Say NOT his name or CY will sue you

[lmritger]

He is in the same category as GB was, professional jerk.

Yeah, but you know what? I give ol' Pappy a pass on that because not once did he ever attempt to pass himself off as anything more than he actually was. From all I've read and heard, he HATED the publicity of being a "war hero", couldn't give two craps about it, and hated the attention that came with it. One line I particularly loved from him concerned someone asking him about his MOH pin; he told the person it was for 25 years of service with the Otis Elevator Company or something like that.

CY, on the other hand, is only too happy to rake in the proceeds and bask in the limelight, so long as it's all on HIS terms and he doesn't have to engage anyone who might make the unforgivable mistake of seeing him as their hero.

Lesson being, if you're gonna be a schmuck, at least be consistent.

Lynn

[Speedy]

He is in the same category as GB was, professional jerk.

Yeah, but you know what? I give ol' Pappy a pass on that because not once did he ever attempt to pass himself off as anything more than he actually was. From all I've read and heard, he HATED the publicity of being a "war hero", couldn't give two craps about it, and hated the attention that came with it. One line I particularly loved from him concerned someone asking him about his MOH pin; he told the person it was for 25 years of service with the Otis Elevator Company or something like that.

CY, on the other hand, is only too happy to rake in the proceeds and bask in the limelight, so long as it's all on HIS terms and he doesn't have to engage anyone who might make the unforgivable mistake of seeing him as their hero.

Lesson being, if you're gonna be a schmuck, at least be consistent.

Lynn

On this I will agree. Over the last year I have pulled out all the "Bantam War" books from my childhood and teen years and been re-reading them. Baa Baa Blacksheep was one of the most cynical and negative books I've read in a long while...and I found I LIKED it that way. Certainly not like the rose-colored story I remember from 30 years ago. Yeager's biography, on the other hand, is "Aw, shucks...look how great I am".

[JohnB]

After meeting a few celebrities...and being disappointed in one who I was a huge fan of...allow me to add that we shouldn't form ironclad opinions of people we haven't met.
Sure you can have opinions, but unless you've met them, give them a bit of benefit of the doubt...peoples' public personas can be different than they really are.

As far as the celebrites who I have met and wasn't disappointed in, I'll give Jimmy Stewart first place. He was everything you'd expect of him.

[lmritger]

Baa Baa Blacksheep was one of the most cynical and negative books I've read in a long while...and I found I LIKED it that way.

That's it- that's the word, "cynical". That sums up Boyington completely. And your take on the book was the one I came away with when I read it as a kid- I didn't know the word "cynical" yet, but I distinctly remember reading it and coming away thinking he was a pretty angry guy. Seemed to care the world for his men, though, which seems in character with most Marines I've ever met.

Yeah, I'd have liked to met ol' Greg just to hear him tell me to fark off.

Cheers-

Lynn

[Mark Allen M]

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Last edited by Mark Allen M on Mon Sep 10, 2012 3:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Zachary]

Yep! been there, done that ... Oshkosh, asked him to autograph a print when I was 12 years old. He told me to buy his book and he would sign it. But in not so nice a tone.

I saw CY do the same thing to a young boy the first time I came to Oshkosh. CY and Bud Anderson were scheduled to do their talk together in one of the forum buildings, and about 15 minutes before it started they were both standing outside signing autographs. I was standing off to the side observing (and somewhat shocked to be standing near two WWII aces that up till then I had only read about) when a young boy of about 10 or 12 asked CY if he would autograph his EAA hat. CY asked the kid if he'd read his book. Kid says "no" and CY tells him to go buy a book and then maybe he'd sign it. This right after CY had just signed some dude's t-shirt. I thought it was a pretty lousy way to treat a kid. Then again, over the years I've seen CY treat folks with the utmost respect and humility when he didn't have to...

[Jesse C.]

[p51]

Never been a big fan of the man himself. Ray Fowler once bragged to me that he told CY to go [F] himself in a formation flight that he was flying in, I think it was Oshkosh if memory serves. Would have loved to have been on coms at that time!

Yep! been there, done that ... Oshkosh, asked him to autograph a print when I was 12 years old. He told me to buy his book and he would sign it. But in not so nice a tone.

I saw CY do the same thing to a young boy the first time I came to Oshkosh. CY and Bud Anderson were scheduled to do their talk together in one of the forum buildings, and about 15 minutes before it started they were both standing outside signing autographs. I was standing off to the side observing (and somewhat shocked to be standing near two WWII aces that up till then I had only read about) when a young boy of about 10 or 12 asked CY if he would autograph his EAA hat. CY asked the kid if he'd read his book. Kid says "no" and CY tells him to go buy a book and then maybe he'd sign it. This right after CY had just signed some dude's t-shirt. I thought it was a pretty lousy way to treat a kid. Then again, over the years I've seen CY treat folks with the utmost respect and humility when he didn't have to...

I saw him personally refuse to sign the book of a kid dying of cancer in a wheelchair and hooked up to kinds of tubes. You could have heard a pin drop after he turned and walked away, about 20 adults refusing to believe what they'd just seen. Finally, I heard an older guy whisper to someone, "Well, I guess at least I can feel a little better about him refusing to sign my book now..."

[Robbie Stuart]

Yeah, I'd have liked to met ol' Greg just to hear him tell me to fark off.

Yep! been there, done that ... Oshkosh, asked him to autograph a print when I was 12 years old. He told me to buy his book and he would sign it. But in not so nice a tone. basically telling me to fark off Even at that young age something like that stuck with me. Now George Gay was completely different. What a class act

Same thing happened to me in Harlingen at Airsho 80.

[Boeing666]

Didn't he try to sue NASCAR owner Jack Roush for having Glamorous Glen on one of his P-51s? Roush renamed it Gentleman Jim

[The Inspector]

I held my nose and read his autobiography which came out shortly after VOYAGER finished it's trip just to see if it was me and my perception of him . He did a major dump on that accomplishment saying 'anyone can fly around the world with a big enough gas tank'. In his book he made a huge deal out setting dozens of record flight times between Mule Poop, NE. and CowPie Junction,WY in the CHEYANNE turboprop (that belonged to someone else) and other 'exotic' locales where no one gave a thought about the speed record between two indistinguishable points. Turns out it WASN'T just me or my perception-he IS a brass bound jerk.

[The Inspector]

I held my nose and read his autobiography which came out shortly after VOYAGER finished it's trip just to see if it was me and my perception of him . He did a major dump on that accomplishment saying 'anyone can fly around the world with a big enough gas tank'. In his book he made a huge deal out setting dozens of record flight times between Mule Poop, NE. and CowPie Junction,WY in the CHEYANNE turboprop (that belonged to someone else) and other 'exotic' locales where no one gave a thought about the speed record between two indistinguishable points. Turns out it WASN'T just me or my perception-he IS a brass bound jerk.


DOUBLE POST-THANKS COMCAST! GO BUY A NEW HAMSTER!!!

[PinecastleAAF]

Quite the chuck roast you have going on here. I read his book a long time ago and enjoyed it. I won't try for an autograph, after all I have Buddy Ebsen's and you can't top that.

[CWBuff]

Now George Gay was completely different. What a class act

Agreed... I was only 12-14 when I met him but he was a very humble, quiet sort... thoroughly admirable and a true pleasure to hang around with.

Chuck Yeager on the other hand... (should I not have actually typed his name out? Oh well.. sue m... wait, what am I saying?)

I've never met him, so I can only form an opinion based on the tells of others. It just seems interesting to me that the vast majority of those others who have something to tell are in agreement as to Yeager's character. Merely an observation, nothing more.

In the end, however, it matters not to me. I have read his books... they were thoroughly enjoyable, satisfying reads. I have studied his exploits both during the war and, to a lesser extent, after... his was an admirable career. That is as far as I will ever get in my own personal 'relationship' with this particular guy. And I'm happy to keep it that way because, for me, it is enough to celebrate his professional achievements.

Jack*ss or not, I truly don't care...


Fade to Black...

[David J Burke]

Pity we didnt get that Miles M.52 finished ! Then you guys woudn't have had to worry about getting his autograph!