Gregory “Pappy” Boyington

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You may know Adolf Hitler or President Roosevelt, but do you know Gregory “Pappy” Boyington? He may not be as famous as Hitler but he made a difference in WWII. He was a marine pilot. Gregory R. Boyington was born in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, in 1912, to parents of part American Indian ancestry. The partying, "tell it like it is," mocking, Boyington was loved by his assistants and classmates while being hated by some of his superiors. He originally wanted to become a pilot at the age of eight. His first plane ride was from the pilot Clyde Pangborn, who was the first pilot to fly nonstop from the U.S. to Japan in 1931. Boyington graduated from the University of Washington in 1934. Although he wanted to be a pilot; he graduated with a degree in aeronautical engineering. He was also part of the Huskies swimming and wrestling teams and one year he also was the Northwest Intercollegiate middleweight wrestling champion. After he graduated he served briefly as a reserve officer in the Army’s Coast Artillery. After he did that for about a year he quit, then he joined Boeing Aircraft in Seat...

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