This Military Service Page was created/owned by
PO1 Jeff Frey (Ace)
to remember
Voris, Roy Marlin (Butch / First Blue), CAPT.
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Contact Info
Home Town Los Angeles, California
Last Address Monterey, California
Date of Passing Aug 10, 2005
Wall/Plot Coordinates Cremated
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
"Butch" Voris passed away in Salinas, California.
Blue Angels in the famous "diamond" formation. Aircraft: Grumman F8F Bearcat-1946
The Blue Angels exhibit their signature "diamond" formation during a 1952 show.
Other Comments:
The Father of the Blue Angels. Captain Voris, by direction of Chief Of Naval Operations, FADM Chester Nimitz who ordered the formation of a flight exhibition team (the first such official venture by any of the Armed Services) to boost Navy morale, demonstrate naval air power, and maintain public interest in naval aviation.
Captain Voris on the Blue Angels:
"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."
"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."
Inducted into the International Air Show Hall of Fame, in 2000, and into the National Museum of Naval Aviation, in 2002.
Central Pacific Campaign (1941-43)/Battle of Tarawa
From Month/Year
November / 1943
To Month/Year
November / 1943
Description The Battle of Tarawa (US code name Operation Galvanic) was a battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II, fought from November 20 to November 23, 1943. It took place at the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, located in what is now the nation of Kiribati. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, and Americans died in the fighting, mostly on and around the small island of Betio.
The Battle of Tarawa was the first American offensive in the critical central Pacific region. It was also the first time in the war that the United States faced serious Japanese opposition to an amphibious landing. Previous landings met little or no initial resistance. but this time the 4,500 Japanese defenders were well-supplied and well-prepared, and they fought almost to the last man, exacting a heavy toll on the United States Marine Corps. The U.S. had suffered similar casualties in other campaigns, for example over the six months of the Guadalcanal Campaign, but in this case the losses were incurred within the space of 76 hours.