Captain Roy Marlin "Butch" Voris (September 19, 1919 – August 10, 2005) was an aviator in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, a World War II

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

, and the founder of the Navy's flight demonstration squadron, the

Blue Angels The Blue Angels is a flight demonstration squadron of the United States Navy.

. During his 22-year naval career Voris flew everything from biplanes to modern jets, and afterward was instrumental in the development of the Navy's

F-14 Tomcat The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental (VFX) program after the ...

strike fighter and

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

's Apollo Lunar Module (LM), both produced by the

Grumman Aerospace Corporation The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a 20th century American producer of military and civilian aircraft. Founded on December 6, 1929, by Leroy Grumman and his business partners, it merged in 1994 ...

. Often called a "fighter pilot's fighter pilot" and ranked with other better-known American military aviation greats such as

Gregory "Pappy" Boyington Gregory "Pappy" Boyington (December 4, 1912 – January 11, 1988) was an American combat pilot who was a United States Marine Corps fighter ace during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross. A Marine aviator with ...

and

Chuck Yeager Brigadier General Charles Elwood Yeager ( , February 13, 1923December 7, 2020) was a United States Air Force officer, flying ace, and record-setting test pilot who in October 1947 became the first pilot in history confirmed to have exceeded the ...

, Voris was a big man with close-cropped hair, known for his even-temperedness and coolness in the cockpit. Owing to his superb piloting skills, he survived numerous accidents and emergency situations. Voris was nearly killed by a Japanese

Zero 0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. In place-value notation such as the Hindu–Arabic numeral system, 0 also serves as a placeholder numerical digit, which works by multiplying digits to the left of 0 by the radix, usual ...

that attacked his aircraft during the defense of Guadalcanal in what he later described as his first "real"

dog fight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every maj ...

(which earned him a

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

Early years

Butch Voris 1941 Flight Training Oakland CA

Voris was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

but was raised in Aptos, and later Santa Cruz (where he attended high school). He briefly considered a career as a mortician, but instead decided to enroll in Salinas Junior College, receiving his associate degree there in 1939. As a youngster, Voris (whose hobby was building model airplanes out of balsa wood and tissue paper) was thrilled by the exploits of

Eddie Rickenbacker Edward Vernon Rickenbacker or Eddie Rickenbacker (October 8, 1890 – July 23, 1973) was an American fighter pilot in World War I and a Medal of Honor recipient.Los Angeles Airport). It is therefore no surprise that in 1941 the twenty-two-year-old Voris answered the call of a recruiting poster and enlisted in the Navy. He related the story in an April, 2004 interview: "When the war clouds were rolling in, I was living in San Francisco. I walked past a big recruitment sign that said 'Fly Navy' with a pilot looking off into the wild blue yonder standing on the wing of the plane." Voris passed a series of exams and was called to duty in Oakland a month later. Voris entered the Navy's flight training program, and was still in flight school when the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrend ...

launched its

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

. He received his commission, was promoted to the rank of

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

and got his "wings of gold" (which identified him as a naval aviator) at NAS Corpus Christi in February, 1942. Voris was soon flying combat missions off the aircraft carrier USS ''Enterprise'' in the South Pacific.

Military career

World War II

Voris took part in countless fighter attacks against enemy airfields and other installations as the Navy advanced through the Pacific Theater of Operations. During his initial deployment he piloted the

Grumman The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a 20th century American producer of military and civilian aircraft. Founded on December 6, 1929, by Leroy Grumman and his business partners, it merged in 1994 ...

F4F Wildcat The Grumman F4F Wildcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that entered service in 1940 with the United States Navy, and the British Royal Navy where it was initially known as the Martlet. First used by the British in the North Atla ...

with Fighter Squadron 10 (VF-10), the Grim Reapers, under the command of Vice Admiral James H. Flatley aboard the aircraft carrier . On his next cruise he flew Grumman

F6F Hellcat The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United States Navy's dominant fighter in the second ha ...

s with VF-2, the Rippers, out of the battles at Guadalcanal in support of the

1st Marine Division The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF). It is th ...

, off the ''Enterprise'', and later the . Voris 1946 Receiving 11th Air Medal

Aboard the ''Hornet'', Voris saw action in the

Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, fought during 25–27 October 1942, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Santa Cruz or Third Battle of Solomon Sea, in Japan as the Battle of the South Pacific ( ''Minamitaiheiyō kaisen''), was the fourt ...

, the Battle of Tarawa, and the

Battle of the Philippine Sea The Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 19–20, 1944) was a major naval battle of World War II that eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invas ...

(the so-called "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" wherein over 300 Japanese aircraft were shot down by American fliers, who enjoyed a more than 12-to-1 kill-to-loss ratio in one day). It is during these engagements in the Pacific War that he earned "fighter ace" status, recording a total of eight confirmed fighter-to-fighter kills. Voris rejoined the ''Enterprise'' and VF-2 after recovering from his injuries, where he was chosen by Lieutenant Commander Edward "Butch" O'Hare and Admiral Arthur W. Radford as one of four "Bat Team" fighter pilots to conduct experimental night fighter operations to intercept and destroy enemy bombers attacking Allied landing forces on the atoll of

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

) was assigned as Chief Instructor for advanced tactics at the Naval Advanced Training Command (NATC) at Naval Air Station Daytona Beach, Florida.

Blue Angels 1st tour (1946–1947)

In 1946, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral

Chester Nimitz Chester William Nimitz (; February 24, 1885 – February 20, 1966) was a fleet admiral in the United States Navy. He played a major role in the naval history of World War II as Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet, and Commander in C ...

ordered the formation of a flight exhibition team to boost Navy morale, demonstrate naval air power, and maintain public interest in naval aviation. However, an underlying mission was to help the Navy generate public and political support for a larger allocation of the shrinking defense budget. Another reason was to show potential recruits that aviation was inherently safe once pilots were trained. Being able to perform 3-dimensional close proximity manoeuvring would also be awe inspiring. In April of that year, Rear Admiral Ralph Davison personally selected Voris to assemble and train a flight demonstration squadron, naming him Officer-in-Charge and Flight Leader. Voris selected two fellow instructors to join him (Lt. Maurice "Wick" Wickendoll and Lt. Mel Cassidy, both veterans of the War in the Pacific), and the three spent countless hours developing the show. The group perfected their initial maneuvers in secret over the Florida

Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissim ...

so that, in Voris' words, "...if anything happened, just the alligators would know." Another significant driving factor for Voris (and the secrecy) was the fact that Army Air Corps aeronautical genius, hero and legend,

Jimmy Doolittle James Harold Doolittle (December 14, 1896 – September 27, 1993) was an American military general and aviation pioneer who received the Medal of Honor for his daring raid on Japan during World War II. He also made early coast-to-coast flights ...

, now a general in the newly created U.S. Air Force, might just create a similar aerial demonstration team and beat the Navy in going public. Their first demonstration before Navy officials took place on May 10, 1946 and was met with enthusiastic approval. F8F-1 Blue Angels 1946

On June 15 Voris led a trio of Grumman F6F-5 Hellcats, specially modified to reduce weight and painted sea blue with gold leaf trim, through their inaugural 15-minute-long performance at the Southern Air Show at

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

's Craig Field. The group, known simply as the "Navy Flight Exhibition Team", thrilled spectators with low-flying maneuvers performed in tight formations, and (according to Voris) by "...keeping something in front of the crowds at all times. My objective was to beat the Army Air Corps. If we did that, we'd get all the other side issues. I felt that if we weren't the best, it would be my naval career." The Blue Angels' first public demonstration also netted the team its first trophy, which sits on display at the team's current home in

Naval Air Station Pensacola Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United State ...

. The team soon became known worldwide for its spectacular aerobatic stunts. During a trip to the "

Big Apple "The Big Apple" is a nickname for New York City. It was first popularized in the 1920s by John J. Fitz Gerald, a sportswriter for the '' New York Morning Telegraph''. Its popularity since the 1970s is due in part to a promotional campaign by th ...

", Lt. Wickendoll came across an advertisement in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' for the city's popular "Blue Angel" nightclub. Voris liked the name and on July 19 officially made it the team's moniker. On August 25 the squadron upgraded their aircraft to the F8F-1 Bearcat. Though Voris left the team on May 30, 1947 the "Blues" continued to perform nationwide until the start of the Korean War in 1950, when (due to a shortage of pilots) the team was disbanded and its members were ordered to combat duty. Once aboard the aircraft carrier the group formed the core of VF-191, Satan's Kittens.

1947–1951

In the Summer of 1947, Voris was attached to the Naval Bureau of Aeronautics in Washington, D.C. (where he spent the next two years); he also married his high school sweetheart, Thea. From June 9, 1949 to January 20, 1950 Lt. Cdr. Voris led VF-113, the Stingers, home ported at

Naval Air Station San Diego Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (N ...

. The Blue Angels were officially recommissioned in October, 1951, and Voris was again tasked with assembling the flight team (he was the first of only two commanding officers to lead the group twice). Grim Blues after photo shoot in inclement weather Pensacola FL

Grim Blues after photo shoot in inclement weather Pensacola FL

Blue Angels 2nd tour (1952–1953)

Voris returned to re-form and lead the Blue Angels, this time flying the combat-proven F9F-5 Panther fighter jet. In the summer of 1952, during a demonstration for

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

midshipmen at NAS Corpus Christi, Voris' and another plane collided in midair: Voris blacked out momentarily, regaining consciousness a mere twenty-five feet above the ground, while still traveling at 400 knots: Blues Support Crew watching Diamond Formation at Show

Blues Support Crew watching Diamond Formation at Show

Despite losing almost all control of his aircraft resulting from its nearly severed tail section, Voris miraculously managed to land safely; tragically, the pilot who hit the water died. The team was back in the air two weeks later. Voris stayed with the team until December 1952, when he was selected to take command of Satan's Kittens aboard the . He was considered by the Blue Angels to be the "father" of the team right up until his death.

1952–1963

After his second tour with the "Blues", Voris rounded out his career by going on to skipper

VF-191 Fighter Squadron 191 (VF-191) was an aviation unit of the United States Navy. It was established in 1943 and disestablished in 1978. The squadron was nicknamed ''Satan's Kittens''. A second VF-191, bearing the same designation and nickname was est ...

, and (after being promoted to the rank of commander) Attack Carrier Air Group 5 (CAG-5) aboard the . Voris retired at the rank of captain in 1963.

Post-military career

Upon his retirement from the Navy, Captain Voris went to work for the Grumman Corporation in Bethpage, New York, assisting in the development of the Navy's F-14 Tomcat and NASA's Lunar Module. In 1973 he accepted a position in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Office of Industry Affairs. In 1985, Voris retired and he and his wife moved to Monterey, California. Voris' unpretentious manner and good humor kept him in demand as a speaker at air shows and other aviation-related events. He remained active in naval aviation through a variety of organizations such as the Golden Eagles, a highly distinguished and select group of Naval and Marine Corps aviators.

Decorations and honors

During his more than two decades of military service, Captain Voris received 3 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 11 Air Medals, 3 Presidential Unit Citations, and the

, along with a dozen other medals. In 1993, Voris was honored at the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

's annual "Gathering of Eagles" ceremony as one of twenty aviators worldwide who have made significant contributions in the field of aviation. He was inducted into the International Air Show Hall of Fame in 2000, and the Navy Aviation Hall of Fame in Pensacola, Florida in May, 2002. The 2004 California Air Show held in Salinas, California was dedicated in his honor. An aircraft bearing Voris' name sits outside the

Jacksonville Naval Air Station Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jacksonville) is a large naval air station located approximately eight miles (13 km) south of the central business district of Jacksonville, Florida, United States., effective 2007-10-25 Location NAS Jack ...

, where the passenger terminal is also named for him. On October 10, 2005 a memorial service was held at the

Fort Ord Fort Ord is a former United States Army post on Monterey Bay of the Pacific Ocean coast in California, which closed in 1994 due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) action. Most of the fort's land now makes up the Fort Ord National Monument, ...

Main Chapel in the town of

Seaside, California Seaside, formerly East Monterey, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, with a population of 32,366 as of the 2020 census. It is located east-northeast of Monterey, at an elevation of , and is the home of California State Uni ...

. Immediately thereafter, full military honors (which included a

21-gun salute A 21-gun salute is the most commonly recognized of the customary gun salutes that are performed by the firing of cannons or artillery as a military honor. As naval customs evolved, 21 guns came to be fired for heads of state, or in exceptiona ...

and the traditional folding and presentation of the American flag) followed. The service ended with a six-plane

missing man formation The missing man formation is an aerial salute performed as part of a flypast of aircraft at a funeral or memorial event, typically in memory of a fallen pilot, a well-known military service member or veteran, or a well-known political figure. T ...

flyover by the Blue Angels. "Butch Voris' contributions to naval aviation and the nation's history were epic", said Cdr. Steve Foley, flight leader and commanding officer of the 2005 Blue Angels. "Concluding his memorial service with a fly-by the 2005 Blue Angel team will be a highlight of not only this season, but our careers as naval aviators as well. It truly reinforces our responsibility to preserve the legacy and ideals Boss Voris bestowed upon us 59 years ago. Said Lt. Garrett Kasper, public spokesman for the Blue Angels, "It is our team's honor to conduct a flyby, as our final salute to Captain Voris, and the most fitting way we can pay our respects to the Voris family." To this day, in living tribute to their founder, The Blue Angels fly the tightest formations of any aerial demonstration teams, while executing precise maneuvers with a mere 18 inches wingtip-to-canopy separation.

Quotations

*"We got paid sooner than the other guys, 'cause they expected you to die. We always said, 'you gotta kid about this stuff." *"It's the precision and perceived daring and high risk that you see in the team. We come down to ground level so people can see the types of maneuvers fighters do in combat. I think the public deserves to see what their taxes are paying for." *"You fly as close together as a couple of feet...every once in a while you do a little bump and so forth. People ask me, 'How close do they fly?' and I'll say if we hit each other, it's too close and if we don't, we're too far apart."

References

*(2005). "The First Blue Angel." ''Miramar 50th Air Show Special Commemorative Program'' 18. *(2005). "The Blue Angels History." ''Miramar 50th Air Show Special Commemorative Program'' 22.
Blue Angels Timeline (1946–1980)
accessed November 10, 2005.
"First Blue: Monterey resident Butch Voris formed the nation's most-loved aviation team"
article by Brett Wilbur in the April 1, 2004 edition of the ''Monterey County Weekly'' — accessed October 16, 2005.

article by William C. Barto at th
Grumman Memorial Park
official website — accessed October 15, 2005.
"Mission into Darkness"
article by Clyde L. Bronn in the Fall, 2003 issue of ''Wings of Gold'', a publication of the Association of Naval Aviation — accessed October 15, 2005.
"The 'Great Marianas Turkey Shoot' Stymied Operation A-Go"
article by David F. Winkler in the June, 2004 issue of ''Sea Power'' Magazine, the monthly journal of th
Navy League of the United States
— accessed October 18, 2005.

official website — accessed November 30, 2005.

official website — accessed November 30, 2005.

External links

First Blue Angel
official website.
Explore the Navy: Blue Angels
official website.

official website.

article from the January, 1959 Issue of ''Naval Aviation News''.
California International Air Show, Salinas
official website.

official website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Voris, Roy Marlin 1919 births 2005 deaths American World War II flying aces United States Navy pilots of World War II Aviators from California People from Los Angeles People from Volusia County, Florida Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Air Medal United States Naval Aviators United States Navy captains People from Aptos, California Military personnel from California