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| Pfc. Joseph Butcher fought at the Battle of Mount Austen with these troops. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6089169/joseph-lee-butcher https://br.pinterest.com/pin/564005553307205525/ |
Joseph Lee Butcher never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on June 26, 1918 in Indiana. His parents Bernard and Stella were born in Indiana and Texas, respectively. His father worked as a farm laborer and later as a farmer. Joseph had eight younger sisters and two younger brothers (one became a WW2 vet). By 1940 Joseph had completed eight years of school and was working as a millwright while living at home. He also served in the Illinois Army National Guard.
Joseph's national guard unit was called up the army on March 5, 1941. He became a private first class in Company L, 3rd Battalion, 132nd Infantry Regiment. He was sent to the South Pacific and became part of the Americal Division in May 1942. It arrived on Guadalcanal on December 8, 1942.
To stop Japanese infiltration at night to destroy American planes, the 132nd IR was assigned to take Mt Austen, to push the enemy farther away from the vital airfields. Facing well defended Japanese troops, the 132nd made one unsuccessful attack after another. Pfc. Butcher was killed attacking what became known as the Gifu on December 25, 1942. The position would not be taken until the next month at the cost of 132 killed.
His grave is at Mount Calvary Cemetery and Mausoleum in Kankakee, Illinois.
Last year on this date I profiled Edward Michalski, 29th Infantry Division. You can read about Edward here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
Joseph Butcher was my uncle. He died long before I was born, but my middle name was an honor given me by my parents.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the article.
Joseph Butcher was my uncle as well. Our mother was his sister. She often spoke about Joseph and the fact that he died for our country on Christmas Day, 1942. I thank you as well for the article. I had never seen this before.
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