caption serviceyears laterwork branch commands death_place death_date birth_place allegiance image_size placeofburial_label birth_date nickname rank image article_title name
blue in the cockpit of an f9f-5 panther fighter jet in angels 1952 . flight leader `` butch '' voris poses 1941 & ndash ; 1963 nasa consultant united states navy blue 1951 angels : 1946 & ndash ; 1947 , monterey , california 10 august 2005 los angeles , california united states of america 250 place of burial 19 september 1919 `` butch '' captain captain roy m voris 2nd tour blue angels.jpg roy marlin voris
 roy marlin voris
roy marlin voris

captain roy marlin `` butch '' voris -lrb- september 19 , 1919 -- august 10 , 2005 -rrb- was an aviator in the united states navy , a world war ii flying ace , and 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 -lrb- lm -rrb- , 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 -lrb- which earned him a purple heart -rrb- .
