Tom Cleaver (@tcinla)
Hello again Tom. I'm not trying to throw a fly in the ointment here, so please don't take this the wrong way. I don't want to cause a problem with you, because it's been nice being able to converse with each other since we "made up". I would hope that we could keep things this way too.

Earlier I had also mentioned my experiences with former "Blacksheep" John Bolt in the very beginning of this build journal. I actually had the honor to meet and talk with him in person once, albeit was some years ago. He was a quiet man, and didn't seem to be your typical "fighter jock" like one would expect.

I don't remember the article you mentioned about the Blacksheep that was written by Mr. Bolt either. But, I'll try to find it though, as I would like to read it myself.

I have also had the opportunity to talk in person (during a lunch) with Dick Rossi, who was also a former Flying Tiger AVG pilot. I was working as a Police Officer at the time and I was on duty, when my boss, (aka the Chief) called me on the radio to have me meet with him at the local Red Lobster seafood restaurant. Initially I was thinking "Oh no...OK, what did I do ?"

But when I arrived on scene I was relieved to see that my "big boss" simply wanted me to meet Mr. Rossi, since the Chief knew how much of an aviation fan(atic) I was. I thought that was VERY cool of him to do that, and felt good that he took the time to think about his employees in this way. The Chief was eating lunch with Mr. Rossi, and invited me to join them.

I had a marvelous conversation with the Flying Tiger Ace, but then it was interrupted by work, and I had to respond to a call for service. I wish it could have been longer, but that's how the ball bounces. I am however still grateful / thankful for the wonderful opportunity I had with meeting him.

Never once did he say anything negative about Boyington. Now I'm not saying that out of spite, it just didn't happen in front of me that's all.

The same thing happened when I had the opportunity to speak with Lt. Col. Bolt. Bolt never spoke ill about or towards Pappy to me, and believe me, we did talk indeed about Boyington... a lot.

The only thing I remember that Bolt said that could be considered a bit negative about Pappy, was that he chewed Bolt out for disobeying a direct order once. That was "Pappy's" job to maintain discipline and order as the Unit Commander, and it was probably even necessary at the time.

Bolt told me that he attacked a group of Japanese ships that he had spotted when they were returning from a B-24 escort mission. Boyington had told him not to do it, but he went ahead and did it anyway.
Luckily for Bolt, it turned out to be a very successful mission, although it wasn't "authorized" by the Skipper...and this was the reason for the chewing out he received from Pappy. He had disobeyed a direct order from the Unit Commander. Your actions have consequences, be it good or bad. The same thing goes today, or at least it should. Anymore I don't know...

In fact, I remember that Bolt once actually raised his glass and made a toast to "Pappy" some years after his death at a Blacksheep reunion.

Personally, Boyington was one of my few childhood heroes. I enjoyed watching the TV show once a week with my Dad when it first aired. My Dad would tell me things like "That would never happen" and so on, but he still watched it with me anyhow. I know the show was bogus, but it was cool...

For me the planes were the real star of the show, and I know, especially now, how fake it was. The Corsair is still my all time favorite aircraft, and will be to my end. This is likely due to the TV show, and because I was fascinated and captivated by reading the book that Pappy wrote when I was a kid. I also know, especially now, that it had some "inconsistencies" written into it.

With all things considered, the man was a hero, and he still is to me even with all of his troubles.

How many people do you know that earned the Medal of Honor, and lived to talk about it ? There are not many I can promise you that.

I knew one such man very well when I was in the Army. His name is Robert M Patterson. He was my 1st Sergeant in L Troop 3/3 Armored Cavalry. He too was a great person, and I learned an awful lot about leadership from him when we were serving together in the "Brave Rifles", as the 3rd Cav is called. He served with the 101st Airborne in Vietnam when he earned the Medal of Honor. He told us that he wore it for the men who couldn't, and he took great steps to act accordingly.

You can Google his name if you like. When he left our Cavalry Troop, he went to the Sergeant Major's Academy, which was still located at Ft. Bliss back then. It might be there today as well, I just don't know for sure. At the time it was located on Biggs Army Airfield.

Pappy had a problem with the bottle. It is a well known fact. He had trouble with drinking early on during his career in the Marines. This is one of the reasons why he joined the AVG, was to get away from it all, children, wife and debts included. He likely suffered from his treatment while in captivity, as a "guest" of the Emperor of Japan, making his alcohol addiction even worse. As you know in the PTO, one in four POW's died in captivity. You and I had an EXCELLENT conversation in the past about this. Thank you.

I can guarantee you that he suffered from PTSD, and that fueled the fire with his boozing.

When you met him, chances are he was suffering from his fight with lung cancer, although it wasn't diagnosed yet. It likely made him feel bad, and if he was not "jacked up" on booze, this could have made him feel even worse. You never know what a person is going through, until you try to put yourself in their place. There's an old saying, never judge a man, until you have walked a mile in his shoes.

I understand your feelings about Pappy. I really do. You have the right to think that about him, and that is your choice.

I respect that.

But please, let's not go bashing the man anymore. This is not the time nor the place for that. So meanwhile, lets agree to disagree on this one. You can call it six eggs, but to me it will still be a half dozen. You know the deal.

Thank you.

You were lucky to have met Boyington, whether it was a good experience or not. I wish that I could have had the chance, but that didn't happen. Such is life.