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Title: Once They Were Eagles: The Men of the Black Sheep Squadron by Frank E. Walton ISBN: 0-8131-0875-6 Publisher: University Press of Kentucky Pub. Date: 01 July, 1996 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.25 (4 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: GREAT history of the Men of the Black Sheep Squadron
Comment: Extremely well written and concise book that tells of the INDIVIDUALS in the squadron. This book is written to tell of the professionalism and "after the war" historys of the squadron members without the sometimes overpowering myths portrayed by the TV show.
Rating: 2
Summary: A more honest look than TV, but then, what isn't?
Comment: As the intelligence office for the Black Sheep Squadron, author Frank Walton had access to their daily combat reports. He himself had written them. From these records and his later interviews with the surviving members of the group, he penned this history. Written primarily to dispel the myth created by the TV production, he most certainly shows the men in a more realistic light. The false presentation of these men by the writers of that series as "brawling bums" and "fugitives from courts-martial" does not stand in the light he casts upon them, their character and their record. In the second half of the book, Walton introduces each man as he was when the book was written in 1986. By and large, most became very successful.
But the drama of their fighting over the Solomons falls flat in the telling. Their aerial exploits read with all the excitement and anticipation of the menu at the corner hamburger joint. The men of the Black Sheep fought together for only 12 weeks and amassed the best kill record in the South Pacific: 94 kills in only 84 days. Pappy Boyington accounted for 26 (or 28, if he is to be believed). Unfortunately, these moments of high achievement are told in the driest of voices.
Perhaps the biggest fault in the book is Walton's almost non-telling of Boyington's troubled life. He originally left the Marine Aviators days before they would have put him out for unbecoming conduct and he left the Flying Tigers for much the same reason. This highly skilled combat pilot and gifted leader of men was deeply troubled and it manifested itself in his drinking and unpredictable fighting. Playing it down adds nothing to Walton's attempt to "set the record straight" for the rest of the squadron.
Given the resources at his command, his personal friendship with all 51 original members of the group and his intimate friendship with Boyington, one would have expected a better result. Walton's stated purpose was to clear the record for the men, to present them as the men of ability, honor and skill that they were. In this regard, he does succeed.
Rating: 5
Summary: Very good book
Comment: I was a bit leary of this book when I started it. The claim of the author to be one of the Black Sheep, even though he was not one of the pilots seemed a bit odd. Well, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It is a very easy read and contains a good deal about the day to day life of a pilot in the South Pacific.
It also gives a terrific look into the people behind the personas of the Black Sheep, especially Pappy Boyington. The writer does a good job of relating the respect that his men had for him as well as about the team of pilots the Black Sheep were.
A very good read for a very good price.
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Title: Baa Baa Black Sheep by Gregory Pappy Boyington ISBN: 0553263501 Publisher: Bantam Books Pub. Date: 01 November, 1990 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Black Sheep One: The Life of Gregory "Pappy" Boyington by Bruce Gamble ISBN: 0891417168 Publisher: Presidio Pub. Date: 01 December, 2000 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: Lost Black Sheep : The Search for WWII Ace Chris Magee by Robert T. Reed ISBN: 1555715494 Publisher: Hellgate Press Pub. Date: 22 June, 2001 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: The Black Sheep by Bruce Gamble ISBN: 0891417117 Publisher: Presidio Press Pub. Date: 15 April, 2000 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: On Boyington's Wing: The Wartime Journals of Black Sheep Squadron Fighter Ace Lt. Col. Robert W. McClurg by Robert W. McClurg, Leon Marketos ISBN: 0788424769 Publisher: Heritage Books Inc. Pub. Date: November, 2003 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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