Most of the extras in the Pensacola, Florida, scenes were Navy flight students and flight instructors. Although the Navy objected, director John Ford made certain that the military men were paid "extra" wages.
According to director John Ford, "Everything in the picture was true. The fight in the club--throwing the cake--actually happened. I can verify that as an eyewitness. I ducked it. And the plane landing in the swimming pool right in the middle of the Admiral's tea--that really happened."
The real Frank Wead grew noticeably balder as he got older (World War II era). In order to be accurate about that, this is the only film in which John Wayne appears without his toupee. His toupee did briefly fall off during a fight scene in North to Alaska (1960).
Immediately after filming ended, John Wayne was dismayed when the U.S. government sided with the Soviet Union in the Suez Crisis, and took no action in response to the Soviet invasion of Hungary.