John Joseph Magda was an American hero born of Hungarian immigrants. A native of Camp Taylor, Ky., he captained his high school football team and starred at football and baseball at Western Kentucky State Teachers' College. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1940, completed flight training at Pensacola, and was commissioned Ensign in June 1941.

He was assigned to Fighter Squadron Eight, based on the carrier USS Hornet. In the Battle of Midway, his plane ran out of fuel after attacking three Japanese aircraft carriers. He and another flyer spent five days in a rubber life raft before being rescued. He was an Ace at age 23, credited with shooting down five Japanese aircraft and destroying at least seven on the ground. Magda returned to the United States and was promoted to Lieutenant Commander in 1945. He was a member of the first jet squadron to operate on board an aircraft carrier, the USS Boxer. In September 1949, he was assigned to fly with the Blue Angels, the navy's flight exhibition team. He became their Commander in January 1950.

Faced with war in Korea, the Blue Angels were given operational training aboard the USS Princeton, and were declared combat ready in December 1950. They made up the greatest share of VF-191, and asking "When is an Angel not an Angel?" dubbed themselves Satan's Kittens. Their commanding officer was Johnny Magda.

On March 8, 1951, while pressing home an attack against enemy installations, Magda's jet was hit, burst into flames and crashed into the sea. His was the only fatality of a Blue Angel during the Korean conflict. He was 33 years old. He left behind a wife and two children. His military awards include the Navy Cross (awarded posthumously for extraordinary heroism); the Distinguished Flying Cross; the Air Medal with two Gold Stars; the Purple Heart; the American Defense Service Medal; the American Campaign Medal; the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; the World War II Victory Medal; the National Defense Service Medal; the Korean Service Medal; and the United Nations Service Medal.

Johnny Magda is an honoree of the Western Kentucky University Hall of Distinguished Alumni.