Directed by: Barry Shear
Written by: Philip De Guere
Part 2 of 2.
According to a newsreel, Rabaul remains a stronghold of the Japanese.
Major Boyington recaps what happened in Part I: he met and fell in love with Lt. Carolyn Holden. Lt. French crash landed his plane in flames and Boyington pulled him out, burning the major's hands and grounding him for the time being. Boyington puts Captain Gutterman in command of the Black Sheep. While on a picnic with Holden, Boyington sees Lt. Patterson crash
Hutch puts auxilliary gun cameras on the planes. Boyington wants pictures of the air strip at Rabaul. Gutterman is annoyed, Boyington explains that they need information about Rabaul. On the next mission, Gutterman runs out of bullets and makes a steep dive to lead a Japanese zero into the water. Gutterman pulls up in time as the enemy pilot makes a splash.
Meanwhile, as his men Boyington goes to see Holden under the pretext of getting his hands re-bandaged.
At the Sheep Pen, Gutterman complains about running out of ammunition and that his wingman was of little help. Boyington comes in with the photos from the mission, suggests they fly columns and target bombers, not transports. Then he has Lt. Casey take dictation for a letter to Patterson's wife. Boyington has too much difficulty thinking of what to write, so he delegates the task to Casey: "You write it, I'll sign it."
That night, the Black Sheep dance with the nurses. Tired of guys trying to cut in to dance with Holden, she decides to leave and go back to the hospital.
Holden tells Commander Gladys Hope (Anne Francis) about a letter she received, Hope grants Holden a couple days' leave.
The next day, on the next mission, after having some engine trouble, Gutterman decides to cancel a mission rather than radio back to ask Boyington what to do. Boyington's annoyed, and says that they can't give Rabaul "a day off."
Boyington puts Casey in command and relieves Gutterman. Confronting Boyington, Gutterman reveals that Holden's married. Boyington goes to see Hope, who explains that Holden's husband is missing in action and she pawned her wedding ring to pay "a group based in London" to help her find him.
Boyington goes to Espritos Marcos to ask Colonel Lard for help. General Harrison Kenlay (played by the real life Greg Boyington) tells Boyington he's heard of him in Washington: "You are trouble... for the Japanese."
Holden tells Boyington that her husband, David, was a major in an infantry battallion when he went missing. Now it appears that her husband was found in a prison camp.
Back on Vella La Cava, Boyington removes his bandages and tells his men he will fly a mission with them the next day. But the mission scrubbed because of fog over Rabaul. After a brief discussion, Boyington decides to go up with Lt. Anderson (John Larroquette) to see whether or not the Japanese are putting anything in the air.
The air raid warning sounds at Vella La Cava. French warns Hope that the Japanese don't know the place is a hospital and might bomb it. Most of the patients can't be moved. The nurses do their best to move the patients out while the Black Sheep who are not ill get up in the air.
Boyington gets back on the ground and goes to the hospital to help move patients out. The hospital gets hit with Holden inside. Boyington goes in and tells Holden to get out, he puts the last patient on his back to bring him out.
A message comes over the wire: Holden's husband was found in France, was sent over to England and is due back in the United States in a couple of days. Holden leaves as her replacement comes in.
In the concluding voiceover, Boyington says Rabaul never fell, the Japanese just kept resupplying it until the war just moved beyond it. And he never forgot about Holden.
Tropes
- Eternal Sexual Freedom: Captain Gutterman knows that Lt. Holden is married and he lets Major Boyington know. Commander Hope also knew, and from much earlier on, but encourages her subordinate to carry on her relationship with Boyington.
- News Reel: "Gibraltar of the Pacific," a news reel about Rabaul, starts the episode off.
- Previously on…: Although no one says "previously on Baa Baa Black Sheep," Boyington's voice-over near the beginning of the episode does summarize what happened in Part I.
- Anne Francis is credited as a Special Guest. However, for people watching this show now for the first time, who might not know what Anne Francis was known for in the 1970s, the real Greg Boyington as General Harrison Kenlay might be a more significant guest star.
