Butch Voris Has Gone West
Retired Navy Capt. Roy M. "Butch"
Voris, the original flight leader of the famed US Navy Flight
Demonstration Squadron, was honored Oct. 10 with a memorial service
at the Fort Ord chapel, followed by a six-plane missing man
formation flyover by the Blue Angels in their blue and gold F/A-18
Hornets.
Voris died at his home in Monterey, CA, August 10th. He was
86.
Full military honors were conducted outside the chapel following
the memorial ceremony, which included a 21-gun salute and the
traditional folding and presentation of the American flag. The
service ended with the Blue Angel flyover at approximately 1415
local.
"Butch Voris' contributions to naval aviation history were
epic," said Cmdr. Steve Foley, flight leader and commanding officer
of the 2005 Blue Angels. "Concluding his memorial service with a
fly-by 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."
The service commemorated Voris' life and his passion for naval
aviation. It was peppered with notable speakers from his historic
career as a World War II flying ace, the first Blue Angel, carrier
air group commander, air show supporter and loyal friend.
"It was a fitting thrill and great comfort to our family," said
Hank Nothhaft, Voris' son-in-law. "I know Butch was looking down at
the proceedings with a twinkle in his eye and the thrill and pride
that he always experienced whenever he watched the team
perform."
Voris, a World War II flying ace in the Pacific theater, was
hand-picked by Adm. Chester Nimitz in 1946 to organize a flight
demonstration team to showcase naval aviation. June 15 of that
year, Voris led the newly-named Blue Angels and their Grumman F-6F
Hellcats in the team's first public performance at Craig Field in
Jacksonville, FL.
Voris' Navy career spanned 33 years, flying everything from
biplanes to jets, many of them in combat. His status as an ace was
earned in the early years of the Pacific War when he shot down
eight Japanese fighter planes. Flying from the carriers USS
Enterprise (CV 6) and USS Hornet (CV 8), he had taken part in the
battles of Santa Cruz, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Central Pacific
Islands, Philippine Sea, the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot, and "The
Mission into Darkness," in which air wing pilots had taken off near
dusk to pursue the Japanese fleet, knowing many probably wouldn't
have enough gas to return.
In 1952, Voris was brought back to
re-form the Blue Angels following their stint as a fighter squadron
in the Korean War known as "Satan's Kittens." Voris was a two-time
Blue Angel flight leader, the skipper of Fighter Squadrons (VF) 113
and 191, and commanding officer of Carrier Air Group 5.
After retiring from the Navy in 1963, he went to work as an
executive at Grumman Aircraft Corporation, in Bethpage, NY, where
he had been instrumental in the early development of the F-14
Tomcat. He ended his aviation career as a spokesman for NASA during
the momentous 1970 moon shots.
Voris was awarded three Distinguished Flying Crosses, 11 air
medals, three Presidential Unit Citations and a Purple Heart, when
he almost was killed by a Japanese Zero that shot up his cockpit as
he defended Guadalcanal.
Voris was inducted into the Navy Aviation Hall of Fame in
Pensacola, Fla., and the International Air Show Hall of Fame. An
aircraft bearing his name is outside Jacksonville Naval Air
Station, and the Passenger Terminal at the station is named for
him. In 1993, he was honored by the Air Force in a "Gathering of
Eagles" ceremony as one of 20 pilots worldwide who had made
significant contributions to aviation.
(ANN salutes Lt. Garrett Kasper, Blue Angels Public
Affairs)