User:Hawkeye7/Sandbox2
William Ormond Butler | |
|---|---|
 As commander of Company B, 2nd Balloon Squadron, in Forêt de la Reine, France, July 1918 | |
| Nickname(s) | Bruce |
| Born | 23 September 1895 Marshall, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | 29 October 1962 (aged 67) Alamo, California, U.S. |
| Buried | Marshall Cemetery, Marshall, Virginia, U.S. |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service |
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| Years of service | 1917–1946 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Commands |
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| Battles / wars |
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| Awards | |
William Ormond "Bruce" Butler (23 September 1895 – 19 August 1978) was a United States Army Air Force majorgeneral. He graduated from the United States Military Academy Field ArtilleryWest Point, New York, in April 1917 and was commissioned in the Infantry Branch. After service on the Western Front in World War I, he transferred to the United States Army Air Corps in 1920. During World War II, he commanded the Eleventh Air Force in Alaska.
Early life
[edit]William Ormond "Bruce" Butler was born in Marshall, Virginia, on 23 September 1895, the son of Robert Ormond Butler, an engineer, and Mary McGeorge née Hume. They returned to Mary's ancestral home in Marshall for the birth of each of their three children. The family was living in Marietta, Ohio, where Butler's father was engaged in the construction of a new dam, when Butler heard that Congressman George White was conducting examinations for entry to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Butler passed the examination and secured an alternative appointment, and ultimately secured an admission.[1][2]
World War I
[edit]Butler entered West Point on 14 June 1913.[3] He played American football as a lineman on the West Point Cadets football team, which won the annual Army–Navy Game in all four years that he played.[2] His class graduated early, on 20 April 1917, due to the American entry into World War I. He was ranked 33rd in the class of April 1917 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 6th Field Artillery Regiment.[3]
Promoted to First Lieutenant on 15 May 1917, Butler joined the 6th Field Artillery Regiment in Douglas, Arizona, on 12 June. The regiment formed part of the First Expeditionary Division of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), which departed for France on 28 July. While en route, Butler was promoted to the temporary rank of Captain (temporary) in the Field Artillery Branch on 5 August.[3]
From 1 September to 15 October, Butler underwent aerial observer in Valdahon, France. He went to the Lorraine front, where he was an observer with the 73rd Balloon Company from 1 to 20 November. This was followed by duty at the training center at Gondrecourt-le-Château. He returned to the front on 22 December as aerial observer with the French 91st Balloon Company west of Toul. He was cited for exceptionally meritorious and efficient service by Général de division Fénelon François Germain Passaga, the commander the French XXXII Army Corps, and was awarded the French Croix de guerre 1914–1918. On 1 March 1918, Butler retured to the AEF as the commander of Company B, 2nd Balloon Squadron.[1][3]
Butler returned to the United States in July 1918 and became an instructor at the U.S. Army Balloon School at Lee Hall, Virginia with the rank of major in Air Service from 17 August 1918.[1][3]
Between the wars
[edit]In November 1919 he was transferred to Camp Pike, Ark., where he served with the 10th Field Artillery. He entered the Field Artillery School at Fort Sill, Okla., in January 1920 and graduated in December of that year.
Death and legacy
[edit]His papers are held by the Air Force Historical Research Agency.[4]
Dates of rank
[edit]| Insignia | Rank | Component | Date | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Second Lieutenant | 6th Field Artillery Regiment | 20 April 1917 | [3] |
 |
First Lieutenant | 6th Field Artillery Regiment | 15 May 1917 | [3] |
 |
Captain (temporary) | Field Artillery | 5 August 1917 | [3] |
 |
Major | Air Service | 17 August 1918 | [3] |
|
Captain | Field Artillery | 25 August 1919 | [5] |
|
Captain (reverted) | Field Artillery | 13 February 1920 | [5] |
|
Major | Air Corps | 1 August 1932 | [6] |
 |
Lieutenant Colonel (temporary) | Air Corps | 26 August 1936 | [6] |
|
Lieutenant Colonel | Air Corps | 1 June 1940 | [6] |
 |
Colonel (temporary) | Air Corps | 16 October 1940 | [7] |
|
Colonel | Army of the United States | 11 December 1941 | [7] |
 |
Brigadier General | Army of the United States | 14 March 1942 | [7] |
 |
Major General | Army of the United States | 25 October 1942 | [7] |
|
Major General | Retired | 31 January 1946 | [7] |
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b c "Major General William O. Butler > Air Force > Biography Display". United States Air Force. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
- ^ a b "William Ormond Butler". Assembly. XXII (1): 103–104. ISSN 1041-2581. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Cullum 1920, p. 1874.
- ^ "Butler, William Ormond Papers (l942–1943)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
- ^ a b Cullum 1930, p. 1186.
- ^ a b c Cullum 1940, p. 327.
- ^ a b c d e Cullum 1950, p. 225.
References
[edit]- Cullum, George W. (1920). Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the US Military Academy at West Point New York since its Establishment in 1802: Supplement Volume VI 1910–1920. Chicago, Illinois: R. R. Donnelly and Sons, The Lakeside Press. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
- Cullum, George W. (1930). Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the US Military Academy at West Point New York since its Establishment in 1802: Supplement Volume VII 1920–1930. Chicago, Illinois: R. R. Donnelly and Sons, The Lakeside Press. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
- Cullum, George W. (1940). Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the US Military Academy at West Point New York since its Establishment in 1802: Supplement Volume VIII 1930–1940. Chicago, Illinois: R. R. Donnelly and Sons, The Lakeside Press. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
- Cullum, George W. (1950). Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the US Military Academy at West Point New York since its Establishment in 1802: Supplement Volume IX 1940–1950. Chicago, Illinois: R. R. Donnelly and Sons, The Lakeside Press. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
Category:1895 births
Category:1962 deaths
Category:Military personnel from Virginia
Category:People from Marshall, Virginia
Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit
Category:United States Army Air Forces generals of World War II
Category:United States Military Academy alumni
Category:Air Corps Tactical School alumni
Category:United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni