D.F. Oliveria: Honoring Boyington will serve as reminder

Commandant Bob Rohrscheib of the Pappy Boyington Marine Corps League Detachment 966 discusses the push by local veterans organizations to rename the airfield at the county airport in honor of local World War II hero Pappy Boyington.

DFO: Can you tell me about your military background?

Bob Rohrscheib: I’m a retired Marine Corps master gunnery sergeant with 23 years of military service. I fought in World War II, including the battle of Iwo Jima. I was involved in the occupation of Japan after the war. Five years later, I spent a year in Korea. I finally wound up in Vietnam, after which I retired. My specialty was communications.

DFO: You probably saw more than you ever want to see at Iwo Jima, correct?

BR: Iwo Jima was a tough nut to crack. We were only on the island less than 30 days. During that time we lost 6,800 killed and over 28,000 wounded.

DFO: Were you ever wounded?

BR: I was never scratched.

DFO: When did the local Marine veteran detachment become named after Pappy Boyington?

BR: The detachment was first chartered in December 1996. We were granted the use of that name by national headquarters. We had permission from all members of the family.

DFO: Why did you choose that name?

BR: We chose that name because Pappy Boyington was born in Coeur d’Alene and was a Medal of Honor recipient. There’s another detachment back East called the Black Sheep Detachment (after Boyington’s famous World War II squadron).

DFO: Why do you want the airport field named after him?

BR: We want to honor a local Medal of Honor recipient.

DFO: Have you been surprised by the resistance to the name change (from county commissioners and the airport board)?

BR: Yes. We can’t discover any reason for the resistance. The only excuse that we have heard is that there are safety considerations (re: the call signs at the airport).

DFO: Would a name change cost anything?

BR: It would only cost in the change of the signs at the airport, and the Pappy Boyington detachment will pay for those changes.

DFO: Do you think part of the problem has been Boyington’s reputation as a hard-living, hard-drinking man after his service days were over?

BR: It is a problem with some people. I don’t believe it’s a problem with any of the commissioners. They understand that today (Boyington’s behavior) would be identified as post traumatic stress disorder.

DFO: Did you ever meet Pappy Boyington?

BR: I never had the pleasure.

DFO: But you did talk to the actor, Robert Conrad, who played him in a 1970s TV series?

BR: Yes. He had some good stories to tell about Pappy.

DFO: How important is it to remember military heroes like Boyington in this manner?

BR: I don’t think remembering heroes is a problem for veterans, but I do think it is a problem for the general population and especially the younger generation.

DFO: Why?

BR: They need to be reminded of the sacrifices that have been made so they can live the type of life we live today.

DFO: Did you follow the controversy last year involving the University of Washington student senators who opposed honoring Boyington?

BR: (They) missed the entire point. (They focused) on the fact that Boyington was a killer rather than Boyington was a hero saving his country from invasion.

DFO: Who else supports your cause?

BR: Every veterans organization in Kootenai County is in favor of this name change. Usually, when I walk around town, I wear a Marine Corps red ball cap, and people voluntarily approach me and say, “I hope you get Pappy Boyington’s name added to the airport.”

DFO: So, you’re not going to back off?

BR: No.