Bob Butler was the middle son of Richard H Butler of St. Albans, Vermont, and Albertina Swanson of Mankato, Minnesota. The family included an older sister, Evolyn, and two brothers, Richard and William. Bob attended school in Staples, Minnesota but had to leave High School short of graduation to help run the family farm. The depression was hard on the Butler family and they lost the farm in the late 1930s. They pulled together and with the money from the farm auction, they bought a rental property in Staples, Minnesota later known as The Butler Cabins. Bob returned to school after the sale of the farm, excelling at sports and graduating with letters in Basketball and Football.
Enlistment in U.S. Army Air Force came after high school graduation in 1939 at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. As a Pilot with the 320th Marauder Bombardment Group, 443rd Bombardment Squadron in the WWII combat theaters of North Africa, Tunisia, Sardinia, Sicily, and Naples-Foggia, Italy, he flew 40 missions and 203 combat hours between 23 April 1943 and 14 September 1943, before he was sent back to the United States for what they termed "Pilot Fatigue". His assignments included Aircraft Commander Pilot, Squadron Commander, and Group & Wing Leader.
He married his wife of 48 years, Jean Ann Guest, on 4 Aug 1944 in Chicago, Illinois - having met her on his way home from overseas. She was 26 years old and had spent 22 years touring the United States and Europe with the Merriel Abbott International Dancers. The first five years of marriage were spent at Bolling Field AFB in Washington DC, where he advanced to Captain and Grade Senior Command Pilot, Chief Test Pilot USAF HDQT, and Air Force Athletic Director of Military District of Washington, DC. The next transfer was to Dobbins AFB in Marietta, Georgia, and finally on to a 27-year career with General Motors Corporation Air Transport Section in Detroit, Michigan as a private corporate pilot.
Bob is survived by his 5 children, 13 grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren. His wife Jean died in 1992.
Enlistment in U.S. Army Air Force came after high school graduation in 1939 at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. As a Pilot with the 320th Marauder Bombardment Group, 443rd Bombardment Squadron in the WWII combat theaters of North Africa, Tunisia, Sardinia, Sicily, and Naples-Foggia, Italy, he flew 40 missions and 203 combat hours between 23 April 1943 and 14 September 1943, before he was sent back to the United States for what they termed "Pilot Fatigue". His assignments included Aircraft Commander Pilot, Squadron Commander, and Group & Wing Leader.
He married his wife of 48 years, Jean Ann Guest, on 4 Aug 1944 in Chicago, Illinois - having met her on his way home from overseas. She was 26 years old and had spent 22 years touring the United States and Europe with the Merriel Abbott International Dancers. The first five years of marriage were spent at Bolling Field AFB in Washington DC, where he advanced to Captain and Grade Senior Command Pilot, Chief Test Pilot USAF HDQT, and Air Force Athletic Director of Military District of Washington, DC. The next transfer was to Dobbins AFB in Marietta, Georgia, and finally on to a 27-year career with General Motors Corporation Air Transport Section in Detroit, Michigan as a private corporate pilot.
Bob is survived by his 5 children, 13 grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren. His wife Jean died in 1992.
Bob Butler was the middle son of Richard H Butler of St. Albans, Vermont, and Albertina Swanson of Mankato, Minnesota. The family included an older sister, Evolyn, and two brothers, Richard and William. Bob attended school in Staples, Minnesota but had to leave High School short of graduation to help run the family farm. The depression was hard on the Butler family and they lost the farm in the late 1930s. They pulled together and with the money from the farm auction, they bought a rental property in Staples, Minnesota later known as The Butler Cabins. Bob returned to school after the sale of the farm, excelling at sports and graduating with letters in Basketball and Football.
Enlistment in U.S. Army Air Force came after high school graduation in 1939 at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. As a Pilot with the 320th Marauder Bombardment Group, 443rd Bombardment Squadron in the WWII combat theaters of North Africa, Tunisia, Sardinia, Sicily, and Naples-Foggia, Italy, he flew 40 missions and 203 combat hours between 23 April 1943 and 14 September 1943, before he was sent back to the United States for what they termed "Pilot Fatigue". His assignments included Aircraft Commander Pilot, Squadron Commander, and Group & Wing Leader.
He married his wife of 48 years, Jean Ann Guest, on 4 Aug 1944 in Chicago, Illinois - having met her on his way home from overseas. She was 26 years old and had spent 22 years touring the United States and Europe with the Merriel Abbott International Dancers. The first five years of marriage were spent at Bolling Field AFB in Washington DC, where he advanced to Captain and Grade Senior Command Pilot, Chief Test Pilot USAF HDQT, and Air Force Athletic Director of Military District of Washington, DC. The next transfer was to Dobbins AFB in Marietta, Georgia, and finally on to a 27-year career with General Motors Corporation Air Transport Section in Detroit, Michigan as a private corporate pilot.
Bob is survived by his 5 children, 13 grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren. His wife Jean died in 1992.
Enlistment in U.S. Army Air Force came after high school graduation in 1939 at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. As a Pilot with the 320th Marauder Bombardment Group, 443rd Bombardment Squadron in the WWII combat theaters of North Africa, Tunisia, Sardinia, Sicily, and Naples-Foggia, Italy, he flew 40 missions and 203 combat hours between 23 April 1943 and 14 September 1943, before he was sent back to the United States for what they termed "Pilot Fatigue". His assignments included Aircraft Commander Pilot, Squadron Commander, and Group & Wing Leader.
He married his wife of 48 years, Jean Ann Guest, on 4 Aug 1944 in Chicago, Illinois - having met her on his way home from overseas. She was 26 years old and had spent 22 years touring the United States and Europe with the Merriel Abbott International Dancers. The first five years of marriage were spent at Bolling Field AFB in Washington DC, where he advanced to Captain and Grade Senior Command Pilot, Chief Test Pilot USAF HDQT, and Air Force Athletic Director of Military District of Washington, DC. The next transfer was to Dobbins AFB in Marietta, Georgia, and finally on to a 27-year career with General Motors Corporation Air Transport Section in Detroit, Michigan as a private corporate pilot.
Bob is survived by his 5 children, 13 grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren. His wife Jean died in 1992.
