Gregory "Pappy" Boyington F4U Corsair
"Lulubelle", VMF-214 Black Sheep squadron aircraft

In September 1943, Maj. Gregory Boyington took command of VMF 214, the "Black Sheep Squadron." Boyington was a superb leader and fighter with VMF-214, scoring 22 victories with the Marines, plus six from the AVG. Under his command, VMF-214 claimed 94 victories against the Japanese. At thirty-one years old, he was ten years older than most of his pilots, earning him the nickname "Pappy." On 26 November 1943, Boyington posed in the cockpit of Corsair "White 86" for a publicity photo.
Japanese flag "kill markings" were applied so hastily that some were accidentally reversed. Some speculation exists as to whether the aircraft was called "Lucybelle" or "Lulubelle", since the name was partially obscured in the final photograph. Boyington was recognized as the leading Ace of the US Armed Forces, and when he was shot down on a mission over Rabaul on 3 January 1944, he was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously. But Boyington survived Japanese captivity, and President Truman pinned the Medal of Honor on him on 5 October 1945.