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Fredericksburg National Cemetery

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This is a contributing entry for Fredericksburg National Cemetery and only appears as part of that tour.Learn More.
Jack Butler, Sergeant, 2nd British Royal Air Force, World War I, served 1915-1920. Butler is the only burial in the National Cemetery for service not in the United States military. Butler lived in Fredericksburg before WWI and returned after WWI. Jack Butler died October 30, 1930 and was granted a burial in the National Cemetery. The cremated remains of his son, Roy Gordon Butler (Corporal, US Air Force, World War II) were scattered here after his death on November 2, 1986.

Jack Butler

Standing, Gesture, Sculpture, Art

Jack Butler

Photograph, Facial expression, Smile, Standing

Grave #6698: Jack Butler

Plant, Cemetery, Grass, Grave

Royal Air Force Airmen Records for Jack Butler

Handwriting, Rectangle, Font, Parallel

Royal Air Force Airmen Records for Jack Butler

Rectangle, Handwriting, Font, Parallel

Royal Air Force Airmen Records for Jack Butler

Handwriting, Font, Parallel, Paper

Royal Air Force Airmen Records for Jack Butler

Handwriting, Font, Paper product, Paper

Cemetery internment record - notes that his burial in the National Cemetery was authorized by the Secretary of War

Handwriting, Rectangle, Font, Signature

WWII Draft Registration Card for Roy Gordon Butler

Handwriting, Font, Parallel, Rectangle

Death Record for Roy Gordon Butler

Handwriting, Font, Material property, Parallel

You will notice that many non-Civil War veterans are buried on the edge of sections; the Civil War graves were planned in orderly sections, but once new graves were needed for later wars the cemetery caretakers placed new burials wherever there were empty plots available. Here you will notice an odd-row among the Civil War graves. This is known as the “fill row.” When more graves were needed in the early 1900s, the cemetery caretakers began filling in some of the avenues originally meant for visitor use. In this row lies the only soldier who did not serve in the United States military.  

Born in Portsmouth, England in 1894, Jack Butler immigrated to the United States in 1907 and eventually moved to the Fredericksburg area. At the age of 19 Butler sailed back to England to serve in the 2nd Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps during World War I. He was wounded in August 1916 when his plane was shot down during a raid on German lines and during his convalescence he married Doris Tucker. After Jack was honorably discharged, the family moved back to Fredericksburg where Butler opened a garage. Jack died young, at the age of 35, of appendicitis. At the time of his death approval of his application for United States citizenship was expected shortly, which possibly explains his burial here in the National Cemetery. The ashes of his son, Roy Gordon Butler, a corporal in the US Air Force during WWII, were scattered over the grave after his death in 1986.

Pfanz, Donald C. "Where Valor Proudly Sleeps: A History of Fredericksburg National Cemetery, 1866-1933." National Park Service, 2007. (Available at Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania NMP)

Cemetery Roster & Book File, Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania NMP

Image Sources(Click to expand)

"Jack Butler." Find A Grave. Accessed May 24, 2021. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6418152/jack-butler.

"Jack Butler." Find A Grave. Accessed May 24, 2021. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6418152/jack-butler.

Photograph by Kathleen Thompson

UK, Royal Air Force Airmen Records, 1918-1940. Reference Number AIR 79. Accessed through Fold3, May 24, 2021.

UK, Royal Air Force Airmen Records, 1918-1940. Reference Number AIR 79. Accessed through Fold3, May 24, 2021.

UK, Royal Air Force Airmen Records, 1918-1940. Reference Number AIR 79. Accessed through Fold3, May 24, 2021.

UK, Royal Air Force Airmen Records, 1918-1940. Reference Number AIR 79. Accessed through Fold3, May 24, 2021.

Ancestry.com. U.S., National Cemetery Interment Control Forms, 1928-1962 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data:Interment Control Forms, 1928–1962. Interment Control Forms, A1 2110-B. Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774–1985, Record Group 92. The National Archives at College Park, College Park, Maryland. Accessed May 24, 2021.

The National Archives in St. Louis, Missouri; St. Louis, Missouri; WWII Draft Registration Cards for Virginia, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 110. Accessed through Ancestry, May 24, 2021.

Ancestry.com. Virginia, U.S., Death Records, 1912-2014 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Accessed May 24, 2021.