Why did many believe Pappy Boyington received the Medal of Honor posthumously?

On 3 January 1944 he broke the record of 26 enemy aircraft destroyed held by First World War ace Eddie Rickenbacker, and was shot down. He was not seen and nothing was heard of him during the battle, nor did he return with his squadron. After a determined but fruitless search, Boyington was declared missing in action.

In fact, on 3 January 1944 he was picked up by the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-181 and taken to Rabaul, where he remained as a prisoner of war. The Japanese never granted him official prisoner status and his captivity was never reported to the Red Cross. The Medal of Honor had been awarded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in March 1944 and was kept in the capital until such time as he could receive it.

On 29 August 1945, after the atomic bombs and the Japanese surrender, Boyington was released from Japanese custody at the Omori prisoner-of-war camp. He returned to the United States on 12 September 1945, to Naval Air Station Alameda, where he was greeted by 21 former members of squadron VMF-214. On 5 October, "Nimitz Day," he and other decorated sailors and marines received their medals at the White House from President Harry S. Truman.