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July 2, 2023

We need heroes.  We need people to whom we can look up, as examples of, and exemplars for, the virtues of courage and devotion to duty.  So urgent is our need that we sometimes create unrealistic myths about them — for example, the one about George Washington and the cherry tree.

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It comes as a shock, therefore, when some of our heroes are seen, by some, to have been scoundrels.  George Washington is vilified for having owned slaves, despite his courage and heroism.  President Kennedy’s scandalous infidelities to his wife are a blot on his record, despite his war service.  Yes, even some of our war heroes do not escape the judgments of historians.

Marine Corps major Gregory “Pappy” Boyington (1912–1988) is extolled for the wartime exploits for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor, America’s highest military medal.  Boyington’s first combat encounter with the enemy was as a fighter pilot serving with the famous Flying Tigers over China.  He is credited with having shot down two Japanese aircraft there, and with leading other pilots to victories as well.  By war’s end, he was a top-rated ace.

Alas, Boyington had a problem with alcohol — a big problem, as it turns out.  He was sent home from China early by General Claire Chennault, after serious disciplinary infractions, one of which involved some reckless, and presumably drunken, unauthorized aerobatics over a public gathering where China’s first lady was present.  The potential for catastrophe could not be overlooked, and Boyington’s poor judgment could not be excused.

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After about a year of “exile” from military duties, Boyington was allowed to return to the Pacific, where he shot down an additional 24 enemy aircraft, putting himself on a par with the famous World War One ace Eddie Rickenbacker.  He was the subject of a television series, co-authored his biography, and appeared as himself on the iconic TV “quiz” show, To Tell the Truth.

Boyington ended the war as a captive of the Japanese and returned to the US as a hero.  For a time, his alcoholism devastated his life, but he eventually overcame that.

Whereas Boyington’s flaws did not discredit him in the public mind, the same cannot be said of Randall “Duke” Cunningham.

Serving as a fighter pilot, Cunningham became the Vietnam War’s only Navy ace, shooting down five enemy aircraft.  He narrowly avoided death or capture when his aircraft was disabled in combat.  His heroism undoubtedly contributed to his winning his election to the United States House of Representatives.

Wretchedly, while in office, Cunningham was convicted of accepting bribes.  He spent eight years in federal prison.  After he had completed his incarceration, President Trump granted Cunningham a “conditional” pardon, one that did not absolve him of guilt and did not relieve him of financial responsibility, but allowed him in other respects to return to a semblance of civic life, which he found personally valuable.

Cunningham’s confession and subsequent apologies reveal him to have fully recognized the horrific nature of his crime.  He regretted having earlier denied his guilt, and then having tried to make excuses, but finally, he faced up to the disgrace he had brought upon himself, his family, and others.