Captain Roy Marlin "Butch" Voris (September 19, 1919 – August 10, 2005) was an aviator in the United States Navy, a World War II flying ace, and the founder of the Navy's flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels. 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 strike fighter and NASA's Apollo Lunar Module (LM), both produced by the Grumman Aerospace Corporation.
Often called a "fighter pilot's fighter pilot" and ranked with other better-known American military aviation greats such as Gregory "Pappy" Boyington and Chuck Yeager, 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 that attacked his aircraft during the defense of Guadalcanal in what he later described as his first "real" dog fight (which earned him a Purple Heart).
Early years
Voris was born in Los Angeles 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 and other World War I aces, and would spend hours watching the big planes come into Mines Field (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 launched its attack on Pearl Harbor.
He received his commission, was promoted to the rank of ensign 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 F4F Wildcat 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 Hellcats with VF-2, the Rippers, out of the battles at Guadalcanal in support of the 1st Marine Division, off the Enterprise, and later the .
Aboard the Hornet, Voris saw action in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, the Battle of Tarawa, and the Battle of the Philippine Sea (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. He was assigned to the famed "Mission into Darkness" which was launched near dusk in pursuit of the Japanese fleet. Knowing they would likely exhaust their fuel supplies long before returning to the safety of their carrier, the flight nevertheless sought out their target. Voris landed on fumes after shooting down a Japanese Zero fighter and flying by dead reckoning in total darkness.
After the War's end, Voris (now holding the rank of lieutenant commander) 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)