Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Frederic Bates Butler (October 5, 1896 – June 20, 1987) was the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

officer who led the American Task Force in the encirclement action of Operation Dragoon at the Battle of Montelimar, France in August 1944.

Personal life

He was born in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, the son of Vincent Butler and Mary Flynn. On November 12, 1924 he married Philippi Harriette Harding (a US citizen born Chicago, Illinois; died April 12, 1984, San Francisco, California) in Tientain, China. The couple had two daughters, Phillipa "Popsy" Butler (born 1935) and Patricia M. Butler (born 1927), and one son Bill Butler (born August 28, 1928).

Education

Butler was educated at St. Ignatius College Preparatory, a Jesuit school in San Francisco. He was a cadet at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

at West Point, New York, from June 15, 1916 to November 1, 1918.

Army career

On graduation he was promoted in the Army to Second Lieutenant, Corps of Engineers. He served at

Camp A. A. Humphreys Fort Belvoir is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It was developed on the site of the former Belvoir plantation, seat of the prominent Fairfax family for whom Fai ...

in Virginia, as student officer at Engineer School, from December 2, 1918 to June 1919. Butler was sent to France with

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought along ...

, on a tour of observation, to September 1919. He graduated from Camp A. A. Humphreys to the

United States Army Engineer School The United States Army Engineer School (USAES) is located at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. It was founded as a School of Engineering by General Headquarters Orders, Valley Forge on 9 June 1778. The U.S. Army Engineer School provides training that de ...

in 1921. Butler served in China and Outer Mongolia with the Army Corps of Engineers and taught at West Point before returning to San Francisco in 1927. Still in service, he worked on

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...

for the 1939–40

Golden Gate International Exposition The Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE) (1939 and 1940), held at San Francisco's Treasure Island, was a World's Fair celebrating, among other things, the city's two newly built bridges. The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge opened in 1936 ...

and supervised roadwork on nearby

Yerba Buena Island Yerba Buena Island ( Spanish: ''Isla Yerba Buena'') sits in San Francisco Bay within the borders of the City and County of San Francisco. The Yerba Buena Tunnel runs through its center and connects the western and eastern spans of the San Franc ...

. After the fair ended, Treasure Island was sold to the U.S. Navy to become the base of operations for the war in the Pacific Theatre. In World War II, he was involved in both the African campaign as G-3 in the Advance Headquarters, II Corps, in Tunisia 1943, in Italy being promoted Colonel commander 168th Infantry Regiment and the invasion of Southern France, where as Brigadier General in

VI Corps 6 Corps, 6th Corps, Sixth Corps, or VI Corps may refer to: France * VI Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry formation of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VI Corps (Grande Armée), a formation of the Imperial French army du ...

he led Task Force Butler into the Battle of Montelimar. After the war he served as manager of the San Francisco International Airport and as a commissioner for the

San Francisco Fire Department The San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) provides firefighting, hazardous materials response services, technical rescue services and emergency medical response services to the City and County of San Francisco, California. History Volunteer Depa ...

. He served as commander of Camp McCoy May 24, 1951 through February 6, 1952. He retired from the Army in 1953. He died in San Francisco on June 20, 1987.

Awards and medals

* Distinguished Service Cross * Legion of Merit, the Oak Leaf Cluster *

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

* France honored him with the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honor * Italy awarded him the

Cross of Valor The Cross of Valour ( pl, Krzyż Walecznych) is a Polish military decoration. It was first introduced by the Council of National Defense on 11 August 1920. It is awarded to an individual who "has demonstrated deeds of valour and courage on the fi ...

* Knight of the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

, 1962

Promotions

* Second Lieutenant November 1, 1918 * First Lieutenant May 7, 1919 * Captain November 1, 1934 * Major July 1, 1940 * Lieutenant Colonel September 15, 1941, accepted September 22, 1941 * Colonel February 1, 1942 * Brigadier General January 17, 1944

Notes

References

External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Frederic B. 1896 births 1987 deaths United States Army generals of World War II United States Army generals United States Army personnel of World War I United States Military Academy alumni People from San Francisco Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Military personnel from California