JOHN C BUTLER DE 339

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

John C. Butler Class Destroyer Escort Keel Laid October 5 1943 - Launched November 12 1943 USS JOHN C. BUTLER DE-339 Commissioned March 31 1944 - Decommissioned June 26 1946 Recommissioned December 27 1950 - Decommissioned December 18 1957 Struck from Naval Register June 1 1970 Sunk as target December 1971 off California

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each name of the ship (for example, Bushnell AG-32 / Sumner AGS-5 are different names for the same ship so there should be one set of pages for Bushnell and one set for Sumner). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.

1. USS John C. Butler DE-339 Covers Page 1     (DATE RANGE)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each name and/or commissioning period. Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Postmark Date	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

 

Locy Type 2z

1945-12-23

Contributed by Tom Kean.

 

Other Information

USS JOHN C. BUTLER earned the Combat Action Ribbon, the Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon, the Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 5 Campaign stars, the WWII Victory Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon and the Philippine Liberation Ribbon during her Naval career.

NAMESAKE - John Clarence Butler USNR (February 2 1921 - June 5 1942)
Butler enlisted in the Naval Reserve February 19 1941. He was appointed Aviation Cadet April 3; and, after flight training, he reported to Bombing Squadron 3 on board Carrier USS YORKTOWN CV-5. In the epochal Battle of Midway June 4 1942, Butler and his squadron attacked a Japanese carrier group and despite heavy opposition succeeded in sinking three of the vital enemy flattops. His plane, however, did not return. He was declared "lost in action" on June 5 1942. For his part in this gallant attack, which did much to turn the tide of the Pacific war, Ensign Butler was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously. In part the citation noted: "His gallant intrepidity and loyal devotion to the accomplishment of a vastly important objective contributed in large measure to the success achieved by our forces and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service."

The ships sponsor was Mrs. Walter C. Butler, the mother of Ensign Butler.

 

---

 

If you have images or information to add to this page, then either contact the Curator or edit this page yourself and add it. See Editing Ship Pages for detailed information on editing this page.

 

---

Copyright 2024 Naval Cover Museum