Flying Tigers, Black Sheep: Legends in the Pacific
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LIBERTY UNIVERSITY Flying Tiger, Black Sheep: Legends in the Pacific A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the History Department in Candidacy for the Degree of Master of Arts in History Department of History By Delynn Burrell Lynchburg, Virginia May 2019 Contents Abbreviations……………………………………………………………………………….2 Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………………..4 Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………..5 Introduction: Into the Wild Blue Yonder ……………………………………..…………...6 Chapter 1: The Journey Begins…………………………………………………………….24 Chapter 2: Flying Tigers in China……………………………………………………….....47 Chapter 3: The Black Sheep Take to the Air……………………………………………….83 Chapter 4: History is More than Memories………………… ……………………………..103 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………..119 1 Abbreviations 1st Lt. First Lieutenant AAC Army Air Corps AAF Army Air Forces ACTS Air Corps Tactical School AFB Air Force Base AFHRA Air Force Historical Research Agency ASC Air Signal Group AVG American Volunteer Group Brig. Gen. Brigadier General CAF Chinese Air Force CAMCO Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company CATF China Air Task Force CNAC China National Aviation Corps Col. Colonel CWAC Curtiss-Wright Aircraft Company FDR Franklin Delano Roosevelt JAF Japanese Air Force 2 LSU Louisiana State University MAG Marine Air Group MCAS Marine Corps Air Station MIA Missing in Action NAS Naval Air Station OCMH Office of the Chief of Military History OTS Officers’ Training School POW Prisoner of War RAF Royal Air Force ROTC Reserved Officer Training Corps R & R Rest and Relaxation SAAS School of Advanced Airpower Studies SBD Scout Bomber Douglas USAAF United States Army Air Force USAF United States Air Force VF Marine Fighting Squadron VMF Fixed-Wing Marine Fighter YMCA Young Men’s Christian Association 3 Acknowledgments First and foremost I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude to my chair and advisor Dr. Jason Frawley for his patience, guidance, and willingness to work with me throughout this process. Thank you, Dr. Frawley, I honestly could not have accomplished this without you. To my reader, Dr. Chris Smith, thank you does not even begin to cover my appreciation for all that you have done for me not just as my reader but as a mentor during my Undergraduate years as well. You have genuinely humbled me with your knowledge, enthusiasm, and your passion for sharing history. To Dr. Carey Roberts, you have guided me from day one of my graduate program with so much patience, and I am sure I tried that patience on more than one occasion when I panicked for no reason. Thank you so much for inspiring me. I hope I lived up to your expectations. To Professor Robert Ritchie, I never would have ventured into World War II if you had not believed in me when I did not believe in myself. So thank you from the bottom of my heart for continuing to inspire me to reach for greatness. I want to thank the faculty of Liberty’s History Department for teaching me what it meant to be a historian and pushing me to be a better researcher and writer. You all have given me the tools to accomplish my dreams and goals, and I will always appreciate the faith you have expressed in me. To Colonel Jennifer Short of the Flying Tigers and Lieutenant Colonel Keith Bucklew of the Black Sheep Squadron, thank you for your willingness and eagerness to participate in my research on your two respective legendary units. You have provided me a great deal of inspiration and support. Thank you for what you do every day keeping our nation safe. I would be remiss if I did not thank my loving husband, Bradley, who cheered me on every step of the way. Thank you for your love, support, and enduring patience during some of the long nights. ~Dedicated to the memory of the Flying Tigers and the Black Sheep Squadron.~ "It is possible for men to fight against great odds and win." ~ Claire Lee Chennault 4 Abstract: This project seeks to explore the relationship between Claire Lee Chennault and Gregory “Pappy” Boyington and their respective units. By carefully studying Claire Chennault and Gregory Boyington and the strategies they implemented within their units for missions one can better understand what made their units so successful. By extension, this project also seeks to understand how popular culture has continued to bring their stories to the forefront for a new generation and the influence it has in expanding the legends. By examining personality traits, leadership skills, and the command policies of the commanders outside of missions, it is hopeful that serious consideration will demonstrate what made these units inspiring for generations. Chennault and his American Volunteer Group (AVG) Flying Tigers entered the war against Japan long before Pearl Harbor but were the morale booster that Americans needed when December 7, 1941, occurred. Gregory Boyington and his Black Sheep squadron carried out what some might consider the improbable with just twenty-six pilots and fifteen planes. They achieved ninety-four confirmed enemy kills plus equal probable kills along with land-based destruction. In World War II, the leadership and dedication of Claire Lee Chennault and Gregory Boyington propelled their units into the history books as two of the most significant aviation units of the War in the Pacific. 5 Introduction: Into the Wild Blue Yonder Military Historian Ronald H. Spector, a professor of history at George Washington University, in his essay “An Improbable Success Story: Official Military Histories in the Twentieth Century” explains that “the military takes history seriously, not as an intellectual pursuit, but as the root of all professional knowledge, the compendium of all reliable professional experience.” 1 Out of appreciation for the military histories, Spector emphasizes that for the military professionals, their histories are vital to the continuance of the mission. These histories are not abstract, but rather something they can utilize in the then and now. Today, professional historians are incorporating many of the older military histories they once believed to be too biased and uneven into their research by recognizing the value of the first-hand knowledge they provide. It is through the understanding of the value placed on these histories that one can carefully interpret them for a broader understanding of World War II. World War II encompassed more than just the European theater. In China since 1937, Claire Lee Chennault, a former pilot and newly retired from the Army Air Corps (AAC), trained the Chinese Air Force (CAF) to defend itself against the advances of Japan. In mid-1941, young men from the United States resigned their positions in the reserves and quickly volunteered to head to China to help Chennault and the Chinese.2 The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on 1 Ronald H. Spector "An Improbable Success Story: Official Military Histories in the Twentieth Century." The Public Historian 12, no. 1 (1990): 27. 2 This is in stark contrast to the Eagle Squadrons in Europe for several reasons. First, the Eagle Squadrons did not pay the men per kill, instead they received the monthly salary that a second lieutenant in the Royal Air Force received. Second, they were willing to accept applications from those rejected by the Army Air Corps. Third, the Eagle Squadrons had closer to 300 pilots flying in Europe. Fourth, they did not have the tacit approval from the White House that the Flying Tigers received. See for more information: William Wolf, "The King's Own: Long Before the United States Entered the War, Gutsy American Fliers Battled the Luftwaffe as Members of Britain's Eagle Squadron." America in WWII, August 2006, 46+. Academic OneFile (accessed May 12, 2019). http://link.galegroup.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/apps/doc/A401215999/AONE?u=vic_liberty&sid=AONE&xid=fb534 faa 6 December 7, 1941, resulting in the two countries declaring war on each other. Chennault’s volunteer group led the charge against the Japanese, giving America a much-needed morale boost at a time when the war was not going so well. Gregory Boyington, a Naval Aviator, served as a member of Chennault’s unit until he resigned to go back to the Marines. Back in the Marines, Boyington ended up in the Solomon Islands, where he would eventually create a group of pilots under Fixed Wing Fighter (VMF)-214. The Black Sheep Squadron, as they came to call themselves, quickly established themselves as a top-notch unit. Using the very tactics that Chennault drilled into his Flying Tigers, Boyington led his men to create an impressive record. Histories kept by men of the unit, help provide valuable insight into training, daily routines, official missions, and the outcomes of those missions. It is through this valuable information that historians can piece together their roles in World War II. While origins of the war commanded the most attention for the post-WWII generation, historians also examined various theaters of operation and new methods of warfare, especially aerial combat. Knowing and understanding how the Army Air Corps went from the initial pursuit-defense theory to advocating a bomber-first strategy, allowed historians to understand the frustration Chennault expressed for the military’s lack of willingness to consider his argument for pursuit theory. This frustration is what drove him to China, where he could and would prove his thesis. The historical division of the Army Air Forces began at the direction of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942.3 3 Royce L. Thompson, Establishment of the War Department Historical Program for World War II, (Fort McNair, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Military History,1947). Thompson’s file at the U.S. Army Center of Military History has the memo containing the directive from President Roosevelt to the Bureau of the Budget in which he request that they keep an accurate and objective account of each service branch’s experience in the war.