USMC
MAG 11
VMF-214

1943

Pilot Major Gregory 'Pappy' Boyington (POW, survived war)
Shot Down January 3, 1944

Aircraft History
Built by Vough.

Mission History
Took off from Torokina at 0630, Boyington was in tactical command of 46 fighters, including 8 F4Us from VMF-214, 12 F4Us from VMF-211 and 16 F6F from VF-33 flying from Ondonga. Several planes aborted due to mechanical failures (three from VMF-214). The fighters reached Rabaul for a fighter sweep, flying from 20,000 - 24,000 feet, spotting Zeros below, they dove to intercept (probably 29 Zeros of the 253rd Kokutai).  Also, 27 Zeros of the 204th Kokutai already in the air, joined the fight.

Boyington shot down a Zero from dead astern (his 20th victory), send it down and burning, and confirmed by several other witnesses. He and his wingman, George Ashmum flying F4U 02723 were overwhemed and Ashmum went MIA. Boyington then got the brunt of the Zeros attacks.  Hit by a 20mm shell that exploded in the belly of his plane, he was wounded in the leg, head, ear and forearm. Severely damaged, he leveled off over St. Georges Channel, flew for a half mile and then his gas tank caught fire, he bailed out at approximately 0845 low to the water, his parachute just opening before he hit the water.

Life As POW
In the water for 8 hours, he was picked up by Japanese submarine I-181.  Interrogated at IJN Headquarters at Rabaul, and was interned as a POW, suffering from festering wounds, beatings and malaria Loaded aboard a G4M1 Betty bomber on February 15, 1944 he was flown back to Japan along with 15 other POWs, but the flight was aborted due to an Allied attack warning, and then took off the next day, to Truk landing (undamaged) during the US Navy raid on Truk that same day, and held in a jail.  Flown to Saipan then Iwo Jima, and finally back to Japan on March 7, to a POW Camp Ofuna near Yokohama. He survived the war.

References
The Black Sheep 335 -- 341 and Black Sheep One 306 - 317.

Contribute Information

F4U

POW

Medal of Honor Citation