadron from available men and planes. In August of 1943, 26 pilots led by Boyington would become the famous “Black Sheep”.

Boyington’s team was redesignated VMF-214, while the exhausted pilots of the original VMF-214 were sent home. The “Black Sheep” fought their way to fame in just 84 days, piling up a record 197 planes destroyed or damaged, troop transports and supply ships sunk, and ground installations destroyed in addition to numerous other victories. During the period from September 1943 to early January 1944, Boyington destroyed 22 Japanese aircraft. By late December, it was clear that he was closing in on Eddie Rickenbacker’s record of 26 victories, and the strain was starting to tell. On Jan. 3, 1944, Boyington was shot down in a large dogfight in which he claimed three enemy aircraft, and was captured.

He eventually moved to a prison camp at Ofuna, outside of Yokohama. His autobiography relates the frequent beatings, interrogations, and near starvation that he endured for the next 18 months. When he was repatriated, he found he had been awarded the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross. After a long battle with cancer, Pappy died in 1988.

All of this leads to the present day. Just recently the idea of erecting a memorial to this Medal of Honor winner at the University of Washington made its way to the student senate. Here you have an alumnus who served in World War II. was captured and held, and was later awarded the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross. Perhaps some sort of monument would be a good idea.

University of Washington student senate member Andrew Everett said he had read about Colonel Boyington and thought his achievements warranted recognition. He noted that several statues around campus already serve such a purpose and that Colonel Boyington had many of the qualities the University of Washington hoped to produce in its students.

But student senate member Jill Edwards questioned whether it was appropriate to honor a person
who killed other people. She said she didn’t’ believe a member of the Marine Corps was an example of the sort of person UW wanted to produce.

Student senate member Ashley Miller then commented that many monuments at UW already commemorate rich white men.

Jill Edwards, a Junior in Mathematics at the University of Washington, says that a U.S. Marine is not – that’s right, NOT – the example of the sort of person that the University of Washington wants to produce. Let’s let this sink in. To all of you men and women out there who have served with pride in the United States Marine Corps; to those of you who fought in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East, Jill Edwards, student senate member at the University of Washington, thinks that you are unworthy to be graduates of the University of Washington.

Don’t you just love these young people? They’re so much fun to watch during those magic years when they know everything and when they have all of the answers to every problem facing mankind.

Just so there is no question about where your humble blog host stands on this issue, I think that both Jill Edwards and Ashley Miller are ignorant neo-Socialist fools.

Oh, and this worthless excuse for a student representation body did have time, at the end of the meeting, to announce with glee:

- Hala Dillsi noted that the Gay-Bi-Lesbian-Transgendered club is having auditions for the drag show this week.
- Ashley Miller noted that tickets for the Vagina Monologues are currently available in the ticket office.
- Karl Smith noted the ACLU is having a meeting in Kane Hall this Saturday.
- Jon Lee said Innocence Project Northwest (a group working to free prisoners) is having a screening at the Burke Museum regarding the death penalty.
- Selma Dillsi said APS is having its annual Amnesty International Human Rights Film Fest on February 15th-19th, highlighting human rights, including the U.S. death penalty and prison system, AIDS/HIV, 9/11 and the “War on Terror,” and U.S. race relations

Yep, plenty of excitement for items of the Liberal agenda. No excitement for a person that helped ensure that these bed-wetters would have the freedom to actually attend college.

Boyington, University of Washington, Marine, moonbat

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