Cooperative Living August 2020 - 10

WarStories | by Preston Knight, Contributing Writer
Surviving the
'Flying Coffin'
Douglas Butler stays busy,
75 years after World War II
W
hen you've flown 35 missions
over enemy territory in World
War II, few other crises will
keep you up at night.
Douglas Butler's looking at you,
COVID-19.
" When I caught up with him this
morning, he was eating breakfast at
McDonald's! " says Dianne Klopp,
a friend. " I asked him what he was
doing out and about, and he said he
figured if getting shot at during the war
hadn't killed him, he was safe. "
Butler, a World War II veteran who
turns 96 in December, freely admits to
making that statement.
" I've been blessed with good health, "
he says, " and that I don't have any bullet
holes in me. "
Born and raised in Winchester, Va.,
where he still resides, Butler stays busy
through the city's Kiwanis Club and
other volunteer efforts. A former member
of the Winchester City Council, he says
he was so glad to return home from war
that he wanted to get involved in
whatever capacity he could.
" I don't just sit around, " Butler says.
" I am just as active now as I was back
then. "
His " back then " followed the stretch
between May 1943 and November 1945
when he served his country. Drafted into
the U.S. Army, Butler was reassigned for
training with the U.S. Army Air Corps,
becoming a nose turret gunner on a B-24
bomber that flew 35 missions from its
base in Italy.
" Wherever they needed me, " he says.
" I was a 19-year-old kid. I was a farm
boy. This was kind of an exciting thing
for me. "
SURVIVING TO PERFECTION
Butler's memories remain fresh from
his service time, likely a product of him
keeping his mind and body lively. He
8 | Cooperative Living | August 2020
Above, an image of the painting
on the nose of Butler's bomber
that was created by an Italian artist.
Left, Douglas Butler sits in
Mission BBQ in Winchester, Va.,
which named a booth after him.
World War II veteran Douglas Butler of Winchester was among a crew that flew
35 missions over enemy territory during the war. He will turn 96 in December.
says he only felt his age recently when he
couldn't believe his oldest of three sons,
who lives in Charleston, S.C., turned 71.
" I was up on a ladder the other day, "
Butler says proudly. " I think that I feel
like I'm about 35 years of age. "
A healthy, active World War II veteran
makes for a popular veteran. Butler has
been no stranger to news coverage, most
recently around Memorial Day when he
was featured in his hometown paper, the
Winchester Star, discussing his brother's
service. Bobby Butler, who was drafted
on the same day as his younger brother,
was killed in combat on his fifth mission.
He was only 21.
In his interview for Cooperative Living,
the veteran reflected on the success of
his crew. There were no casualties despite
the extra-dangerous conditions inherent
with riding aboard a B-24, which was
known as a " flying coffin. " Among its
weaknesses, the B-24 could not fly as
high as other aircraft.
Butler says he flew at about 25,000
feet, a lower elevation more susceptible
to German anti-aircraft guns. He credits
his crew's attention to detail for getting
everyone back home safely.
" I made sure every machine gun was
working to perfection, " he says. " We
wouldn't take a plane up unless it was
in perfect shape. "
AIRPLANE ARTISTRY
His plane was named " Little Mike, "
a reference to a radio operator's son.
The operator was the only crew member
who was married.
The plane was painted by an Italian
artist with a baby in a diaper, smoking
a cigar and holding a bottle of booze,
while riding a bomb.
" For a pack of cigarettes, " Butler says,
" they'd paint anything on the plane. "
He returned home from war and
managed a local agricultural chemical
company, retiring at 55.
According to the U.S. Department
of Veterans Affairs, about 325,000 of
the 16 million Americans who served
in World War II are still living, a figure
that is quickly dwindling each year.
Butler says it's important that their
stories are told before it's too late.
" People need to know that America
is really great. Unless you've been to
other countries, you just don't realize
how great it is, " he says. " We need to
do everything we can to build it up. " ■
Preston Knight is public relations coordinator
at Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative.
co-opliving.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF DOUGLAS BUTLER
http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living August 2020

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