BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
CHARLES D. BUTTE LTC USA (RET.)
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Charles David (Bud) Butte was born at home on Squirrel Hill in Duquesne, Pennsylvania, at 0630
hours on 17 March 1921. He entered grade school in Mt. Gilead, Ohio, in the fall of 1926, graduating
from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow grade school, Cleveland, Ohio in 1932. He graduated from Indianola
Junior High School, Columbus, Ohio in 1935, and completed his schooling at West High School,
Columbus, Ohio, graduating in June of 1938.
Bud married Velma Louise Gill on 22 October 1942, in Richmond, Indiana; they have one son and
three granddaughters.
He enrolled in Indiana University in September 1938; graduating from Ohio State University in
August 1968. He received his Master of Education from Xavier University in June 1975. It should be
noted that Col Butte was constantly enrolled in college level courses presented by different Universities at
the many Posts, Camps and stations where he served during his 24 years in the Military.
Charles D. Butte volunteered for service and was sworn into the Army on 10 February 1943, at
Columbus, Ohio. On 20 February 1943, he became a member of the 603rd Quartermaster Graves
Registration Company (QM GR CO) at Camp Sutton, North Carolina. He rose through the ranks to acting
First Sergeant in the 603rd QM GR CO and on 20 September 1945, while in Europe, received a direct
commission to Second Lieutenant, Quartermaster Corps. He served for a short time as the temporary
Commander of the 603rd QM GR CO; from Private to Company Commander in the same Company.
During the period 1943 - 1950 he completed the cycle of caring for deceased military personnel,
being involved in each step along the way, from removal of the remains from the battlefield, safeguarding
their personal effects, burying them, requesting disposition instructions from the next of kin, disinterring
the remains, processing them for burial or shipment as directed by the next of kin, and finally, escorting
remains to the next of kin in Greece and Israel. As a member of the 3rd Platoon, 603 QM GR CO
attached to the 90 Inf. Div. for the Invasion of Normandy, he commanded the drivers and vehicle
detachment of the Platoon, landing on Utah Beach, Normandy on 7 June 1944. The drivers and vehicles
were on a different ship than the platoon main body. In July 1944, in Normandy, while attached to the
83rd Infantry Division, a Chaplain brought a deceased to the GR Collecting Point, one of Butte’s men said
he did not think that the man was dead. Sgt. Butte, using a technique he learned in Technical training,
passed a cigarette lighter before his eyes, and they moved. Sgt. Butte then ordered his driver to take the
man to the nearest Field Hospital; the man lived for five days. He was in command of the Cemetery in
Pastum, Italy, when the remains from the Temporary Cemeteries in Sicily were shipped there in order to
consolidate Temporary Cemeteries in preparation for the repatriation program. He was in command of the
Detachment at the US Military Cemetery, Nettuno, Italy, during repatriation of WW II US Military
deceased.
Promotion to First Lieutenant, 30 January 1948.
He volunteered for Parachute (Jump) training in 1951; after graduating from Jump School and
Jumpmaster School at Fort Benning, Georgia, he joined the 407th Airborne Quartermaster Company,
82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He attended Rigger School in 1952, and was
assigned to the Maintenance Branch, Airborne Department, Quartermaster School, Fort Lee, Virginia. He
served as Chief of the Maintenance Branch for two years.
Promotion to Captain, 29 October 1952.
From 1954 - 1956 he served as Quartermaster Operations Officer and Airborne Advisor, Office of
the Quartermaster, Headquarters 8th US Army Forward, Korea.
In 1957 - 1958 he served as the S-4 and Assistant Division Supply Officer, Support Command,
101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
In 1958 - 1960 Captain Butte was assigned as Chief, Airborne Equipment Quality Control Branch,
Quartermaster Inspection Division, Columbus General Depot, Columbus, Ohio.
During the period 1960 - 1963 he served as Chief Field Service Branch, and Assistant
Quartermaster, Office of the Quartermaster, Headquarters Northern Area Command, Frankfurt, Germany.
He was selected by the Department of the Army as one of 5 percent of the Reserve Officers on active duty
who were tendered an Indefinite Category for continued active duty beyond their normal retirement date.
While serving in Frankfurt, Germany in 1962, he was credited with saving the life of a little German
schoolgirl by keeping her from going into shock after a “Hit and Run Accident.”
Promotion to Major, 1 December 1960.
Major Butte returned to the 82nd Airborne Division in June 1963. Between June 1963 and
September 1965, he served as Assistant Division Supply Officer, Executive Officer and Deputy
Commander, Support Command, Special Projects Officer for the Assistant Division Commander for
Support and the Division Chief of Staff, Division Out-Loading Officer for the Dominican Republic
Airborne Combat Operation, and Commander, 407th Supply and Transportation Battalion. During this
period with the 82nd, the Assistant Division Commander singled out LTC Butte as one of the most
outstanding LTC’s in the entire Division.
Promotion to Lieutenant Colonel, 17 July 1964.
He departed the Division in September 1965, joining Headquarters, 543rd Quartermaster Group as
Executive Officer and promptly departed for Vietnam. In Vietnam, he served as the Executive Officer
and Supply Officer, Headquarters 543rd Quartermaster Group/Saigon Supply Depot;
Deputy
Commander, Vung Tau Area Command; and Special Projects Officer for Supply for the Deputy
Commander, Saigon Logistical Command.
Returning to the States in November 1966, he was assigned to Fort Eustis, Virginia, as the Post
Supply Officer.
Colonel Butte retired from the Army on 28 February 1967. He is authorized to wear the Legion of
Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Belgian Fourragere, the Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster,
the Meritorious Unit Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Master Parachutist badge, Rigger
badge, Korean Parachute Wings, five Battle Stars (one for each of the major battles in Northern Europe)
and the Bronze Arrowhead for the invasion of Normandy.
Upon retirement, he completed the requirements for a teaching certificate, graduating from The
Ohio State University in August 1968. Upon graduation he joined the Columbus City School System,
where he was a teacher, Guidance Counselor, and teacher of the special Move-Ahead Program. Between
1969 and 1975, he was enrolled in the Graduate Studies program, Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio.
He earned advanced degrees (Master of Education) in Administration, Supervision, Small District
Superintendent and Guidance and Counseling. After 11 years with the school system he retired on the last
day of February 1979.
To keep “Quartermaster Fires Burning Brightly,” Colonel Butte petitioned the American Battle
Monuments Commission (ABMC) to recognize the Quartermaster Graves Registration Unit that
established each of the original World War II US cemeteries, which are now permanent cemeteries
administered by ABMC. His petition was approved. The ABMC now furnishes written information to
visitors at WW II cemeteries identifying The Quartermaster Graves Registration Unit that established the
original cemetery.
Also, Colonel Butte initiated an extensive effort to research and compile QM GR Unit histories
and activities during and following WW II. This research documentation has been made available to
various Service Schools, libraries, museums, universities, foreign military libraries and museums in order
to perpetuate the history and honor of the Quartermaster Graves Registration mission (now Mortuary
Affairs mission).
Colonel Butte has written and published his Memoir; a copy is available in the Office of the
Quartermaster Historian, and the Gift Store, Quartermaster Museum, Fort Lee, Virginia, and the Gift
Store, at the new Airborne and Special Operations Museum, Fayettevill, NC.
On 17 June 1999, LTC Butte was inducted into the Quartermaster Regiment as a Distinguished
Member of the Regiment. MG Joseph Pieklik, USA Ret, based on his outstanding Military Career, and his
research and writings about WW II and Korea US Quartermaster Graves Registration Units recommended
Colonel Butte for this prestigious award.
On 13 October 2000, LTC Butte was inducted into the West High School Alumni Association Hall
of Fame. Colonel Butte graduated from West high School, Columbus, Ohio, in June 1938. Mr. Harry
Riggs DVM, President of the Class of “38”, recommended him for this prestigious award.
Velma L. Gill Butte has been his loving wife for more than 58 years. They currently reside at
221 Shore Drive, Riviera Beach, Florida 33404-2420, Tel and Fax: 561-863-1531, Email:
CDBVLB@AOL.COM.
Enclosures: 10 attached
1. Citation, The Legion of Merit
2. Citation, The Bronze Star Medal
3. Citation, The Army Commendation Medal
4. Department of the Army Form 67-5, 14 September 1965
5. Department of the Army Form 67-5, 28 October 1965
6. Letter Department of the Army, 26 June 1962
7. Letter, Elbert E. Legg, Colonel USA Retired.
8. Letter, Paul E. Smith, BG USA Retired
8. 172nd Engineer Combat Battalion, WW II, Joseph T. Layne.
9. Representative listing of letters of thank you for the Quartermaster Graves Registration
items of information received
10. Listing of items contained in the Graves Registration Packet sent to the above listed individuals
and organizations.
ENCLOSURES To BASIC RECOMMENDATION:
Charles D. Butte LTC USA Retired
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1. Biographical Sketch, Lt. Col. Charles D. Butte, United States Army, Retired
2. Photograph, Lt. Col. Charles D. Butte, United States Army, Retired
3. US Military Cemeteries, Temporary to Permanent, American Battle Monuments Commission,
1 April 1996, one enclosure, with ABMC’s letter of acknowledgment, 16 April 1996.
4. Representative letters of “Thank You” for the Quartermaster Graves Registration and related
information furnished to Service Schools, Libraries, Museums, both civilian and military, foreign and
domestic.
5. A representative listing of the items contained in Colonel Butte’s Quartermaster Graves
Registration Packet.
Enclosure 4
A Representative Listing of Letters of “Thank You” for Graves Registration information furnished by
Colonel Butte
1. Nation Archives, Suitland Reference Branch, Clifford L. Snyder.
2. US Army Combined Arms Center, Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027, L.D. Holder Lieutenant
General USA, Commanding.
3. Prime Minister of Great Britain, 10 Downing Street, London, England SWIA 2AA, Mrs. P.
Wilkinson, Correspondence Secretary.
4. Ambassador from France to the United States, Mr. Dominique Templeton, and Chief of
Historical Service, Land Army of France, General J.L. Mourrut.
5. Ambassador from Belgium, Mr. Andre Adam, and Historical Documentation Center of the
Armed Forces, Belgische Krijgsmacht, Lieutenant Colonel G. Leclercq
6. Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Defense Attaché, Brigadier General France
Peter N. Schmitz.
7. The United States Military Academy Library, Department of the Army US Military Academy,
Mr. Kenneth W. Headman, Librarian
8. Academy Libraries, Department of the Air Force, US Air Force Academy, Mr. Edward
Alderman Scott, Ph. D. (two letters).
9. Department of the Army, US Military History Institute, Coordinator, World War II
Commemoration, Carlisle Barracks, PA 17013, Major Dan A. Netting.
10. Chief, Historical Reference Branch, US Army History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, PA 17013,
Mr. John J. Slonaker
11. The Airborne Museum, Ste. Mere Eglise, France, Mr. Phillippe Jutras.
12. The Heritage Room, Monroe-Union County Historic Properties Commission, Museum, Mary
Sis Dillon, Chairman (five letters).
13. Regimental Historian, British Army, Mr. Tony Rogers.
14. Eisenhower Center for American Studies, University of New Orleans, Mr. A. LEE
Levert, Assistant Director.
15. Center for the Study of War and Society, University of Tennessee, Dr. Charles W. Johnson,
Director.
16. Universities Libraries, Indiana University, Susanne E. Thorin, Dean.
17. University Libraries, University of California, Los Angeles, Gloria Werner, University
Librarian.
18. University Librarian and Dean, University of Southern California, Jerry D. Campbell.
19. Director of Libraries, Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio, JoAnne Young, Ph. D., Director of
Libraries.
20. Arizona State University, Sharon L. Kozol, Administrative Assistant.
21. 82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum, John S. Duval, Chief Curator.
22. 82nd Airborne Division Association, Inc., Belgian Chapter, Emile J. Lacroix, Chairman.
23. 1st Special Engineer Brigade, Normandy D-Day, James R. Irving, Historian.
Enclosure 5
A Representative Listing of items included in Graves Registration Packet
(This packet is subject to change due to additional findings and or changes as time progresses)
1. Introduction.
2. Biographical Sketch, Charles D. Butte, LTC USA Ret.
3. History, 603rd Quartermaster Graves Registration Company (QM GR CO).
4. Graves Registration in Europe, World War II, 83rd Infantry Division, John D. McLaughlin, Lt.
General (then LTC) USA Ret.
5. Graves Registration 82nd Airborne Division, Normandy, Elbert E. Legg, Colonel (then Sgt)
USA Ret.
6. Graves Registration in Europe, World Wart II, Charles D. Butte, LTC (then Sgt.) USA Ret.
7. After Action Report, 603rd QM GR CO.
8. After Action Report, 607th QM GR CO.
9. After Action Report 3046th QM GR CO.
10. US Army Military Cemeteries, World War II, Temporary to Permanent.
11. US Army Military Cemeteries, Europe, World War II, as of November 1945.
12. Personal Experiences, Exercise Tiger, 28 April 1944. (It is interesting to note the number of
Quartermaster personnel lost during this operation).
13. Mission Accomplished, History of the US VII Corps, Europe. 1944-1945, Lt. General J.
Lawton Collins, Commanding.
14. History, US Army Military Cemetery, Margraten, Holland, Mr. Joe T. Layne.
15. The Last Burial, Joe T. Layne, 18 May 1996.
16. Quartermaster Professional Bulletin, World War II, 50th Anniversary Commemorative
Edition.
17. Poster, Quartermaster Values, Respect, Sgt. Elbert E. Legg (copy).
18. Medical History, Charles D. Butte, LTC USA Ret.
19. Women in History, Jackie (Jacqueline) Butte, 21 March 1994.