BUTLER, WILLIAM WALLACE

RIP March 11, 2013

Name: William Wallace Butler
Rank/Branch: United States Air Force/O3
Unit: 469 TFS
Date of Birth: 29 November 1941
Home City of Record: Los Angeles CA
Date of Loss: 20 November 1967
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 2133000 North  1051500 East
Status (in 1973): Returnee
Category:
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F105D
Missions:
Other Personnel in Incident:
Refno: 0922

Source: Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK from one or more of the following: raw
data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA
families, published sources, interviews. Updated 2023.

REMARKS: 73-314 RELEASED BY DRV


------------------------------------------


Dr. William Butler DVM, resided in California until his death in early March 11,2013.

Funeral services will be held at 2 pm on Sunday, March 17th:
 
            Grace Episcopal Church
            1314 Spring Street
            St. Helena, CA
 
(The date is ironic, as Bill returned to the USA on March 17, 1973,
exactly 40 years earlier, after spending nearly 5-1/2 years in
captivity.)
 
 Final internment will be in Arlington National Cemetery at a later date.

========================

Bill Butler passed away peacefully on March 11th. Bill was born in
Grass Valley in 1941 to Wallace and Zoe Butler, grew up in Los Angeles
and graduated from Stanford University, where he met his first wife,
Julie Davis. A captain in the US Air Force, Bill was shot down over
North Vietnam in 1967, and spent five and a half years as a prisoner of
war, returning home in 1973. After retiring from the Air Force, Bill
attended veterinary school at UC Davis and moved to Calistoga in 1978 to
open his own practice. Over the course of his career "Dr. Bill" loved
and cared for generations of the Napa Valley's animals.
 
Widowed in 1987, Bill married Teresa Burger in 1989, and together they
built a life proudly centered around their family and faith. As a former
POW, Bill brought his experience to the Kairos prison ministery,
inspiring others and helping them to cope. He loved film and music and
taught himself to play the panio, guitar and bass, singing and playing
in many church choirs.

As a former fighter pilot, his passions leaned towards speed, with
planes, race cars and motorcycles playing recurring roles throughout his
life. As an animal lover, Bill welcomed an unusual menagerie of animals
into his home over the years, including horses, snakes, emus and even an
elephant.
 
Bill and Teresa also loved to travel and did so frequently to warm,
sunny beaches around the world. He was never happier than sitting on a
beach, surrounded by friends and family and with a cold beer in his
hand.
 
Bill is survived by his wife Teresa, his sons Peter (Bethany) and Bo,
daughters Sheila (Gib), Carol (Gary), Courtney and Kenzie, and by his
grandchildren Cooper, Payton, Ryan, Wyatt, Holly and Julie.
 
A memorial service will be held on the 40th anniversary of his
homecoming from Vietnam: Sunday, March 17th at Grace Episcopal Church,
1314 Spring Street, St Helena, CA at 2PM. In lieu of flowers, please
consider donating to the St Helena Public Schools Foundation
(shusd.schoolwires.com) or The Pathway Home (www.thepathwayhome.org/).
 
Bill Butler Funeral Report from Paul Galanti
November 1 in Arlington, Virginia was a warm and very wet day or at least it started that way. Bill Butler. long-term Vietnam prisoner of war, had come to the East Coast for the last time. Stanford grad, pilot and later a Veterinarian, Bill was an Air Force F-105 pilot shot down in November 1967 and remained a POW for more than five years. The entourage from California accompanying Bill's wife Terry, was something to behold. There were about 20 Butlers by my count but it was hard to tell with his great extended family. Joining them were several of Bill's cellmates from room three in Hoa Lo - Gary Thornton, Smitty Harris, Paul Galanti, Jon Reynolds, and Ray Alcorn each with his better 75%.
 
It was a simple service, but the Air Force honor guard did a magnificent job! The sun came out just as the flag ceremony was starting and the day turned into one of the most beautiful I've ever seen.
 
Bill's cellmate and good friend Navy Captain Ray Alcorn gave Bill's eulogy and watered the eyes of everybody there including some of the Honor Guard. I suspect many in Bill's family wondered what all the nickels thrown on the grass around his urn meant!
 
With a very nice reception afterward we knew we had sent our buddy Bill Butler off in fine style.

 
Paul E. Galanti   

 

More info:    http://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=1708