Persistent Boyington backers try again

Marine veterans made another pitch Monday to rename Kootenai County’s airport after World War II Medal of Honor recipient and North Idaho native Gregory “Pappy” Boyington. This time, they hope county commissioners don’t ignore the request.

“The reason we are doing it again now is that we never got an answer before,” said Bob Rohrscheib, commandant of the Marine Corps League Pappy Boyington Detachment 966.

For more than a year, the veterans have lobbied to officially add “Pappy Boyington Field” to the name of the county-owned Coeur d’Alene Airport. Now they have the attention of two new county commissioners; Todd Tondee and Rich Piazza took office in January, and both previously expressed tentative support for the Boyington proposal.

Rohrscheib told the commission Monday that it would require little paperwork – just changing the name on the Federal Aviation Administration form – and some new signs at the airport, which serves mostly private pilots and a summertime fleet of firefighting aircraft.

At the most it could cost a couple thousand dollars, which the detachment is willing to pay to honor a man they call one of the nation’s greatest heroes, Rohrscheib said. About 30 Marine veterans, most wearing scarlet-and-gold jackets, filled the commissioners’ meeting room to show support.

The commission didn’t allow public comment other than Rohrscheib’s presentation. The meeting was meant to gather information only, commission Chairman Rick Currie said. “We thank you for your time and we will take it under advisement and decide which way to go,” Currie said.

The commission could give approval, schedule a public hearing or take no action, he noted, and he gave no timeline. “It’s sort of wide open,” Currie said.

The inaction has infuriated many veterans and attracted some national attention, including from the Distinguished Flying Cross Society and news pundit Oliver North. County officials have never offered a reason why they haven’t made a decision, but many think the reluctance to change the name has to do with Boyington’s years of fighting and drinking.

“We all know he was hard-drinking and hard-living, and his post-war life was very turbulent just like his wartime life,” Rohrscheib said.

Initially thinking the meeting with the commission would include discussion, Rohrscheib said he had prepared a rebuttal. Currie quickly told him to save it for a public hearing if one is held. Rohrscheib interjected that today Boyington likely would have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

After a childhood spent in Coeur d’Alene, St. Maries and Tacoma, Boyington went on to become one of the nation’s most decorated wartime fliers. He’s credited with shooting down 28 planes in the Pacific theater and served as the commanding officer of the famed Black Sheep Squadron.

Boyington was shot down during his last combat mission and spent 20 months as a prisoner of war in Japan. He was freed when the war ended and was awarded the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross.

According to a January 1988 newspaper article about Boyington’s death, he returned in September 1945 to Okanogan, Wash., where his stepfather and mother lived. Then Boyington moved to California, where he was an executive with Eastside Breweries before becoming the vice president of a manufacturer of aircraft and missile components.

He died in 1988 at age 75 in Fresno, Calif., survived by his wife, two children and eight grandchildren.