Black Sheep Squadron

Black Sheep Squadron is a series that is fascinating to watch, over and over. I first started watching it on the History Channel and have numerous tapes that are wearing out from use. These are quite interesting since they contain the comments of the original Black Sheep members, as well as some by Conrad.

The stories, for the most part, are quite interesting and the acting is top-notch. Conrad is a seasoned actor going back many years and does very well in all sorts of roles, including this one. Clyde Kusatsu in his role as a captured Zero pilot was believable and has been in many other movies since. The regulars...Dana Elcar, Robert Ginty, W. K. Stratton, Simon Oakland, James Whitmore, Jr. were well-placed in their roles.

With the passing of Robert Conrad and H&I showing the show again I wanted to comment on it. This is one of the first shows I remember watching because my Grandfather served with the actual Boyington during WW2 and we watched several eps shortly before he died.

I read Boyington's autobiography when I was a young teen. Needless to say the show isn't accurate, and was said by former members of the unit in the 80s at a reunion and the former members expressed great displeasure at Boyington. My Grandfather's overlap of service was limited as he was in the Army Air Corps and knew him from base overlap and because he was a mechanic which was as important as pilots because of limited replacement parts.

So while the show was inaccurate, it was generally inspiring (I believe one of the reasons I enlisted when I was 17) and entertaining. Today if I want history, I've got the History and Military Channels, so all one needs to do is expect it to entertain which it does. I'd make it akin to MASH which certainly wasn't real either, but was entertaining.

What a lot of people won't remember is the time period when this was on being post-Vietnam and there was a negative attitude towards the service that post 9/11 isn't remembered by many (I served in the late 80s and Desert Storm and the military was viewed positively in my opinion by most then, but not as high as after 9/11).

so watch it for what it's meant to be, entertainment.

The "Whistling Death" F4U Corsair planes are the actual stars of this movie, the best combat planes ever with killing ratio 11:1 in their short times during 1943-1945. And VMF-214 Black Sheep Squadron is just the legend Ace Squadron with high killing ratio (average 5+) during the pacific war with Pappy Boyington as great fighter and leader. I watched this series when I was a kid, and always in my memory ever since. I even collect the F4U Corsair model planes afterward. I am still trying to watch the FIRST episode the "Flying Misfits" a.k.a episode zero, so if anyone know how to get it kindly advice. This is a good series of the pacific war, yes it dramatized and fictionalized events, but it is very nice to see many REAL Corsairs in formation! Great respect to Pappy Boyington and VMF-214 for your great dedication, you folks did a great job!

Baa Baa Black Sheep or Black Sheep Squadron is an exciting TV series about Pappy Boyington's VMF 214, a USMC fighter squadron of WWII vintage. The characters are likeable and Robert Conrad really fills the bill as Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, Medal of Honor winner and multiple ace in the Pacific. The aerial sequences are outstanding and the use of combat footage is skillful. I watch the show every opportunity I can get and enjoy the episodes that feature combat and not the ones where a black sheep is caught behind enemy lines

While the Movie and T.V. show did have some inaccuracies it did provide a thrilling show that I love to this day. When I was small I would sneak up to my room just so I could See "Pappy" and the "Black Sheep" Squadron every week and since as an adult have become intensely interested in history and the role that these true American heroes played in making this a free country. I wish that everyone could see this show.