Black Sheep Squadron | Teen Ink

Black Sheep Squadron

April 16, 2016
By A.Marcus DIAMOND, Landing, New Jersey
A.Marcus DIAMOND, Landing, New Jersey
86 articles 11 photos 8 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.&quot;<br /> -Emily Bronte<br /> <br /> &quot;A shadow is the most loyal friend.&quot;<br /> -Amanda Marcus


World War II was a long and hard battle, but there were heroes of all kinds helping us win.  Some of those heroes flew high in the skies and led to several victories against the Nazis and  their allies.  The 1976 to 1978 television series titles Baa Baa Black Sheep, also known as Black Sheep Squadron, focused on a ragtag bunch of reject pilots stationed on the Solomon Islands during the war.  Loosely based on the story of Greg (Pappy) Boyington and his Black Sheep Squadron, sometimes featuring cameos by the real Greg Boyington, the series (running 2 seasons and consisting of 38 episodes in total) was a high flying and entertaining look into the lives of the men (and women working as field nurses) of the war.


Greg Boyington, affectionately called “Pappy” by his friends, faces not only the enemies in the skies and on the water just off the coast of their island, but also a fearsome father seeking to protect his daughter (a field nurse who entered without his permission) from the rough boys in the war, a bunch of reluctant (and buff) repair men, and even a no good pilot seeking fame and willing to put that above the wellbeing of the other pilots.  Not only that, but new rookie by the name of Jeb Pruitt appears to be no more than about 16 years old, but may just be one of the hottest pilots Greg has ever seen.  Facing both moral decisions and combatants in the skies (and nearby forests), Greg has to fight through the war, and it all makes for an extremely entertaining show.


Although the real Greg Boyington died in 1988 at 75 years old, his legacy, along with the other pilots, lives on through this great series.  I thoroughly enjoyed the series and would highly recommend it for anyone who might be willing to give it a try.  If you are looking to stream the series, you can find it on YouTube.  If you are looking into buying the series, Amazon (as well as several other sellers) offer both seasons at a reasonable price.  I would highly recommend trying the series!


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