You'd think that naming an airfield in honor of WWII flying ace and Medal of Honor winner Greg "Pappy" Boyington would be a no-brainer, right? You'd be wrong:
COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — Gregory "Pappy" Boyington's last battle was tough, but he prevailed because fellow Marines had his back.
A two-year fight to rename the airport in Boyington's hometown in honor of the troubled World War II ace ended in success last fall, but only after overcoming reservations about the Medal of Honor winner who has been dead for 20 years.
Now Kevin Gonzalez, one of the leaders of the effort, has produced a documentary about the conflict that ended with Pappy Boyington Field being added to the Coeur d'Alene Airport name.
Boosters initially assumed there would be little opposition to renaming the airport, but the effort stalled in 2006 when the Kootenai County Commission refused to vote on the proposal.
"One of the major stumbling blocks was people bringing up the fact he was a womanizer and drinker," said veteran Robert Rohrscheib, a member of the local Marine Corps League Pappy Boyington Detachment 966.
But Boyington was an authentic hero, and likely suffered from what would later be called post-traumatic stress disorder, Rohrscheib said.
When two new commissioners were elected, the veterans tried again and the change was made last August.
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