military_branch allen l. seaman
Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola ( formerly NAS / KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport , now Lynden Pindling International Airport , to have IATA code NAS ), " The Cradle of Naval ___MASK51___ ", is a ___MASK54___ base located next to Warrington , Florida , a community southwest of the Pensacola city limits . It is best known as the initial primary training base for all Navy , Marine and Coast Guard aviators and Naval Flight Officers , the advanced training base for most Naval Flight Officers , and as the home base for the ___MASK54___ Flight Demonstration Squadron , the precision - flying team known as the Blue Angels . Because of contamination by heavy metals and other hazardous materials during this history , it is designated as a Superfund site needing environmental cleanup . The Blue Angels is the ___MASK54___ ' s flight demonstration squadron , with aviators from the Navy and Marines . The Blue Angels team was formed in 1946 , making it the second oldest formal flying aerobatic team ( under the same name ) in the world , after the French Patrouille de France formed in 1931 . The Blue Angels ' six demonstration pilots currently fly the McDonnell Douglas F / A - 18 Hornet , typically in more than 70 shows at 34 locations throughout the United States each year , where they still employ many of the same practices and techniques used in their aerial displays in their inaugural 1946 season . An estimated 11 million spectators view the squadron during air shows each full year . The Blue Angels also visit more than 50 , 000 people in a standard show season ( March through November ) in schools and hospitals . Since 1946 , the Blue Angels have flown for more than 260 million spectators . Allen Lang Seaman was born on 21 December 1916 at New Haven , Connecticut , and educated at Duke University . He enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve on 15 August 1938 and was ordered to Naval Air Station Pensacola as an ___MASK51___ Cadet five months later . Designated a Naval Aviator on 19 October 1939 , he was commissioned Ensign in the Naval Reserve on 24 November . After service in several patrol squadrons , he was assigned to a bomber squadron in May 1943 . He flew many missions including long range reconnaissance and bombing missions in support of major task force strikes in October 1943 against Wake Island , for which he was awarded the Air Medal , and missions in support of the Allied thrust toward Hollandia , New Guinea , in April 1944 , for which he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross . Appointed Lieutenant Commander on 15 April 1944 , Seaman was declared missing in action on 1 May 1944 after inflicting substantial damage on enemy land and sea forces in the New Guinea area despite damage to his own aircraft . For that action and for his judgment and skill in crash landing his plane in such a manner as to save several members of his crew , he was awarded the ___MASK68___ Cross . Declared dead as of 1 May 1944 , he was also awarded , posthumously , a Gold Star in lieu of a second ___MASK68___ Cross for the skill , leadership , and courage he consistently showed in pressing home , with great accuracy , low level strikes against enemy installations and shipping in the New Guinea area from November 1943 to March 1944 . The ___MASK54___ ( USN ) is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States . The U . S . Navy is the largest , most capable navy in the world , with the highest combined battle fleet tonnage . The U . S . Navy has the world ' s largest aircraft carrier fleet , with ten in service , two in the reserve fleet , and three new carriers under construction . The service has 323 , 792 personnel on active duty and 108 , 515 in the Navy Reserve . It has 274 deployable combat vessels and more than 3 , 700 aircraft in active service . A naval flight officer ( NFO ) is a commissioned officer in the ___MASK54___ or United States Marine Corps who specializes in airborne weapons and sensor systems . NFOs are not pilots ( naval aviators ) " per se ", but they may perform many " co - pilot " functions , depending on the type of aircraft . Until 1966 , their duties were performed by both commissioned officer and senior enlisted naval aviation observers ( NAO ).