Alfred ” Al” Taddeo, last surviving original Blue Angels team member, passed away Aug. 16 at a care facility in Newport Coast, Calif. at the age of 94 . Taddeo was born in Portland, Ore. from Italian immigrants in June 1919 and grew up there. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1942 and went through flight training and received his wings at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas.According to the Blue Angels Facebook page, Taddeo was the last surviving member of the first Blue Angels squadron. He flew the F8F Bearcat on the team from 1946 to 1947.”Al was a great role model, often sought out by pilots and Blue Angel team members to talk about Blues’ history and what it is like to fly maneuvers in combat,” according to Facebook post announcing his passing.This WWII hero shot down three Japanese airplanes while aboard the USS Enterprise. He was twice awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and retired as a Commander in 1963.
We came across this great video where Al is being interviewed and talks about the “Blues” and the Hellcat. R.I.P. Al.
