Pilots from the US Department of the Navy returned from World War II flush with pride at winning the war in the Pacific. So, in 1946,the Navy established a base of naval air operations on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico where the Blue Angels began doing air showsfor the public, partly for recruiting future pilots and partly for raising unit morale.
Within a few years the US Air Force established a base in Texas, where the first USAF Thunderbird team began doing air shows in 1953.