Memorial Day Tribute ~ 2022

 With thanks we remember. 

Main Street Parade ~ 1941

Many a soldier marched this street. Many never returned.

Insight

For 20 Ohio Marines ~ A Butler Tribute

+ Lance Cpl. Eric J. Bernholtz

14 Marine reservists from the Cleveland area were killed in the first week of August 2005 by a roadside bomb -- one of the heaviest blows suffered by a single unit in the war. Two days earlier, six others from the battalion were killed while on sniper duty.
A Tribute to 20 Ohio Marines from Butler.
A Picture Tribute
 

Deshon VA Hospital ~

Thanks: Dennis Moffitt

In a Cave in the Netherlands ~

Photo and Comment: Dan Roxbury

While in the Netherlands recently I visited the Velvet Cave. During WWII the cave, where I found this soldier's name, had been used as a shelter for the public and also by American Troops. Many soldiers have inscribed their names in this sandstone cave. I knew about this prior to visiting the cave and had been looking to spot where the soldiers wrote their names. The first thing I spotted was "S F Henry Butler PA". At first glance, I thought this was possibly my grandfather Henry Dottle from Butler PA. I was blown away because Butler PA is where I grew up, and I saw it written 2 more times. This was by far the highlight of my trip! I know my Grandfather was actively serving in Europe in 1945 when most of the names were written inside the cave. I will always wonder if he had been there or if he knew the other men from Butler who were. 

Two more photos

Deshon VA Hospital ~

Thanks: Dennis Moffitt

Butler Women Served in W.W.II ~

Staff Sgt. Inez G. Lucas

Frankfurt, Germany 1946-1948
Photo: Don Sell

Major General Robert L. Smolen ~ Knoch '70

Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert L. Smolen, who grew up in Butler, oversees the nation's arsenal of nuclear weapons. He is the deputy administrator for defense programs at the National Nuclear Security Administration. He sees to the safety and reliability of the nuclear weapons stockpile and the readiness to test and develop new warheads, if required. 

† 18 May 2014

Medal of Honor ~

The Medal of Honor was conferred on a Butlerite, John Donaldson: Sergeant, Company L of the 4th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia on 9 May 1865.
He captured the flag of the 4th Virginia Cavalry (C.S.A.).

Brig. Gen. Peter J. Talleri ~ BHS '75

From July 2006-June 2008 Brigadier General Peter J. Talleri of Butler, Pa. commanded 3d Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan. In June of 2008, General Talleri reported to the Defense Logistics Agency for duty where he presently serves as Commander, Defense Distribution Center.

Deshon VA Hospital ~

During W.W.II soldiers who had suffered hearing loss were treated here. Butler is proud of its service to the military.

Sgt. Major Abie Abraham ~ Bataan

For generations of Butlerites since the Battle of the Pacific in World War II the name Sgt. Abie Abraham has been synonymous with the infamous Bataan Death March. While fighting a hopeless battle and surviving two and a half years of inhuman imprisonment Stg. Abraham showed the noblest human qualities. He was the only soldier who fought on Bataan to see the final Japanese surrender.

You have received many honors, Abie, but there is no Medal of Honor that can represent our pride or render adequate gratitude to you for the valiant spirit you have left us to emulate.

Admiral Jonathan Greenert ~ BHS '71

Jonathan Greenert, native of Butler, is now Chief of Naval Operations
as of Sept. 23, 2011.
Commenting on his hometown he said: "You take what you learned from growing up and from high school, and you apply it to real life. I'm very proud of being from Butler".

We salute you, Admiral Greenert.

Information

One of Ours ~ Butler Mourns

Sgt. Carl J. Morgain, 40, of Butler, Pa., died May 22, in Balad, Iraq, of injuries sustained in Kadasia, Iraq, when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV. Morgain was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry Regiment, Butler, Pa. [Pa. Army National Guard].

 For the Mothers of the Fallen on Facebook

Butler, Pa. --- Home of the Jeep

The first Jeep was designed at the American Bantam Car Company in Butler by Karl Probst. All in all, the company manufactured 2,675 of its version of the car. But the demand was so great and the Butler plant so small that the War Department authorized other larger companies in Detroit to produce their nearly identical version of the Jeep to fill the urgent military need. The Butler company went out of business in 1956.

Poem about our Jeep