Baa Baa Black Sheep
Later renamed Black Sheep Squadron, the series tells the story of US Marine Major Greg Boyington and the men under his command in the South Pacific during World War 2. The program depicts Boyington and his fliers as somewhat contemptuous of regulations they consider inconvenient, yet they are crack fliers and are thus difficult for authorities to discipline too severely. They are based somewhere in the Solomon Islands, and are often forced to resort to petty thefts and other crimes in order to get the parts they need to keep their planes flying. The series was based on the life of Greg Boyington, who was known as Pappy to his charges during the war.
In real life Boyington left the US Marine Corps to fly with the American Volunteer Group (AVG) in China, the famous Flying Tigers, before the United States entered the war. After Pearl Harbor he rejoined the Corps, and in 1943 was assigned to command another Marine Fighter Squadron for a few weeks before being reassigned as commander of Squadron 214, the Black Sheep Squadron. By December 27 1943 he was credited with destroying 25 Japanese aircraft. A week later he was shot down over the ocean and according to his autobiography the Japanese submarine which captured him was sunk less than two weeks later.
Boyington was held as a POW at Rabaul, later at Truk, and finally in Japan. After his release following the Japanese surrender he was awarded the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross. In 1958 he wrote his autobiography, which he entitled Baa Baa Black Sheep. Both his autobiography and the television show based on it were subject to heavy criticism, one of the most frequent being that Boyington’s presentation of his story was self-serving and ignored the contributions of others. Boyington served as a technical adviser during production of the television series, and had walk on parts in at least two episodes.
Most of Boyington’s men who served with him in the Solomon Islands were disappointed with the show and with Robert Conrad’s portrayal of Major Boyington. Frequently repeated comments were that Boyington took too much credit for himself, presented himself in the best possible light to the detriment of others involved in many events, and claimed air to air victories which by right should have been awarded to another pilot. One claim was that Boyington would fly above a multi-aircraft engagement, waiting until he saw a damaged enemy attempting to disengage before pouncing to finish it off. Boyington shrugged off the negative comments about his war record, but agreed that the television show was mostly fiction.
The Marine fliers during the Solomons campaign did suffer from logistics problems and the maintenance issues prevalent when equipment made of steel and other metals is exposed to a humid jungle climate, made worse by the salt air. Baa Baa Black Sheep can be placed in the “war is fun” category, with a boys will be boys air about its characters and stories. Many of its episodes deal with problems within the US supply chain or intractable desk bound military superiors, but in the end Boyington and his men always prevail.