COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – Backers of a stalled plan to rename the Coeur d’Alene Airport after famed World War II fighter pilot Gregory “Pappy” Boyington say they will make another run at it next month after two new county commissioners are sworn in, both of whom have expressed support.
“I’m very in favor of it,” Kootenai County Commissioner-elect Rich Piazza told The Spokesman-Review newspaper in Spokane. “He won the Congressional Medal of Honor. He’s from our area. I think it’s appropriate. Everybody I’ve talked to in the public is for it.”
Boyington grew up in this northern Idaho city and St. Maries, as well as Tacoma. He is most famous for his actions as a Marine ace, shooting down more than 20 enemy planes. He spent nearly two years as a Japanese prisoner of war after being shot down Jan. 3, 1944. Presumed dead, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. He was freed at the end of the war.
Boyington wrote about his wartime exploits as a Marine fighter pilot in the South Pacific in his best-selling book, “Baa Baa Black Sheep,” which later became a 1970s television show starring Robert Conrad.
But he struggled with money woes and alcohol for much of his life, at times working as a beer salesman and wrestling referee, according to “Once They Were Eagles,” a memoir by Black Sheep veteran Frank Walton. Boyington died in 1988 in Fresno, Calif., and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Previous requests to change the name of the airport have been ignored by Kootenai County officials. No reason has been stated, causing some veterans to wonder if Boyington’s reputation as a heavy drinker could be causing the impasse.
“Whoever has an ax to grind has yet to reveal himself,” said retired Marine Don Glovick. “We have so many people behind us. It’s beyond us why it hasn’t happened already.”
Like Boyington, Garth Haddock flew an F-4U Corsair fighter in World War II. The Coeur d’Alene retiree, who now lives in an assisted-living facility, supports changing the name of the airport.
“It means everything to us,” said the 85-year-old Haddock, who knew Boyington. “I can’t see why they wouldn’t do that. Why don’t they give it a little glory?”
Todd Tondee, the other newly elected member of the three-person county commission, said he won’t decide until he has a chance to examine the idea.
“I would be interested in looking at it,” he said. “I think we need to honor our heroes.”
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