Once They Were Eagles: The Men of the Black Sheep Squadron

A great telling of a famous and very successful Marine aviation squadron, The Black Sheep - VMF 214, led by Maj. Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, by the squadron ACIO, or Air Combat Information Officer. It may not be the best of writing skills, but the story is unbeatable.Frank Walton was the individual who wrote all of the 'after-mission' (combat) reports, interviewing each pilot after each mission and writing up the details. Frank Walton went much further. He wrote up biographies of each pilot - where they were from, where they went to school, their families, their likes and dislikes. All of the info provides a human side to the men, makes them believeable, and helps you fly with them as they go out on each mission.The second half of the book contains his 'current-day' stories. He looked up as many of the original members as he could and interviewed them "today" (the early 8o's.) The book includes both WWII and "today" pictures of most all of the pilots. After reading of their WWII exploits, I really enjoyed learning of each of these men 'today,' where they've gone, who they've become, generally very successful business men all. I guess what surprised me was that most of them, after all of their exploits and adventures, 'walked away' from aviation, to be normal everyday business and family men. I guess I would have expected them to mostly go on to careers in aviation. But they are our businessmen, some our business leaders, and mainly, our neighbors. Thank you all for what you did for us.

I enjoy reading not only about the airplanes, but also the men that flew them

Frank Walton proves, with clarity, facts, and honesty, the real background of the Black Sheep Squadron. Having been a fan of the TV show in the '70's, and having read Pappy Boyington's book, Baa Baa Black Sheep, I thought I had a pretty good sense of what this group of Marine combat pilots were all about in WWII. To my surprise, not only does Frank Walton bust a few myths, but as the squadron's Intelligence Officer, he was in a unique position to supremely craft a legitimate analysis of the men, mission, and machines that comprised one of the most headline-grabbing units during the South Pacific Campaign. His view is unclouded by personality, or showmanship. I especially enjoyed reading what happened to the original Black Sheep, once they stepped out of their Corsair cockpits for the last time. The post-war activities of these men were often completely different than what they trained to do during the war, although some did remain connected to aviation. A wonderful read, and a tome that should be required for any serious student of Marine Aviation Combat Units of any generation.

It was a gift.

I grew up watching Baa Baa Black Sheep as a pre-teen, thoroughly enjoying the show, not realizing I was watching a very loose interpretation of a real squadron of fighter pilots. I now have 4 books on the subject in addition to a full DVD set of Season 1 for Baa Baa Black Sheep/Black Sheep Squadron. In reading the books first to better understand the 'truth' about this storied group of men, I've had to decide who is the most factual, who is slightly biased, and who has embellished their story. I will leave those descriptions of each book for you to decide for yourselves, but I for one find Frank Walton's version mostly credible, if not slightly biased. The book is still an excellent read with respect to facts and chronology. Frank appears to share the opinion of another author on the subject that "Pappy" Boyington was a superior pilot, an above average leader when in the air, fair, with few peers in that era. I congratulate Mr. Walton for taking on the cause to set the record straight with regard to the background of each pilot chosen for the VMF214 under Pappy, as well as their exploits in those few short months of operation. Greg Boyington's book and the TV series did an injustice to the character of the men of The Black Sheep. 'Once They Were Eagles' goes a long way towards correcting that injustice.Like "Black Sheep One", this is a good read.

This tells of the 51 men 60 years after the war.I was impressed that most of these old pilots still referred to Major Boyington as having a long lasting influence on them both in and following the war.He was a natural leader in the air,but not so on the ground.Another point was that some of them mentioned how disappointed they were with the Hollywood Series called BAA BAA BLACKSHEEP,now on DVD,where they were depicted as brawling,drunken pilots,not the case at all, they were instead genuine country boys keen to do well for their country.An interesting book.

I was a US Navy survivor from WWII in the South Pacific Area during that period. My Ship had been badly damage by Japanese Aircraft and were without any power due a bomb explosion in the engine room, we were stranded without any movement due to this attack. Suddenly in the distance appeared another formation of enemy aircraft, !We were doomed! suddenly someone began shouting, pointing in another direction. There screaming in a diving appearance came the Marine Corsair Squadron," The Black Sheep" and rapidly the Japanese began to scatter, running for the clouds, one by one each bargains trailing a smoky trail downward splashing into the late afternoon darkening sky, we had been saved by the timely rescue, thank God.! Early the next morning the towing began, safely we arrive at Espiritu Santos, July 21, 1943, thanks to the Black Sheep Marine Squadron.!