Durka-Durka-Muhammed-Jihad!!
CAPT. (RETIRED) ROY MARLIN "BUTCH" VORISI just found out about this on Sunday and had to confirm it this morning. Captain Voris did indeed die almost two months ago - and I just found out about it now.
That's Butch in the cockpit of a F8F Bearcat
(that's my father on the right)Capt. (Retired) Roy Marlin "Butch" Voris, creator of the famed Navy Blue Angels air demonstration team and a World War II flying ace from the Pacific War, died Tuesday at his home in Monterey, CA. Voris, 86, had been ill for several years but was still drawing huge crowds at air shows whenever he attended. The 2004 California Air Show at Salinas, CA had been dedicated in his honor.
Damn. Damndamndamndamndamn!!
Without going into too much detail, my father served with Capt. Voris while he was the skipper of the Blue Angels back in 1946. I even met Capt. Voris at an airshow at NAS Patuxent River in Maryland when I was a kid; the man was tall and just the most likeable guy you'd ever meet.
And I remember my dad telling me that Butch was such a big guy that he was constantly wearing out the shoulders in his flight suits because the cockpit of the F8F Bearcat wasn't all that wide.
Ironically, I posted something on August 10, 2005 (the day he passed away) about trying to get into the Navy to become an officer - I had talked with Capt. Voris about my plans and he helped me prepare my appeal letter to the program commander: Hell, throw in some of that Blue Angels stuff! That'll help! he said.
We corresponded through e-mail and he once told me that I had 'the tenacity of my dad in going back to school while working and raising a family'. Those words have fueled me ever since.
It might sounds cliché, but this is a sad day for me - one of the links to my dad's past has been taken away....it's almost like losing my father all over again.
I'll have to make a trip up to Monterey to pay my respects since I wasn't able to attend the memorial service that was held on Monday.
Rest in Peace Captain Voris - you will be missed by a great many people.
sorry for your loss, Mikey. slowly but surely, this great generation is leaving this earth, and i
Read more in A Great Man is Gone
Trackback Information for A Great Man is Gone
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://blog2.mu.nu/cgi/trackback.cgi/120122Listed below are links to weblogs that reference 'A Great Man is Gone'.
Comments on A Great Man is Gone
sorry for your loss, Mikey. slowly but surely, this great generation is leaving this earth, and it's sad. you were lucky to have known him.
|| Posted by Nathalie, October 5, 2005 09:24 PM ||