Lost in 1941, WWII Soldier Returns Home to Louisiana for Final Rest
In late 1941, Butler was a member of 5th Air Corps Squadron, Weather (Regional Control), when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.
Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at POW camps. Butler was among those reported captured when U.S. forces in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese. They were subjected to the 65-mile Bataan Death March and then held at the Cabanatuan POW camp. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.
According to prison camp and other historical records, Butler died Dec. 27, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 837.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency accounted for Butler on Dec. 22, 2025.
For more information on DPAA’s efforts to locate and identify Butler, please visit: https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/ID-Announcements/Article/4435738/airman-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-butler-w/
U.S. Army Human Resources Command’s Past Conflict Repatriations Branch plays a vital role in the process of identifying, locating and contacting subsequent generation family members of Soldiers missing or killed in action during WWII and the Korean War to positively identify previously undiscovered or unknown remains.
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
