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First Blue: The Story of World War II Ace Butch Voris and the Creation of the Blue Angels

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The Navy's Blue Angels are ambassadors of American ingenuity, prowess and accomplishment in the air. They are the premiere flight demonstration team in the world and proud symbol of not only Naval Aviation, but the entire US Navy. Their aerial acrobatics thrill million of spectators every year. Their show is always a major highlight of Commissioning Week at Annapolis. Nobody knows reliably how many people were influenced to join the Navy by the Blue Angels, but it is a considerable number.

How did they start? How have they endured for 58 years since their founding in 1946? What basic tenets underpin their success?

This, and much more, is the subject of a new book, "First Blue: The Story of World War II Ace Butch Voris and the Creation of the Blue Angels" by Bob Wilcox. This Book should appeal to anyone who has felt the thrill of aviation in their veins while watching a Blue Angels air show. It should also appeal to a broader audience. With a great story to tell, Wilcox has crafted a stirring naval action narrative that often reads like an adventure novel-covering Voris' entire life. The story ranges from heroic, tragic, humorous to absurd, but is always spellbinding.

Today Butch Voris is one of approximately 70 inductees in the Naval Aviation Hall of Honor in Pensacola, Fl. When he was selected to start the Navy Flight Demonstration Team, he was only a 26 year old, Pacific veteran and ace, a fighter pilot passing along the hard lessons learned in WWII by teaching tactics at NAS Jacksonville. With the war over, the Navy, worried about recruitment, decided they needed something special to attract positive attention for recruiting purposes.

The years before the war had seen military flight demonstration teams come and go. There was trepidation about starting another because the nation was reaping a peace dividend and Congress might see an air show enterprise as superfluous. The Navy decided to go ahead anyway. Voris was told to take his startup practices out over the Everglades so that if there were any crashes, only the alligators would know. Resources were initially limited to those on hand in the training command.

What magic has carried the Blue Angels from these humble beginnings to world renown? How did a newly minted LCDR, a product of the NavCad Program, with only two years of college education, come to be selected as the first leader of the Blues.? "First Blue" succinctly covers the events that shaped Voris in the crucible of the Pacific War and prepared him, after little more than five years Navy service, to create the Blue Angels and the Blue Angel culture of success.

After seeing a naval aviation recruiting poster, he started his career in early 1941. By fall 1942, he was on the Enterprise in some of the darkest days of the Pacific War. He participated in several of the Naval Actions in the Battle for Guadalcanal. Voris also flew to Guadacanal, became part of the vaunted "Cactus Air Force," shot down his first Japanese Zero, was in turn shot down, nearly dying in the process.

But he survived and came back for a second cruise with Hornet and the fast carriers in 1944 as they hit Tarawa, Guam, Iwo Jima, Chi Chi Jima and other islands through the Central and North Pacific. He was involved in several key battles like the Battle of the Philipine Sea including key subplots the Marianas "Turkey Shoot" and the "Mission into Darkness." He is credited with eight air to air victories over Zeros during two tours along with some amazing flying feats like participating in the Navy's first night fighter squardron.

Through this intense combat, he got to work for and with some of the finest leaders the US Navy has ever produced. O'Hare, Flately, Dean, Clark, and Thatch to name a few. This on the job training, coupled with a solid family upbringing, provided a lifetime of leadership training. This proved to be invaluable, along with Voris' passion for perfection and amazing flying skills, in forming the Blues.

Applying these basic tenets of leadership and organizational development almost by instinct, Voris created an organization that is an extension of the Navy's finest WWII aviation leaders, with the excellence and momentum to sustain, adapt and improve over time. Teamwork; competitive spirit; demanding and accepting only the best from personnel and equipment; striving for perfection with true dedication and a real sense of urgency ; learning from every show, practice and team member; never being satisfied: and perhaps most important, leading by example from the front, but with a sense of confident, humbleness. The Blue Angels represent the best the Navy has to offer. Voris planned it that way. "First Blue" tells this definitive Blue Angel story well.

First Blue is a sterling biography of one of the best known and most admired Naval aviators of the 20th century--Butch Voris, who not only started the Blue Angels after WW II, but restarted them after the interruption of the Korean War. In detailing Butch's career from his aerial combat in the Pacific to his service with NASA and the space program, Wilcox shows us a man of unflagging courage, devotion to his craft and his country, and constant pursuit of perfection in the performance of his duties.

In incident after incident, Butch's character emerges dramatically--the character accurately understated in a 1943 fitness report by his first skipper, Jimmy Flatley: "He has a very strong personality." His perfectionism saved the lives of his flying teammates, as well as his own life, many times over. The hair-raising air show disaster Wilcox opens the book with is only the first of a series of near-death experiences for Butch. As zealous in implementing good ideas of others as in pursuing his own innovations, he improved on almost every aspect of Navy practices and procedures he came in contact with, including the squadron-basing system for the Pacific fleet and methods of choosing and developing the best aircraft for the Navy's needs.

Wilcox is especially informative on the politics that cause turkeys like the F7U Cutlass to be purchased by the Defense Department--but rejected by Butch for the Blue Angels. And he reveals how Butch's detective work was instrumental in exposing the dishonesty in General Dynamics' development of the F111B fighter, crediting Butch with "raising the F-14 [Tomcat] from the F111B's ashes." A vivid encounter with Defense Secretary Robert McNamara helps us understand how a brilliant business leader can disastrously mislead the government and the armed forces.

Honesty and loyalty were rarely, if ever, in conflict for Butch. He repeatedly risked his reputation and career for the sake of both. Wilcox often reveals Butch's motivations through his own words: "Every time you are put to a test and survive, you learn something more. I think it was just my nature. Take charge. Go do it. I'm a great believer in that. It's my basic instinct."

First Blue is as informative on the technicalities of flying a hot fighter plane as it is on military-industrial politics. Wilcox's description of the difficulty of landing a prop-driven fighter on a pitching aircraft carrier deck is the best I've read, and for an encore he vividly shows us how doing it in a jet fighter is even trickier.

Wilcox also includes countless nuggets like how Butch got his name, how he had an unexpected chat with Winston Churchill after the war, and how he saved the fledgling Tailhook Association from the risks of south-of-the-border partying.

Butch Voris will forever be inseparable from the Blue Angels, the foremost precision flight team in the world, but this book shows convincingly that his contributions to America's superiority in the air and in space were far more numerous than that. The honors showered on him for these achievements make your head spin, leaving you unprepared for the revelation of the weaknesses in the Navy's promotion system that allow it to lose a superb officer like Butch.

In March of 1941, Butch Voris joined the Navy as a pilot trainee. This was a time of peace. But before his training ended, it was no longer peace time. The country and soon Butch Voris was at war. The planes they flew were Wildcats, not exactly the best machines to use up against Zeros. Not to many of the early fliers survived the war, but in spite of a number of close calls Butch did.

After the war Butch was personally selected by Admiral Nimitz to set up a demonstration team to attract people to join the Navy. He did, it was called the Blue Angels. Before too long, another little situation came up called Korea. After that Butch went back to the Blue Angels, the only person ever to command it twice. Butch Voris eventually left the navy and went ot work for Grumman, being involved in the development of the F-14.

The book is well written, and covers an interesting period of an interesting person's life.

Robert Wilcox deserves high praise for chronicling the untold tale of a true American hero, Butch Voris, in "First Blue: The Story of World War II Ace Butch Voris and the Creation of the Blue Angels." In a comprehensive but lively narrative, Wilcox traces Voris' remarkable story from his southern California early childhood through hair-raising aerial battles in WWII's Pacific theatre, to Commander Voris' founding of the Navy's elite Blue Angels. Wilcox's history of the Pacific War from the perspective of our fighter pilots on the carriers Enterprise and Hornet was particularly gripping, especially the critically important battles of Guadalcanal and Guam. Those not intimately familiar with the history of the War with Japan in the Pacific may be surprised at how woefully out manned and outgunned the US fleet was, especially following the crippling attack on Pearl Harbor. Yet the incredible odds surmounted by the US forces testify to the valor and bravery of pilots like Voris and his peers who, only a matter of months prior, were merely young and untrained American civilians. Yet while Voris' combat missions during WWII provide more than enough content for a complete book, this was only the prelude to the story of the Blue Angels.

In short, for the Naval history buff, "First Blue" is an indispensable addition to the library. But more importantly, in the troubled times in which we live, the story of Butch Voris is a true inspiration and beacon of bright light - the epic of a great American patriot who, through humility and quite accomplishment, embodies all that we should hold dear in our leaders and our heroes.

I was surprised to get in my email an invitation from Amazon to review one of my own books. We all know that bigness sometimes leads to oversight. What the heck. I'm happy to oblige. First Blue is the story of a great man whom I was privileged to meet and become friends with - and ultimately write his biography. Butch Voris was all-man and gentleman too. He was one of those intrepid few who battled the Japanese at the beginning of the war when it was kill or be killed. The Japanese had all the cards. At one point we were down to one carrier in the Pacific and Butch was one of the fighter pilots on it. None of those guys flinched. They did what they had to. The wars today don't compare. Some of them died. Some of them were imprisoned. But they stopped the enemy and consequently the US began its march to the Japanese mainland.

Butch became an ace and, right after the war, was asked to start the Blue Angels, the Navy Flight Demonstration team. With the war ended, it was to keep the navy's prowess in front of the public. He literally forged the group with his will and skill. This was the first of the service flight team. The result is the great tradition and honor the Blue Angels now posses. He was, literally, "First Blue" - a big, strapping tough, skilled and smart guy. But unlike someone with such accomplishments, he treated everyone with respect. It earned him the same from almost everyone who knew him.

After the war and the Blue Angels, which he skippered twice, he was instrumental in development of several new fighter planes, including the F-14 Tomcat, and had such integrity that he blew the whistle on military fraud in aircraft procurement. He knew it could cost him his career but he didn't hesitate. That's the kind of man and leader Butch was. It probably did cost him an admiralship. The military needs more leaders like him.

He ended his career working on early space shots at NASA. I wish I'd done more with the end of Butch's career but I think any reader will be happy with the war and Blue Angel parts. Butch was an aviator every bit as daring and important as notables like Chuck Yeager and Pappy Boyington. In fact, I think he was more important. But he never got the publicity and when you read this book you'll understand why. He was a guy only concerned with doing the best he could - and boy he really proved what such an attitude can produce.

P.S. Regarding the 5 stars: Ok. Maybe it's a 4. Read it and do your own review.

The book is well written and the author has done an excellent job of describing the man and his work.

You could easily divide this one into two halfs. The first half is Butch's WWII Naval air combat exploits in the Pacific Theatre. The second half skips a beat then covers the Blue Angels and his Naval career after the war.

The WWII stuff is a great read. I'd give that half 5 stars. Lots of first hand accounts dealing with famous and not so famous battles.

The second half, and ostensibly the reason for writing the book, deals with Butch's role in forming the Navy Blue Angels, and his post war career. This half, while interesting enough, bogs down and does a pretty good impression of a tail dragger from time to time. I got the feeling the author struggled with this half of the book, I did.

At times there is plenty of action and excitement in mid-air collisions, falal crashes, near death near crashes, etc. The rest of the time the author is fighting to move the story along. He tries to make the day to day job as thrilling as the flying. It's a decent effort, but not entirely sucessful.
This half has more than it's share of filler... speculation based on newspaper clipings of air shows (like those were ever accurate to begin with)... Endless accounts of what a great guy Butch was... it gets old after a while.

The first half I read in two days. The second half took me a week.

I have to say one thing that's fairly important. The author is up front about speculation. You won't have much doubt about the veracity of the rest of it. In that regard it's excellent.

Call it a four star book on a five star subject.

As a pilot and Navy vet.I enjoyed reading this book,
it was well done.Had a friend from our Essex days who
became a plane capt.on blue 4 and thus i was able to meet
some of the boys back in 1960.Buch Voris spent time at
North Island San Diego as i did for some 2 1/2 years.
The book brings back some fine memories.
T.J.Johannsen