‘Pappy’ Boyington honored with airport statue

A bronze statue of Maj. Gregory “Pappy” Boyington was installed Friday at the North Idaho airfield named in his honor.

Sculptor Bryan Ross created the 8-foot statue, a project undertaken in conjunction with Richard Le Francis and funded by donations.

The aim was to honor Boyington, the famed World War II fighter pilot who led the Black Sheep Squadron. He was born in Coeur d’Alene and grew up in St. Maries and Tacoma, graduating from the University of Washington with an aeronautical engineering degree in 1934.

UW’s student senate rejected a campus memorial to Boyington in 2006, saying he wasn’t the right kind of person to represent the school, published reports at the time said.

Le Francis said in an email that the rejection by UW sparked the idea to honor Boyington in Coeur d’Alene.

The Coeur d’Alene Airport was renamed in his honor in 2007.

The statue is located at Resort Aviation, on the west end of Wyoming Avenue, Le Francis said.