Keeping up a rapid tempo of underway periods, John C. Butler steamed for Vancouver, on 1 June 1953. About a dozen Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters suddenly swarmed in amongst the slower Dauntless dive-bombers. Naval Academy, The Sullivan Brothers and the Assignment of Family Members, Historic Former U.S. Navy Bases and Stations, The African American Experience in the U.S. Navy, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. Navy, Contributions of Native Americans to the U.S. Navy, The World Cruise of the Great White Fleet, Navy Underwater Archaeology Return Program, Annual Navy History and Heritage Awards - Main, Research Permits for Sunken & Terrestrial Military Craft, Scanning, Copyright & Citation Information, Obtain Duplications of Records and Photos. Six days later, on 17 April, she made way for Long Beach, arriving at 0721. After Lt. Samuel Adams, of VB-5 spotted an enemy carrier group on the afternoon of 4 June 1942, 10 dive-bombers from VB-6 (and 14 from VB-3), took off from Enterprise at 1730. At some point during the melee, the enemy CAP shot down Ens. After a short liberty visit, she returned stateside, arriving on 5 March. She was recommissioned between 1950 and 1957 and finally sunk as a target in 1971. He was temporarily detached to command an expeditionary battalion organized for service in Nicaragua, 11 August 1912, in which capacity he participated in the bombardment, assault and capture of Coyotepe, 12-31 October. While picking up ARM3c Szpont, a heavy underwater explosion, believed caused by depth charges in the wrecked aircraft, caused some concern amongst the rescue crew. After a short dry dock period, the escort ship moored at Berth 129 in Los Angeles Harbor. Pace received a report that a Japanese fleet steamed only 15 miles away. John C. Butler also made a port visit to Callao, Peru, mooring there at 1719. In October, leading a patrol of 44 mounted Marines, they were ambushed by over 400 Cacos fighters. Underway from the shipyard on 3 January at 0838, John C. Butler commenced sea trials before proceeding to her homeport. In 1915, the Haitians decided it was their turn to revolt. When he returned to the US in 1929, he was promoted to Major General, becoming, at age 48, the youngest major general of the Marine Corps. On 26 June, she briefly moored at Coco Solo Naval Station before standing out at 1334 in company with TU 31.1.9, en route to Havana, Cuba. Butler was launched on 12 February 1942 by Philadelphia Navy Yard, sponsored by Mrs. John Wehle, daughter of General Butler; and commissioned on 15 August 1942, Lieutenant Commander M. D. Matthews in command . The American Battlefield Trust and our members have saved more than 56,000 acres in 25 states! Receiving an assignment to the aircraft carrier USSSaratoga, arriving in port at San Diego, Butler flew one of the 43 Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers attached to Saratoga's Scouting Squadron Three (VS-3) and Bombing Squadron Three (VB-3). At 2004, John C. Butler set a course to overtake the escort carriers. When he returned to the United States in 1919, he became Commanding General of the Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia, and served in this capacity until January 1924, when he was granted leave of absence to accept the post of Director of Public Safety of the City of Philadelphia. For all his actions in the wars, Butler had become disenfranchised with it all. They fought the Cacos in a short, intense hand-to-hand combat. Eberle (AP-123), in 1950 this ship became USNS General Simon B. Buckner (T-AP-123). She returned to San Pedro, Los Angeles on 23 November and decommissioned on 26 June 1946, joining the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego, California. Screened by John C. Butler and other ships, the escort carriers claimed the destruction of 92 enemy planes by 17 January 1945, when orders arrived to detach and steam for Ulithi to stage for the invasion of Iwo Jima. After conducting operations and training exercises, she returned to her homeport. Throughout the night, the Marines held their position until at daybreak they charged the superior enemy force which fled. Transferred to dangerous outer picket duty north of Ie Shima on 20 May, she was attacked by six kamikazes just before sunset. Beam: 36 feet 1 inches. She sailed from Marseilles 7 July, via the Panama Canal, for Ulithi and Eniwetok, finally arriving Okinawa 1 September. On 14 August, she got underway for Fleet Sonar School, San Diego. Taffy 2, comprising six escort carriers and seven escort vessels under Rear Adm. Felix B. Stump, took station off the entrance to Leyte Gulf. John Clarence Butler was born on 2 February 1921 in Liberty, Arizona. With his first taste of combat, Butler established himself as a capable leader. On 9 January 1955, John C. Butler stood out from her homeport and anchored at Wilson Cove, San Clemente. A week later, she got underway back for her homeport at Long Beach. After undergoing shakedown trials, Butler engaged in escort work in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Butler found the US consul hiding under the consulate floor boards and rescued him. After a port visit in Havana, John C. Butler made way for Cristobal, C.Z., on 5 July. From 1927 to 1929, Butler was Commander of the Marine Expeditionary Force in China. He retired from active duty 1 October 1931 and died at Philadelphia 21 June 1940. . During the Battle of Midway on the afternoon of 4 June 1942 10 dive-bombers from VB-6 (and 14 from VB-3), took off from Enterprise (Yorktown having been damaged in an earlier Japanese attack) at 17:30. Butler was able to occupy Maryland's capital, Annapolis, and eventually Baltimore. USS John C. Butler (DE-339) was the lead ship of her class of destroyer escorts in the service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. He took part in the Battle of Tientsin in July and then the Gaselee Expedition. He was commissioned a first lieutenant in the Marine Corps on 8 April 1899; promoted to captain, 23 July 1900; to major, 13 May 1908; to lieutenant colonel, 1 August 1916; to colonel (temporary), 1 July 1918; to brigadier general (temporary), 7 October 1918; to colonel (permanent), 9 March 1919; to brigadier general (permanent), 4 June 1920; and to major general, 5 July 1929. The Boston, Massachusetts, chapter of Veterans for Peace is called the Smedley D. Butler Brigade in his honor. Due to high winds, heavy seas, and damage sustained during the warhead tests, the portion of ex-John C. Butler aft of frame 135 broke apart and sank in approximately 90 feet of water. For faster navigation, this Iframe is preloading the Wikiwand page for USS Butler . Three weeks later, on 23 June, she got underway for Balboa, Panama. John C. Butler stood out for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 1 September 1952. At 0715 on 1 July, she made way into the operating area off San Diego for Fleet Sonar School exercises. Desired as advance bases for the long-awaited move into the Philippines, John C. Butler provided antisubmarine and anti-aircraft protection for the supporting carriers providing air cover for the troops invading Morotai on 15 September. The battleship West Virginia stood by Butler until power was regained, and assisted in driving off two more Japanese planes. Butler engaged a 125-foot long Japanese patrol boat towing a smaller boat painted white. Attacking in two separate dives, Butler dropped two 100-pound bombs, both of which were duds. Striking the craft with a 500-pound bomb on the port side, Ens. Recalled on 23 December (the same day Wake fell to the Japanese), the task force returned to Pearl four days later before putting out for Midway Island to conduct patrol duties on 31 December. (U.S. Navy Photograph 80-G-680789, National Archives and Records Administration, Still Pictures Division, College Park, Md. She next made way for Seattle on 5 June before steaming back for her homeport, mooring there on 15 June. He was one of only 20 marines to receive the Marine Corps Brevet Medal when it was created in 1921. He first saw action at the battle of Big Bethel, where he was defeated. For the next two-and-a-half hours, the task unit retired at best speed with the enemy force in pursuit, harassed by heavy gunfire from Japanese battleships, heavy and light cruisers, as well as destroyers. The crew celebrated the holidays on leave with their families while the ship remained in port. Despite the loss of Butler and the others, the surviving pilots and crewmembers of VB-3 exacted vengeance for Yorktown and their lost comrades, while Hiry became the fourth Japanese carrier sunk that day. The Majority of our funds go directly to Preservation and Education. Reaching Pearl two days later for temporary repairs, Saratoga steamed for Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Wash., on 9 February for permanent repairs. The six escort carriers and seven escort ships under Rear Adm. Clifton A. F. Ziggy Sprague (no relation to Thomas) operated to the northward off the island of Samar. Taffy 1 included four escort carriers and seven escorts under Rear Adm. Thomas L. Sprague, operating to the southward, just off northern Mindanao Island. This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. She was sold for scrapping in January 1948. (j.g.) Lo survivors before accompanying Raymond to Seeadler Harbor, where wounded sailors received treatment. Returning to Southern Ca., on 16 July, the escort ship made way to Seattle on 26 July, and moored at the Naval Supply Depot four days later. USS John C. Butler (DE-339) was the lead ship of her class of destroyer escorts in the service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. Butlers Dauntless received three hits from enemy fire. Disengaging, Butler noticed the smaller craft belching oil and smoke, estimating it later sank. Butner (AP-113) Howard's hand-written comments: One of our large troop carriers. Nine bombs from VB-3 and VB-6 struck Hiry, with four of the 1,000-pounders being direct hits. Steaming to San Pedro, Calif., on 23 November 1945, she underwent inactivation overhaul before ordered placed out of commission on 26 June 1946, assigned to the San Diego Group of the Pacific Reserve Fleet. I operated on three continents., Jeff Edwards is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE, Lying about his age, he received a direct commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Marines. For the next several months, from March-July 1951, John C. Butler moored at her homeport of Long Beach Naval Station. She continued screen and picket duty, splashing many planes, throughout the assault on Okinawa (24 March 25 May 1945). The remaining suicide plane, damaged by gunfire but continuing towards John C. Butler, sheared radar equipment from the mast before crashing into the sea close aboard, showering the decks with water, bits of wood, metal and pieces of the pilots clothing. After his career in the Marines Butlers outspoken criticism of war earned him equal notoriety. She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways. Getting underway at 0800, John C. Butler moored alongside Whitney (AD-4) for repairs to the depth charge rack. Arriving off Leyte Island on 19 October, John C. Butler and the other ships of Rear Adm. Ofsties escort carrier unit joined Rear Adm. Thomas L. Spragues Escort Carrier Task Group (TG) 77.4; comprising three escort carrier units designated Task Unit (TU) 77.4.1 (Taffy 1), TU 77.4.2 (Taffy 2), and TU 77.4.3 (Taffy 3). The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. DD-636 General Specifications. He was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1853, and then to the Senate of theCommonwealthin 1859. From late February-late March, she conducted operations in the San Diego area, before getting underway again for Ensenada on 29 March. Butler and his fellow VB-3 pilots landed on board Enterprise to refuel and rearm. Carries about 4,000 troops. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. USS Butler (DD-636), a Gleaves-class destroyer, is the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler, twice awarded the Medal of Honor. In October he finally saw action and got to do what as it turned out he did well lead Marines in combat. At the sight of the Marines, they stopped. (j.g.) With about 100 men Butler led his Marines through asmall hole in a wall of the Fort. Bill Nesbit." Physical Description 1 photograph : b&w ; 17 x 8 cm. After changing course, Cmdr. After returning to her homeport, the escort ship steamed for Vancouver on 30 August, conducting exercises in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, before returning to the San Diego area in the first week of September. Making way for Long Beach, she returned to her homeport at 0655 on 25 August. In October, leading a patrol of 44 mounted Marines, they were ambushed by over 400 Cacos fighters. Later that month, the escort ship made way to Vancouver, British Columbia, on 25 May, mooring at Esquimalt before returning to Net Pier five days later. Once again, Butler (now a Major) was sent in with a contingent of Marines to intervene. For exceptionally meritorious service, he was awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, and the French Order of the Black Star. The following year, he was awarded the second Medal of Honor for bravery and forceful leadership as Commanding Officer of detachments of Marines and seamen of the USSConnecticutin repulsing Caco resistance on Fort Riviere, Haiti, 17 November 1915. On 29 July 1953, John C. Butler made way for Seattle before returning to Southern Ca., on 7 August. Lo, John C. Butler escorted the surviving carriers of Taffy 3 via Manus to Pearl Harbor, then returned to Manus on 17 December. Remaining at her homeport for an upkeep period until 24 February 1954, John C. 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