Pappy Boyington.... Tolerance of a Hero?

No Heroes allowed on campus....

It seems that the Student Senate at the University of Washington has voted down a proposal to erect a memorial to alumnus Gregory "Pappy" Boyington...

World War II veteren Colonel Pappy Boyington was a U.S. Marine fighter pilot and commander of the "Black Sheep" squadron that operated in the South Pacific. Boyington was responsible for shooting down 28 Japanese planes which made him a five-time fighter Ace and spent more then 18 months in a Japanese prison camp... http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/2/17/165356.shtml?s=icp

It seems that few of the students at the University of Washington actually knew who Boyington was and what he did in World War II. Some of the students questioned why the University should honor a person who killed others or honor a Marine. (Boyington was responsible for shooting down 28 enemy pilots, who may have inflicted incredible damage on the troops and or civilians. Anyone of these Japanese pilots could have gone on and sink a single troop transport in the south pacific killing hundreds of troops.) One student leader questioned why another rich white man should be honored on campus. The truth is Boyington was also part Native American with a Sioux ancestral background.

The local newspaper picked up on this issue and published a story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer which resulted in many calls to the University by the public...