21. Alcohol Marred the Life of This Hard-Charging Ace
After his Medal of Honor award, Gregory Boyington was sent on a public relations tour to sell bonds. By all accounts, the Marine ace partied hard while he was at it. The hard-living Boyington was notorious for being a heavy drinker. Alcoholism caused him many problems in his professional and private lives, and contributed to multiple divorces – he got married four times. The booze, marital difficulties, heavy indebtedness, and a reputation for being a troublemaker precluded a career in the Marine Corps after the war.
Accordingly, Boyington retired from the USMC on August 1st, 1947, with the rank of Colonel. He then worked a variety of civilian gigs, including refereeing and participating in professional wrestling matches. He also wrote an autobiography, Baa Baa Black Sheep, which was published in 1958, plus a novel about the Flying Tigers. Baa Baa Black Sheep was made into an NBC series, albeit a significantly fictionalized one, that aired for two seasons from 1976 to 1978. In it, Boyington was portrayed by actor Robert Conrad.