Original Black Sheep Meet New Generation
Marine Attack Squadron 214 at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, welcomed three of its founding members, along with the son of its legendary commander, to the station on 14 April for a reunion with each other and the squadron they helped create and name.
Jim Hill, Ed Harper, and Harry Johnson were all Black Sheep pilots who fought against the Japanese during World War II in the Pacific. Of the original Black Sheep only two others are still alive. The trio was joined by Greg Boyington Jr., son of VMA-214’s first commanding officer and Medal of Honor recipient, Gregory “Pappy” Boyington.
For the first time since 1994, each man traveled from various parts of the country to reunite with the men they once inhabited tight, wartime quarters with and also to see what has been built on the foundation they laid almost 70 years ago.
“I’m absolutely stunned to see what they are now,” said Johnson, who initially joined the squadron as a replacement pilot near the end of its Pacific combat tour in 1943.
“This is so plush. This is like a palace,” he joked about the squadron’s hangar. “The Marine Corps was a tent somewhere that smelled real bad, and now we’ve come into a place that you don’t want to mess up, and you don’t see too many cigarette butts around anymore. I remember lots of cigarette butts.”
Within minutes of their arrival, both Hill and Harper were enlightening current Black Sheep Marines about the origin of their squadron’s name.
“The initial idea was to call ourselves ‘Boyington’s Bastards,’” said Harper, a retired colonel who later in his career played an intricate role in the development of the AV-8A Harrier, which led to the AV-8B that VMA-214 and other Marine attack squadrons currently fly. “But the press didn’t think that’d be too good an idea and suggested we get something else, so we backed down to Black Sheep.”
The founders’ misfit moniker stemmed from the unusual circumstances in which they originated. Instead of forming their unit and training in the States like most squadrons at the time, the men were hastily assembled at Boyington’s request and trained in the Pacific, said Bruce Gamble, an author and Black Sheep historian who accompanied the men to the station.
The Black Sheep were anything but underdogs in the air, however. During their two six-week combat tours of 1943 they destroyed a record 97 confirmed enemy aircraft as well as another 35 probable kills, damaged 50 enemy aircraft, and 27 enemy ships. Nine Black Sheep pilots claimed the title of ace, which requires five or more confirmed kills.
Much of the squadron’s overwhelming success and accompanying fame has been credited to Boyington, who led the squadron in confirmed kills (26) before being shot down and held as a prisoner of the Japanese until the end of the war.
“He seemed to not have any fear,” recalled Harper. “He was a fine leader, not conventional at all. The difference between Pappy and the other great leaders in the Pacific was his courage. Others’ idea was to always cover the guy in front of you, no matter what. He didn’t see it that way. He would say, ‘If you see something, shoot at it. Don’t worry about me; I can take care of my own butt.’ He made young men braver than they should’ve been and built confidence in them. That was the difference, and I think that’s why we had so much success and why he was so respected.”
Hearing the anecdotes and recollections from their forefathers reminded current VMA-214 Marines, from the top to the bottom of the chain of command, of their rich heritage.
“I tell every Marine that checks into this squadron, ‘This is your proudest day,’” said Lieutenant Colonel Robert Schroder, VMA-214 commanding officer. “We’re very close to the top with any military unit in our country’s history. No squadron in the world is more renowned than the Black Sheep, and every Marine can be proud of that.”
To learn more, read John F. Wukovits’ Black Sheep: The Life of Pappy Boyington, newly published by the Naval Institute Press.
A Touching Reunion for Swifties, Cambodian
On 10 May 1970 a young Cambodian desperate to escape from Viet Cong recruitment gangs scratched a message on a chalkboard, stood on the banks of the Bassac River, and waved the improvised sign at a pair of U.S. Navy swift boats motoring past on patrol.
The sign was in English. It said, “I WANT TO GO WITH YOU.”
His name was Senyint Chim. The Swifties hailed him on loudspeaker: “Swim on out to us.”
“I jumped in the river,” Senyint recalled. “I was a weak swimmer. A sailor dove off a swift boat into the river to help me.”
The Swifties turned Senyint over to a Naval Intelligence liaison officer. The Cambodian’s English had come by way of missionary schooling. He had valuable information about VC activity in the area. Some undercover work for Naval Intelligence followed (Senyint’s cover was that he was a Cambodian black marketeer), and those efforts led to his opportunity to come to the United States.
Fast-forward to May 2011: Senyint, a U.S. citizen, a high school algebra teacher in San Diego, finally had the chance to reunite with the sailors who had rescued him back in 1970 and set him on his path to a better world. “That swift boat crew saved my life,” he said. “I’ve spent years trying to find them.”
Thanks to the Internet and reunion-group sites, Senyint finally realized that dream. By emailing the Swift Boat Sailors Association website, Senyint was reconnected with some of the Swifties of PCF 56, who also had vivid memories of the rescue incident. Senyint was invited to attend Swift Boat Sailors Association reunion and participate in the Memorial Day 2011 ceremony at the Naval Amphibious Base, Coronado—where swift-boat sailors trained and where there now stands a wall of names to never be forgotten. A bagpiper and honor guard helped mark the moment, and as a ship’s bell chimed, Senyint read aloud the names of swift-boat sailors who made the ultimate sacrifice. Truly a Memorial Day to remember.
—Virgil A. Erwin III
Rhode Island JFK Effort Making Headway
Last year, the nonprofit Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame Inc. (RIAHOF) announced the launch of an effort to bring the retired aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy to Newport County, Rhode Island (see Naval History, August 2010, p. 66–67) for a new life as a museum ship. That goal came one step closer to fruition this past spring, as other contenders vying for the carrier had been winnowed, and the U.S. Navy issued a letter in April stating, “at this time, RIAHOF is the only viable candidate for the donation of ex-JFK.”
The Navy made the Kennedy available for donation in late 2009; since her 2007 decommissioning, the carrier has been maintained in a fully functional reserve status. “With this designation from the Navy now in hand, we will move ‘full speed ahead’ to raise the balance of the funding needed to execute our $15 million plan,” said RIAHOF President Frank Lennon.
Now lending his fund-raising acumen to the Kennedy cause is Bill White, former president of the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum. White was a driving force behind the New York City museum ship’s success before suddenly resigning in May 2010 (see Naval History, August, 2010, p. 13). During his 20-year Intrepid tenure, White spearheaded efforts that raised more than $600 million for the museum, including a $115 million capital campaign for ship-and-pier restoration in 2006.
Currently chairman and CEO of Constellations Group, a New York City–based “strategic relationship development” firm, White has agreed to assist RIAHOF’s national and international fund-raising campaign to bring the John F. Kennedy to Newport County.
Commenting on the Navy’s April announcement, White said, “This is a very important step. People who want to support this exemplary project and bring the ‘Big John’ home will want to know that if they actually commit the necessary funds, then the project will happen. They also want a date certain that the JFK will open to the public, assuming that all other requirements are met.”
While White is setting his sights on the macro level, former Rhode Island Governor Bruce Sundlun has committed to lead the local fund-raising effort. Sundlun has a personal interest in the project: He chaired President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural parade in 1961. (President Kennedy also appointed Sundlun as a founding director of the famous Comsat Corporation, the federally funded entity designed to establish a worldwide satellite-communications network.)
While the Rhode Island Kennedy project appears to be under way and making knots, RIAHOF’s designation as the sole viable candidate can change if steady progress toward its fund-raising goal is not made. Portland, Maine—the other main rival for the carrier—dropped out of the running last January after a unanimous vote of the city council. But the Navy has left a small window open for Portland to re-enter the competition if it can identify a site for the ship and otherwise meet the funding requirements within the next six months.
Caribbean Shipwreck Site: Oldest Yet Found?
The Utah-based treasure-hunting company Deep Blue Marine announced in April that it has discovered the wreck of a 16th-century Spanish treasure ship off the coast of the Dominican Republic. Already, the Deep Blue Marine dive team has recovered hundreds of silver coins, jade figurines, and other relics.
“At this point we are quite certain that this ship went down sometime in the middle of the 16th century as most of the coins appear to have been minted in the original Mexico City mint prior to 1550,” according to Deep Blue Marine’s website. “We are undoubtedly on a shipwreck which represents a significant underwater archaeological find dating to the 16th century.”
Locals familiar with the site led the Deep Blue crew to zero in on a ballast pile near a reef, then a small, corroded cannon—and then treasure. “The wreck’s location has been a well kept secret amongst the local fishermen, who for years have occasionally recovered cannons, coins, and ceramic pieces that have worked their way to the surface of the sandy bottom. We don’t consider ourselves to be the discoverers of this site, but rather the re-discoverers of what is potentially a very historic shipwreck.”
The work has barely begun, but the results already bespeak a potential bonanza. “So far, by simply moving the sand between the coral and rock fissures, we have found silver coins, silver discs with imprinted seals, indigenous stone figurines, small pieces of gold jewelry, and other artifacts such as stone cannon balls and small iron balls covered with lead.”
Deep Blue is keeping the wreck location a closely guarded secret and is holding off on theorizing on the vessel’s identity. “The history of this wreck is not totally clear at this point, but we hope to gain more insights as our recovery work continues.”
While the discovery met with the expected sunken-treasure media fanfare, some took a more jaundiced view. Renowned underwater archaeologist and author James P. Delgado (see “The Trouble with Treasure,” Naval History, August 2010, pp. 18–25) remarked: “I doubt any proclamation from any party on where a wreck is or how old it is until we’ve seen the scientific evidence. We don’t accept someone saying they’ve found a cure for cancer until it’s been peer-reviewed and tested. I also question any assertions made by a company when what they’re seeking is a higher market price for their finds.”
If the shipwreck is of such a purported antiquity, that merely exacerbates the problem, said Delgado. “Wrecks of that vintage are extremely rare. They date to an important period of first contact and interaction between the New World and the Old, and have incredible archaeological, scientific, and historical value that should not be swept aside in the name of commodification.”
Nonetheless, as Deep Blue Marine points out, “It is important to note that everything we have done, and will do, in this area is done under the authorization and supervision of the Dominican National Office of the Ministry of Underwater Culture, who granted us the survey and recovery contract.”
Naval Academy, Hibernians to honor John Barry
The U.S. Naval Academy has approved plans for a monument to honor Revolutionary War naval hero John Barry. The monument project is being spearheaded by the Ancient Order of Hibernians in order to mark the Irish-born Barry’s contribution to the Revolutionary cause.
Commodore Barry was the first commissioned Navy officer under the U.S. Constitution, serving under Presidents George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson. Born in County Wexford, Barry emigrated from Ireland at the age of 15. A Philadelphia shipmaster at the time of the Revolution, he famously turned down a lucrative Royal Navy offer to switch loyalties with the declaration, “Not the value or command of the whole British fleet . . . can lure me from the cause of my country which is liberty and freedom.”
After the Revolution, Washington personally conferred the rank of captain on Barry; his was Commission Number One in the U.S. Navy. He served until his death at the age of 58 in 1803.
The Barry memorial at Annapolis will be a two-phase project. In September 2011 a dedication and sign-hanging will officially designate the Academy’s pedestrian entrance as the Commodore John Barry Gate. Phase two will be the erection of the eight-foot granite Barry memorial, which will be placed inside the gate at a later date. The adjoining area will be named Barry Plaza.