This is a retrospective of the Naval Aviation Pilot program that begun in 1918. Dialed back at the conclusion of WWI. the program was re-instituted in 1936 with the thought in mind that the country might soon be involved in a second World War. Young enlisted men of the United States Navy were trained exactly as the officer aviation cadre was being trained, and then designated as Naval Aviation Pilots rather than as Naval Aviators. The aircraft they flew, the training they received, and the war they eventually fought was exactly the same, as was their bravery, and competence, and record.