If you knew or served with this Sailor and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Contact Info
Home Town Paterson, NJ
Date of Passing Aug 06, 1957
Location of Interment Aberdeen Proving Ground Post Cemetery (VLM) - Aberdeen, Maryland
Navy Distinguished Service Medal Awarded for actions during World War I
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Distinguished Service Medal to Captain Henry Varnum Butler, United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious service in a duty of great responsibility as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. SAN FRANCISCO, engaged in laying mines in the North Sea during World War I.
General Orders: Authority: Navy Book of Distinguished Service (Stringer) Action Date: World War I Service: Navy Rank: Captain Company: Commanding Officer Division: U.S.S. San Francisco
Henry Varnum Butler was born in Paterson, New Jersey on 9 March 1874. He was appointed to the Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, from the Sixth District of New York in 1891. He served two years at sea as a passed midshipman as was then required by law before receiving his commission as an ensign in 1897. At the outbreak of the Spanish-American War he was aide to Captain Charles Vernon Gridley, commanding officer of USS Olympia, Admiral George Dewey's flagship. He participated in the Battle of Manila Bay and was present when Admiral Dewey uttered his famous words: "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley."
He was attached to USS Buffalo during the Boxer Uprising in China and was aboard that vessel at Taku when the Seymour Relief Expedition started for Peking in 1900. During the Philippine Insurrection he commanded USS Mindora, a small river gunboat, and in the fall of 1901 he went aboard USS Vicksburg. After his return to the United States in 1903, he had a two-year tour of shore duty at the Naval Torpedo Station, Newport, Rhode Island, and in the Bureau of Steam Engineering, in the Navy Department, Washington, DC. In 1906 he was assigned to USS West Virginia.
He commanded USS San Francisco, flagship of the Mine-laying Squadron in World War I, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for service in command of that vessel. In 1926 he was assigned to the Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida where he qualified as a naval aviation observer. He was promoted to the rank of rear admiral in 1927 and was placed in command of the Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Fleet in 1929.
From 1931 to 1933 he served as the commandant of the Washington Navy Yard. The sudden death of Rear Admiral Ridley B. McClean in 1933 left a vacancy in the battleship divisions, causing the unexpected transfer of Admiral Butler from Washington to the West Coast. In May 1934, Rear Admiral Butler assumed command of the Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Force. Shortly after taking that command, he was appointed a vice admiral, becoming the first officer of that rank to be placed in command of the Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Force. He reverted to the permanent rank of rear admiral when he was relieved of that command in 1936.
Rear Admiral Butler retired from the Navy in 1938.
He was recalled to active duty in 1942 and served until 1944 as Vice Admiral.
Other Comments:
Henry Varnum Butler (1874-1957)
Born on March 9, 1974 in Paterson, New Jersey.
Graduated from Annapolis in 1895 and commissioned in 1897. Aide to Captain Charles V. Gridley aboard the Olympia at the battle of Manila Bay in the Spanish-American War. Served aboard the Buffalo during the Boxer Rebellion and Commanding Officer of the Mindora in the Philippine Insurrection of 1901. Aide to Admiral George Dewey 1907-1911. Captain of the port at Panama Canal Zone 1914-1915.
Commanding Officer of the San Francisco attached to the British Grand Fleet in World War I.
Commanding Officer of the Michigan in 1921 and the Saratoga 1926-1927. Rear Admiral in 1927. Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief United States Fleet 1927-1929. Superintendent of the Naval Gun Factory 1931-1934. Vice Admiral in April 1935. Commander of Aircraft, Battle Force 1935-1936. Commandant of Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Naval Districts 1936-1938.
Retired in April 1938. Recalled to active duty in March 1942. Administrative Officer in the Office of the Secretary of the Navy March 1942-October 1944. Decorations included the Distinguished Service Medal.
