LifeTimeline
Luke Buttry
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FEB 07
Luke's Heritage
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AUG 26
Luke's story begins
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MAR
Chenoa
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Mary Buttry
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MAY
Chenoa Grade School
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JAN 26
"In my darkest hour I turned to Christ"
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MAY 26
Chenoa High School graduation
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MAY 27
Don Klinger killed in accident
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If I were a carpenter ...
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Hard worker
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JUL 10
Chanute Field
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NOV 09
Drafted for service
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NOV 29
Basic training
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DEC 11
Engineering and Operations Clerical Course
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FEB 16
Combat Intelligence School
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APR 04
2 promotions
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JUL 07
Back to Florida
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JUL 29
"Love, Luke"
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AUG 26
22nd birthday
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OCT 10
Pendleton Army Air Field
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NOV 02
Back to Walla Walla
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DEC 24
Orangeburg Overseas Replacement Depot
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JAN 01
Shipping out
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JAN 07
Deopham Green
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MAY 30
Out of uniform
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JUN 23
Homeward bound
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JUL
Luke and Charlie
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AUG 04
A girlfriend in South Dakota
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SEP 24
Honorable Discharge
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SEP 27
Luke the builder
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JAN 02
Back to Chanute
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JAN 18
Moody Bible Institute
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SEP 09
Northern Baptist Theological Seminary
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SEP 13
Luke meets Harriet Arnold
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Fun with Luke
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Meet the parents
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MAY 31
Luke and bicycles
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SEP 12
Luke enters Wheaton College
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DEC
Engagement to Harriet Arnold
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Luke's older sisters
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MAR
Second Lieutenant
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JUN 12
Graduation from Wheaton College
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JUN 24
Marriage to Harriet Arnold
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JUN 25
Honeymoon
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JUN 25
First anniversary
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All dressed up
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Benson Baptist Church
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MAY
Ordination
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JUN 24
2nd wedding anniversary
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SEP 26
A son is born
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MAY 19
Seminary graduation
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JUL 01
Active duty
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DEC 25
Christmas 1953
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Sampson Air Force Base
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FEB 26
"Spirit of cooperation, missionary zeal and love for humanity"
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OCT 26
Son No. 2
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DEC 20
Letter to the Chief of Chaplains
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Broken leg
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APR 15
Squadron Officers School
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OCT
The Sampson Shepherd
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Lt. Buttry
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Calling Program of the Local Church
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OCT 17
Lucy dies and Don is born
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Growing family
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JUN 16
Chicksands
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Danny's Sunday
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AUG 03
Roy dies
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Oil-painting class
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FEB 20
Chaplain's Corner
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JUN 21
Letter from Chaplain Arnold
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AUG
Sunset, Utah
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FEB
Hogg Foundation
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APR 09
Finally a daughter
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Preaching outdoors
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Painting sunsets
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"If you like it, we'll buy it."
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AUG 16
Luke the scavenger
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OCT 24
"Chaplain, I need peace in my heart"
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NOV 22
JFK assassination
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Luke and music
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Self-portrait
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APR 09
Another letter from Chaplain Arnold
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DEC
Wakkanai
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Johnny Mathis
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JUN
Playing football with sons
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DEC 27
"Work of Protestant Chaplain"
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Painting, ministry and building
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Promotion to Lieutenant Colonel
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JUN
Moving to Ohio
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JUL
Lockbourne Air Force Base
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Different artistic themes
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Teen-age sons
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Luke and Pleas
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SEP 22
"Chaplain Buttry is an extremely dedicated chaplain ..."
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JUN
Luke's resumé
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AUG 31
Retirement from the Air Force
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SEP 06
First Baptist Church, Shenandoah, Iowa
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The Chaplain and the CO
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JUN
Shentennial
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Popcorn
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MAY
Steve's graduation
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AUG 04
Dan's wedding
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Art evolution
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AUG 03
Steve and Mimi's wedding
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Toys and crafts
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FEB 12
Don and Pam's wedding
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JUN 24
25th wedding anniversary
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AUG 17
The Courage of Onesimus
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SEP
1975 Resumé
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DEC 25
Christmas
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JAN
First Baptist Church, Kankakee, Illinois
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NOV 11
Veterans Day service
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DEC
Grandpa!
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DEC 25
Planning a vacation
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AUG 16
Cancer diagnosis
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APR
Luke the writer
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MAY 05
Grim report on Luke's treatment
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MAY 14
Mother's Day 1978
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MAY 25
Harriet's last love letter to Luke?
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MAY 30
Well done, good and faithful servant
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JUN
That family vacation
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JUN
Luke's life journey
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JUL
Luke's Legacy
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OCT 26
Church van dedicated in Luke's memory
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AUG
Family reunion
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Luke's Heritage
United States
Luke's forebears lived in the mountains of eastern Tennessee, primarily in the little town of Sneedville. Roy Buttry and Lucy Smith married in Sneedville February 7, 1909. I don't know when they moved to central Illinois, but they had moved to Armington, Ill., by the time Luke was born.
Four children preceded Luke: brother Pleas and sisters Georgia, Vanice and Minda. Vanice died before Luke was born. She's pictured here with Lucy and Georgia.
Roy was a stern man. At some point (I don't know when), he went to Idaho as a sheepherder, but he returned to the family. There's a picture of him and fellow sheepherders here.
Lucy was a twin. She's pictured here with her twin sister Dorcas.
Some "biographical notes" by Luke's wife, Harriet, posted here, tell of the family's move to Illinois. After Roy found a home in Armington, he sent for Lucy and Georgia. They took a passenger train to Chicago, then rode a boxcar down to Armington. Harriet's notes say Roy's sheepherding was in Montana. I heard Idaho from others of his grandchildren. He might have herded in both states.
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Luke's story begins
Armington, Illinois
Lucas Wayne Buttry was born in Armington, Ill., on August 26, 1921. His parents, Roy and Lucy Buttry, already had a son, Pleasant, and two daughters, Georgia and Minda. He attended nearly four years of school at Armington Grade School before moving to Chenoa, Ill., in March of 1931 at age 9.
In a 2015 blog post, I told about when Pleas got to fly in the Bloomington Pantagraph's "Scoop" airplane when it visited Armington in 1930: https://stevebuttry.wordpress.com/2015/01/26/.../op-biplane/
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Chenoa
Chenoa, Illinois
The Buttrys moved to Chenoa in March 1931. Luke talked about various businesses Roy owned in Armington, but also talked about growing up poor. I don't recall hearing details, but clearly Roy went broke in the Depression, like many Americans. Dad talked fondly of Chenoa as his hometown.
Lucy, a deeply religious woman, took the children faithfully to Chenoa Baptist Church. She clearly was the strongest parental influence in Luke's life.
This 1931 photo is of Roy with his three sons, Pleas, Luke (closest to Roy) and Charlie.
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Chenoa Grade School
Chenoa, Illinois
Luke graduated from eighth grade in Chenoa Grade School in May 1935 and started in Chenoa High School that fall.
In some undated biographical notes about Luke, his widow, Harriet told about his youth in Chenoa:
"He had to work from early childhood. By the age of ten, he was up at 4:00 every morning to deliver milk for a local farmer (a fact he loved to remind his children of when they complained about chores they had to do). Very early, Luke became interested in building. One of his father's many and varied jobs was in that field. Luke picked up the basics from his dad and became a much more careful and effective craftsman -- even got a bit impatient with his dad's "shortcuts!" One of Luke's jobs during 8th or 9th grade was cleaning up a grocery store after hours. When he was 13, he saved some of the used lettuce crates and built a three-room "playhouse" for his niece. Before he could give it to her, a young man in town offered him a good price, bought it, moved it to a small vacant lot near the railroad tracks and lived there. Twelve years later when Luke first took me to meet his family, it was still in good condition and occupied."
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"In my darkest hour I turned to Christ"
Chenoa, Illinois
Two documents describe the personal commitment Luke made on Jan. 26, 1939 that would shape the rest of his life. A document titled "STATISTICS CONCERNING LUCAS WAYNE BUTTRY" summarizes his life events up to 1947. One entry states: "Saved by accepting Christ as my Savior January 26, 1939 during a special two weeks revival in the Chenoa Baptist Church by Rev. Jesse Powers of the First Baptist Church of Pekin, Illinois. (Now with the Fuller Evangelistic Foundation). Joined the First Baptist Church on Easter week, that same year."
A more personal account, with no date, titled "Conversion," tells of his emotional and spiritual turmoil during the revival, building to a crescendo: "In my darkest hour I turned to Christ and my burden of sin was lifted and my soul was filled with joy."
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Don Klinger killed in accident
Elmhurst, Illinois
Luke's new brother-in-law, the Rev. Donald Klinger, came down to Chenoa for Luke's high school graduation, on a Friday night. Don had married Luke's sister, Minda, on June 2, 1938.
After the graduation, Luke went up to the Chicago area with the Klingers, hoping to find a job there. The next evening, Klinger was driving Luke and Minda to the Westmont Baptist Church, where he was pastor and piano player. He was going to play the piano for choir rehearsal.
At the intersection of 22nd Street and Canfield Road, near the Butterfield Country Club, another driver ran a stop sign and smashed into the Klingers' car. Don, just 22 years old, was thrown out of the car and killed instantly, as the car rolled over on top of him. The driver of the other car was charged with manslaughter.
Minda and Luke were injured but survived. A news report said Luke "was cut very badly on the head and arm" and was released from the hospital the following Monday. For the rest of his life, a jagged scar on his scalp where hair wouldn't grow showed evidence of the crash.
Luke didn't talk about the accident much, but his wife, Harriet, said he adored Klinger and was deeply affected by the accident. Minda later married Oscar Lawson and always remained close to Luke.
Luke and Harriet named their third son Donald.
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If I were a carpenter ...
Bloomington, Illinois
Luke always loved working with wood. He made this nightstand for his brother Pleas sometime probably in the 1940s. Dolores Buttry recalls having it in her bedroom as she grew up and remembered being told that her Uncle Luke made it. When she was downsizing in 2014, she passed it on to me. I blogged about it: https://stevebuttry.wordpress.com/2014/02/08/.../t-from-dad/
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Hard worker
Chenoa, Illinois
Young Luke Buttry was an entrepreneur and a hard worker, working several jobs, sometimes multiple jobs at once.
A fairly detailed account of his life through 1947, titled STATISTICS CONCERNING LUCAS WAYNE BUTTRY (attached here and elsewhere in the timeline), lists these early-adulthood jobs:
During high school (or perhaps before), Luke delivered the Peoria Journal Transcript for two years. He also delivered milk for a year.
His senior year of high school, and for a year after he graduated, he was a traveling salesman for Zanol Products of Cincinnati, Ohio. A job he spoke of frequently later in life was selling Fuller Brushes door to door. Interestingly, that isn't mentioned in this list of jobs. The Zanol job sounds most like it, so perhaps Zanol handled Fuller Brushes at this time. More about Zanol Products here: http://collectingvintagecompacts.blogspot.com/2012/.../.html
And more on Fuller Brushes here: http://www.fullerbrushnews.com/history.php
October 1940, for just one month, timekeeper in the Ice-O-Matic Department (refrigeration equipment) of Williams Oil-O-Matic Corp. of Bloomington, Ill. More on Williams Oil-O-Matic here: http://www.mchistory.org/research/resou/.../-oil-o-matic.php
November 1940 to March 1941, gas station attendant at a Standard Oil station in Chenoa. (I worked a few months at a SuperAmerica station in Shenandoah in 1971 and recall Dad telling me he also had worked at a gas station.)
April-May, 1941, clerk in the Royal Blue store in Chenoa. I don't know what type of store that was.
During this time, Luke also operated a bike shop, but that's addressed in a separate entry.
The 1940 census listed him as living with his parents and 12-year-old brother, Charlie, at 601 Grant in Chenoa. http://www.ancestry.com/1940-census/usa/.../-W-Buttry_4wyf6f
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Chanute Field
Rantoul, Illinois
Luke's decades of service to his country started as a civil service clerk/typist in the Special Orders Section at Chanute Field Post Headquarters from July 10, 1941, to Nov. 5, 1942, nearly a year after Pearl Harbor.
He took two hours of flight instruction in a Piper Trainer at the Illini Airport in Champaign.
After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Luke tried to enlist in the pilot training program of the Army Air Corps, which later would become the Army Air Force and then the Air Force. Luke, who was nearsighted, could not pass the vision test for being a pilot. So he remained in his civilian job until he was drafted.
The motorcycle photo is undated, but this looks like a likely place and time for it. I've also posted here a memory from his son Don many years later that tells of Luke's familiarity with motorcycles.
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Engineering and Operations Clerical Course
Edmond, Oklahoma
From Dec. 11, 1942 to Feb. 16, 1943, Luke was stationed at Oklahoma State Central Teachers College in Edmond, Okla., for an engineering and operations clerical course. He graduated Feb. 13 with rating of "excellent."
In several cases, I guess where a photo belongs, but one of these was marked "Edmond, Okla." and the other was dated Feb. 3, 1943.
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Combat Intelligence School
Salt Lake City , Utah
I don't remember ever hearing in the five years we lived in Utah when I was growing up that Dad was stationed in Salt Lake City during the war. But he went to Combat Intelligence School there Feb. 16 to April 4. He graduated April 1 with a rating of "very satisfactory."
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2 promotions
Walla Walla , Washington
Luke was assigned April 4, 1943, to the 88th Bombardment Group at Walla Walla Airfield, the 316th Bomber Squadron Intelligence Office. He was promoted to PFC and corporal, leaving July 3, 1943.
A cousin found this photo of Luke and Art Breyfogle Jr. enjoying a rodeo. I initially thought it might be when Dad was stationed in South Dakota. I tracked down Art Breyfogle III, who confirmed that his father was in the service in that time frame, though neither of us had ever heard tales of the other guy's father. But Art III recalled that his father had been stationed in the Northwest, so I'm guessing the rodeo was in Walla Walla.
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Back to Florida
Orlando, Florida
We think of Orlando now as a resort community, but in the pre-resort days when air-conditioning was limited, I bet July in Orlando was pretty miserable. Luke was stationed there July 7-28 for the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics. He was department head for the 729th Bomb Squadron Intelligence Office, part of the new 452nd Bombardment Group.
This Florida stint included a one-week detachment to Brookfield Army Air Field.
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Pendleton Army Air Field
Pendleton, Oregon
Luke was stationed at Pendleton Oct. 10 to Nov. 2. At this point, he has been in the Army Air Force less than a year and been stationed in Illinois, then Florida, then Oklahoma, then Salt Lake, then Washington state, then back to Florida, then South Dakota, then Oregon. That's seven states, one of them twice. We don't have a date for this photo of him sleeping in a plane, but I'm guessing he spent a lot of 1943 on planes and trains.
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Shipping out
Glasgow
United KingdomLuke embarked for Scotland on New Year's Day, aboard the Queen Elizabeth, arriving in Glasgow Jan. 7.
This isn't Dad's photo or postcard of the ship. I just found it online. Here's the Wikipedia entry on the ship: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Queen_Elizabeth_(1913)
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Deopham Green
Attleborough
United KingdomLuke served as an intelligence specialist with the 8th Air Force at Deopham Green north of Attleborough, England. from Jan. 7, 1944 through June 23, 1945. He gave intelligence briefings to B-17 crews before they flew bombing missions. The photo of him with a pen was sent by the Army to the Bloomington Pantagraph.
He earned the rank of staff sergeant and earned the Good Conduct Medal, the EAME (Europe/Africa/Middle East) ribbon with one bronze star and the ETO (European Theater of Operations) ribbon with five bronze stars.
The Army press release described Luke's duties for the hometown readers: "Sgt. Buttry assists in gathering information needed for carrying out successful Eighth Air Force Flying Fortress bombing attacks against targets in Nazi-occupied territory. One of his main duties is supervision of the map room, where are filed and recorded all the aerial maps used on bombing missions. He distributes them to the tactical sections, and is responsible for their safekeeping."
Here's more on Deopham Green: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Deopham_Green
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Homeward bound
Attleborough
United KingdomA little more than a month after VE Day, Luke headed home from the war. His STATISTICS CONCERNING LUCAS WAYNE BUTTRY details his trip home:
LEFT ENGLAND June 23, 1945, aboard a B-17 Flying Fortress
Prestwick Air Transport Command Station, Scotland, June 23-June 25
Landed in Iceland June 26th and stayed overnight
Landed in Labrador and stayed overnight June 27th
Landed in Bradley Field, Hartford, Connecticut June 28th
Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts, June 29th and 30th, 1945
Camp Grant, Illinois, July 1, and furloughed for 30 days rest and recuperation, July 4 - August 3d
Camp Grant, August 4th, 1945
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Luke and Charlie
Chenoa, Illinois
This photo is labeled "Luke and Charlie," but I'm not sure that's Dad. The face of the guy in uniform isn't really clear, but it doesn't look much like the other photos of Dad to me. If it was Dad, I'm guessing this was shot on his visit home after the war, but before he was discharged.
But it gives me a chance to mention his younger brother Charlie. I only met Charlie once, in a visit to his home (I'm thinking Indiana, but it might have been Illinois) before or after we went to Japan. He was estranged from the rest of the family. We don't know why. Dad speculates (perhaps based on knowledge of Charlie's situation before he disappeared) that Charlie got too deep in debt to loan sharks and disappeared. Last we heard of him, he was in Florida.
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A girlfriend in South Dakota
Rapid City, South Dakota
Luke wasn't stationed in Rapid City after returning from England. But you can see the words "Rapid City" and the name of a studio stamped on this photo. The date on the back says 1945. Luke was stationed at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, Aug. 4-20, 1945. Mom told us at some point that the other serious girlfriend Dad had before meeting her was a woman named Florence that he met in Rapid City. So I'm guessing his brief Sioux Falls stop included a weekend trip across the state to Rapid City, smiling and decked out in uniform.
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Honorable Discharge
Chanute Field, Illinois
Luke ended his first military hitch the month after World War II ended, with a brief stint at Chanute Field in the station archives department, Aug. 21 to Sept. 24.
His separation paper describes his service as an intelligence specialist: "Briefed and interrogated crews for missions, filed photos and information of all targets, and compiled reports to higher headquarters. Aided in field security. Did general typing and filing."
Twenty-five years or so after Luke's death, his grandson Patrick Devlin did a school project on Luke's service during World War II. That is posted here, too.
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Luke the builder
Chenoa, Illinois
From Sept. 27, 1945, right after his discharge from the Army Air Force, until Jan. 1, 1946, Luke worked with his father, Roy, in a roofing and siding business in Chenoa. Note the "Buttry Roofing" sign on the side of the truck.
Luke also built at least a couple houses in the Chenoa area around this time as well.
His six-page design for one house is included here. Construction costs have gone up a bit since then. Here were his projected foundation costs:
300 cement blocks @$.25 = $75
20 cement sacks @$1.05 = $21
5 T (I presume that's tons?) concrete mix @$4.00 = $20
I believe our Aunt Minda lived in one of the houses, and he traded the other for a 1960 Chevy Impala when we returned from England in 1960.
That's Roy pictured here with his car and on the roof.
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Luke meets Harriet Arnold
Chicago, Illinois
Luke and Harriet Arnold met on Friday the 13th. Harriet later gave this account:
"There was a 'get-acquainted party' for new Northern students held at the Gold Dome Building in Garfield Park on the west side of Chicago, about 1/2 mile from the Seminary. (Part of that building housed the offices of the Park District Police, and we enjoyed telling people that we met at a police station!) An icebreaker game had us getting the signatures of 25 different people at the party, e.g., a 'missionary's daughter,' 'the newest member of the faculty,' 'a piano teacher,' etc. Number 25 on the list was the signature of the person you'd like to walk home with. Well, this fellow with this hideous purple necktie asked me to sign #25. I got the idea he was a 'small town' guy and thought his social life might be off to a bad start if this 'city slicker' turned him down. So I signed #25 on his sheet, he signed #25 on mine (I think I still have them both) and the rest, as they say, is history! The 'small town' guy had been around quite a bit while in the Army and he swept me off my feet."
Yes, Harriet kept the sheets. I've posted them here.
Dan Buttry
Harriet wrote about that meeting: "Another signature, the last on the list, was to get the signature of the person you would like to walk home with. A young man (with the UGLIEST necktie I had ever seen) came toward me and asked me to sign that last item. I was almost tempted to turn him down, but thought that was probably not appropriate and I certainly didn't want to be rude. Besides, I thought that I should be kind to this "country bumpkin!" Well, SURPRISE! Luke Buttry was no "country bumpkin;" he just had an ugly purple necktie! Although he was from a small town in central Illinois, he had been around a bit during the war years." -
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Meet the parents
Chenoa, Illinois
We don't know exactly when Luke took Harriet home to Chenoa to meet his family, but we do know what happened there. Harriet told this story often, including once in writing:
"I'll never forget when I made my first trip to Chenoa to meet his family. Remember, his parents were from the hills of Tennessee, and I was a 'city slicker' from that wicked metropolis of Chicago! Luke introduced me to the family -- including his older brother Pleasant, generally called Plez or Pat. Fairly early in the conversation, Luke's mother was bringing him up on local news and gossip. She mentioned that one of his high school friends had just gotten married to a girl 'who didn't even know how to kill and dress a chicken!' Luke gave me a wicked grin just as Pat responded. 'Mama, do you really mean that? Why everyone knows how to do that! Isn't that required knowledge before you can get married?' Needless to say, I was speechless, and Luke never let me forget that I didn't know how to kill and dress a chicken -- and believe me, I never learned!!!!"
The photo of Pleas here in uniform was probably taken a few years before Harriet's first visit to Chenoa.
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Luke and bicycles
Chenoa, Illinois
Luke's account of his early life, STATISTICS CONCERNING LUCAS WAYNE BUTTRY, says he opened a bicycle shop at home in Chenoa Sept. 1, 1940 and "sold out to my father on May 31, 1947." Obviously, that was not a continuous operation, as Luke usually had another job during that period and was away from Chenoa in the military for much of the time. He also worked for Chicago Cycle Supply, February to May 1947. (I would love to know how much Roy paid his son for the bike shop, but the document doesn't include that statistic.)
But we do know this: Luke Buttry could fix bikes. Every time we slipped a chain, had a flat tire or crashed a bike, Dad got it back in working order, and told us about running his own bike shop when he was young.
And, as these photos show, Luke and Harriet did some biking in their courting (or newlywed) days, with Luke showing off a little.
But by the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, Dad's biking days were well behind him. But we had only one car (a 1960 Chevy Impala), and Dad wanted to leave that home with Mom so she could drive to the bomb shelter if needed. Dad bought a bike and rode it the six miles or so to work. Once. Or maybe twice. Then he decided he could run home and get Mom and drive her to the bomb shelter. Fortunately, the missiles never came.
Dan Buttry
This jumps ahead to the time we lived in Utah during the Cuban Missile Crisis near Hill Air Force Base, surely on the Soviet target list. Dad built a bomb shelter in our basement that could be sealed off. It had a bedroom (which was used as a guest room) and bathroom and a food pantry with plenty of canned goods to last through the immediate crisis.- (1)
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Luke enters Wheaton College
Wheaton, Illinois
Luke explained his desire for higher education: "During my overseas service I learned that only what is done for God counts in this life. I definitely felt the call for more education and applied for entrance to Wheaton College (Business Course) but realized that God wanted me to preach His word I changed my course after about a two month struggle."
He changed his major to Bible.
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Engagement to Harriet Arnold
Chicago, Illinois
In a poem, Harriet Arnold tells of her love for Luke Buttry and his proposal to marry her.
In a memory written nearly 50 years later for her grandchildren, attached here, Harriet tells of Luke's proposal to her.
On the back of the portrait of Luke included here, he wrote, "Darling, I love you always. Luke"
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Luke's older sisters
United States
Luke's older sisters, Georgia and Minda, adored him and were proud of his military service, his education and his ministry. Most of the family stayed near Central Illinois, while Luke traveled around the country and the world. When he returned home, it was a BIG deal, and the whole family gathered, usually for a picnic.
Here he and Harriet are pictured with Minda and her second husband, Oscar Lawson. Luke was riding with Minda' first husband, Don Klinger, when a car from a side road blindsided them, killing Don and injuring Luke. For the rest of Luke's life, you could see a jagged line where hair wouldn't grow, from one of his injuries in the wreck.
Another photo is of Luke and Minda, and another with Georgia and Minda.
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Marriage to Harriet Arnold
Oak Park, Illinois
Luke married Harriet Arnold on June 24, 1950. Several photos and documents are posted here.
The video is of several Arnold family home movies. The wedding starts right before the 4-minute mark. The interior shots are dark and unrecognizable, but they don't last long. Luke's family members attending the wedding show up at about 4:30, posing for a group photo. And the bride and groom come out of the church at about 4:50.
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Honeymoon
Devil's Lake State Park, Wisconsin
Luke and Harriet spent their wedding night at Hotel Moraine-on-the-Lake in Highland Park, Ill., then drove to Devil's Lake State Park for a week in a cabin. Harriet saved a postcard from the hotel and a business card from the Bonnie View Resort, where they stayed.
The Korean War started the day after Luke and Harriet married. They were oblivious to the news until going into town a few days later, when they saw a headline about American tanks retreating.
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First anniversary
Chicago, Illinois
The note in Luke's first-anniversary card to Harriet was lovely, and the postscript humorous. But this newlywed certainly didn't fail to observe his first anniversary with his bride. They probably had a romantic evening with a nice dinner and exchanged gifts on the actual anniversary. And maybe she gave Luke a card and he felt bad about not having one for her, or maybe she even commented on the the lack of a card, so he got one the next day.
Luke and Harriet's children know, though, that the postscript reveals Luke's disdain for greeting cards. Some GI he served with during World War II convinced Luke that greeting card companies were operated by organized crime to launder their dirty money. If you gave Luke a card, he'd read and appreciate the handwritten note, but also flip it over to read on the back how much you paid for it and make a joke about how much of that was profit for the mob.
So the very fact that he gave Harriet a greeting card, even a day late, was an expression of Luke's love. Note that he hand-wrote "1st" on the front to personalize even the mass-produced part.
Dan Buttry
About greeting cards, just before I went away for college I gave Dad a card for his birthday on August 26th. On September 26th I got a birthday card from Dad that looked strangely familiar. The signature was written over a white label. On the back in Dad's handwriting it said, "This is a 100% recycled card" in appreciation of his son's ecological passions! -
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Benson Baptist Church
Benson, Illinois
As a seminary student, Luke undertook his first pastoral assignment as pastor of Benson Baptist Church, more than 100 miles away from Northern. He was the pastor there until his graduation in 1953, driving each weekend to preach in the small church and make pastoral calls.
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Dan Buttry
"Daniel"--one would think this seminary student about to become a chaplain named his firstborn after Daniel in the Bible. Not so! Luke's favorite song was "O Danny Boy."- (1)
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Seminary graduation
Chicago, Illinois
Luke received a bachelor of divinity degree from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary. The degree later was upgraded to a master's degree in recognition of the three years of graduate studies involved. I don't know who has the master's degree diploma, but I proudly hang both of his bachelor's degrees in my office.
Luke and Harriet had both been planning all along to become missionaries after Luke's graduation from seminary. But as graduation approached, both felt God calling him back into the military to be a chaplain.
He also was recruited by the CIA, because of his World War II experience in Army intelligence.
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Dan Buttry
For quite a time Luke and Harriet prayerfully considered becoming missionaries to Brazil. But during his last year in seminary he approached Harriet in what she said was "almost fear and trembling," saying that he felt God was leading him to military chaplaincy. Luke was sensitive to the price paid by a military spouse, something Harriet knew from her sister-in-law Florence who had married Harriet's brother Frank, a chaplain in World War II and continuing on in the Air Force. But Harriet confirmed that she had also felt the Holy Spirit moving them in the direction of military chaplaincy. So this was a choice embraced by them both as something directed by the God they served first and foremost. -
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Dan Buttry
Luke's closest friend at Sampson was a fellow Baptist chaplain, Walter McDuffy, an African-American Luke knew from seminary days. Dan called him "Chapel Mac." In 2013 Dan was at the American Baptist Churches Mission Summit in Kansas City when an older black gentleman came up and introduced himself as an old chaplain colleague of his father's. Dan immediately said, "Chapel Mac!" Chaplain McDuffy lit up with joy, and they embraced. You can see Chapel Mac on the far left side of the photo of all the men in front of the bus in the last photo of this set--Luke is on the far right. These are GIs heading out to be baptized at a local Baptist church because the base chapels had no facilities for baptism by immersion.
There were so many chapels to handle the massive number of airmen on the base that the Baptists could have their own chapel. They had revival services every Sunday evening, giving an altar call for commitment to faith in Christ. Harriet recalled never seeing less than a dozen young men respond to the altar calls. Each airman would be followed up with individual counseling and encouraged to be baptized.
Harriet's father Frank Arnold came to visit the family at Sampson. He heard Luke preach and made favorable comments to Harriet about how God was using him in his ministry, which meant a lot to Harriet. -
"Spirit of cooperation, missionary zeal and love for humanity"
Sampson Air Force Base, New York
A letter from the Sampson commander praises Luke:
"Your personal, amiable and likeable disposition has created a fine spirit of good will. ... Your spirit of cooperation, missionary zeal and love for humanity are attributes which reflect credit to you, the chaplaincy, and the United States Air Force."
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Letter to the Chief of Chaplains
Sampson Air Force Base, New York
This letter to Chief of Chaplains Charles I. Carpenter apparently responds to a request for some information for an article (though I have not seen the article). The letter gives a brief summary of Luke's service in World War II and his education. The last paragraph explains his call to ministry and to the chaplaincy:
"I chose the ministry when the war days with their air raids in England made me realize that the important things of this life are the things which have an eternal value. ... I realized God desired for me to proclaim His Word of His Son being 'the Way, the Truth and the Life.' ... I definitely feel this is God's chosen field for me."
Here is Chaplain Carpenter's New York Times obituary: http://www.nytimes.com/1994/02/26/obit/.../of-chaplains.html
The day Luke wrote this letter, his future daughter-in-law, Mimi Johnson, was born.
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Broken leg
Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama
Luke was attending Squadron Officers School at Air University on Maxwell Air Force Base. He somehow broke his leg (how he broke it must not be a good story, because we can't remember it). The good story was that Harriet had to drive down more than 1,000 miles to Maxwell from Sampson with a toddler and an infant. Then she had to drive back with Luke stretched out in the back seat with a full-length cast on his leg. The trip back included a stop to visit some of Luke's kinfolk in Sneedville, Tenn. The directions Harriet had received to get to the rural home included the words "cross the creek," which Harriet thought involved a bridge. It didn't.
Mom made the story longer than that, but this will have to do for here. It was one of the stories kids hear from their parents often enough that they eventually tune it out.
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The Sampson Shepherd
Sampson Air Force Base, New York
"The Sampson Shepherd" newsletter for fall of 1955, reporting "Protestant Parish News" for the chapel, shows how busy Luke was as a young chaplain.
On Page 2, he is listed as the religious education chaplain. Also on Page 2 is the worship schedule for the huge basic-training base, with 15 different services scheduled in nine different chapels. He would have preached both at the general worship services and at the evening Baptist service.
On Page 3, Luke is pictured with other chaplains.
Page 5 doesn't name Luke, but recounts Boy Scout and Teenage Club activities. Since no youth chaplain is named on the Page 2 roster, either or both of those duties might have fallen to the religious education chaplain.
Page 6 has a story "Getting Squared Away With God," about the Baptist ministry in the chapel. Dad was one of three Baptist chaplains, and he's pictured at the top of the page, leading a Baptist Instruction class.
Page 7 lists the Maintenance Committee members: Luke and Walter McDuffy, another Baptist chaplain who became a lifelong friend and visited our family at least in Utah, possibly elsewhere.
Sampson closed in 1956, as Congress reduced military budgets following the end of the Korean War: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampson_Air_Force_Base
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Lt. Buttry
Bartow Air Force Base, Florida
Luke was transferred from Sampson to Bartow for the second of six permanent assignments as a chaplain in January 1956.
Bartow closed in 1961: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartow_Air_Base
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Calling Program of the Local Church
United States
Luke's seminary thesis was published by Higley Press. I have a copy that he autographed for Harriet.
One of the press clippings here, from the Orlando Sentinel, reports the publication of the book. The other two photos are from the Bartow Air Force Base newspaper, the Flight Log.
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Lucy dies and Don is born
Bartow Air Force Base, Florida
As Harriet was nearing her due date for a third child, Luke flew home to Chenoa, where Lucy spent nine days in a coma. Don recounts the story of the two life passages:
After Grandma's funeral, "Dad flew standby on military and got back and then had to take Mom to hospital without sleeping. He fell asleep as Mom was in labor and nurse wouldn't tell Mom as she felt Dad was wrong to sleep but Mom was hoping he would sleep because they had stayed up around the clock with Grandma.".
Donald Paul Buttry, Luke and Harriet's third son, was born Oct. 17, 1956.
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Chicksands
Flitwick
United KingdomLuke's first overseas assignment was at Chicksands Air Station, England, starting July 1957. We lived in a rented house at 29 Ampthill Road in Flitwick. The roses in some of these photos were tended by a gardener who used to work at Buckingham Palace. Luke learned a lot about gardening from him and loved to plant roses at our other homes. We lived in Flitwick three years.
A letter home, posted here, tells Luke's family in Illinois the story of the voyage across Atlantic on the UPSHUR, arriving in Southhampton, England, on 16 June 1957 (Dad always used military style in writing dates).
His description of the house is exactly as I remember it: "The house is much beyond our expectations -- a lovely flower garden, with lots of roses already blooming, a large play yard for the boys, a nice patio, about 20 apple trees in the back yard, a few currant bushes and a couple of gooseberry bushes. ..."
And he tells about buying a car, which I also remember: "I have ordered a Hillman Husky station wagon for $1115, plus about $150 for heater, undercoating, license, road tax and insurance for 1 year. I am sending Papa a picture of it, so if you want to see them, drop by the house. By paying cash for it, my savings in interest will be quite a lot." (The Hillman Husky is in one of these photos.)
He was excited about preaching in a church where John Bunyan had preached: "It seemed like hallowed ground."
And Luke closed with a request of his frugal family: "Send all of your mail to me Air Mail (6 cents) for regular mail often takes about 30 days, whereas Air Mail takes only about 4 to 6 days."
The U.S. Air Force left Chicksands in 1996, turning it back over to the Royal Air Force: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Chicksands
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Danny's Sunday
Chicksands Air Station, Illinois
Sometime while we were in England, Luke pitched a book titled "Danny's Sunday" to a religious publisher (maybe several). It was to be a children's book about going to Sunday school and church. The book was never published and may never have been written. But he shot some photographs to illustrate.
(And, despite the title, Stevie appeared to share in ownership of Sunday. By the way, Dad called me Stevie long after I had tired of the nickname, but I don't think I ever told him. He was the only one to call me that for several years.)
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Oil-painting class
Chicksands Air Station
United KingdomIn 1959, Luke took a class that changed his life. A doctor who was treating him for some signs of stress suggested a hobby. Dad already had two hobbies he was really passionate about: carpentry and gardening. But the doctor encouraged trying something new. Dad kind of blew off the doctor.
But then he saw a sign at the base hobby shop, advertising an oil painting class. He produced two paintings in the class that remain family treasures: a still life and a landscape of the back yard in Flitwick. That was plenty of painting then, but the class unlocked a passion that would bring Luke and others enjoyment for the rest of his life and beyond.
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Letter from Chaplain Arnold
Chicksands Air Force Base
United KingdomThis letter from Chaplain Frank Arnold Jr. tells Luke that a new staff chaplain will be his supervisor in the 6900th Security Wing, as Chaplain Arnold was heading to a new assignment.
Despite the formal tone of the letter, addressing Luke as "Chaplain Buttry," the two men were brothers-in-law. Chaplain Arnold was Harriet's older brother and at least twice held command positions above Luke in the military hierarchy.
Uncle Frank was a decorated chaplain in the Army during World War II. I published his World War II diary on my blog in 2009: https://stevebuttry.wordpress.com/2009/07/04/.../r-ii-diary/
Dan Buttry
While Luke was stationed at Chicksands in England, Frank was at Ramstein in Germany. The two got together and went on a trip to the Holy Land, Luke's only time to get to the Biblical sites. -
Sunset, Utah
Sunset, Utah
Luke was transferred to Hill Air Force Base, Utah, in August 1960. For five years, the family lived in Sunset, Utah, just east of the Great Salt Lake.
Luke tirelessly landscaped the new home, which was surrounded by sand when the family moved in. He built the world's coolest playhouse in the back yard. And you know I think it was cool, or I wouldn't publish a photo of me in the pants seen here. Dad built basement bedrooms for Dan and me, as well as a family room and play room. He built a scale model of our kitchen for Carol to play in (her birth was the next event, in 1961. You can see part of the kitchen behind me on a Christmas morning.
Hill is the only base where Luke served that is still an active Air Force base: http://www.hill.af.mil/
Dan Buttry
That playhouse was the coolest place in the world. It could be a fort, a submarine, a B-17 (with the top gun turret). Later with the help of a neighbor's telescope it became an observatory.- (1)
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Hogg Foundation
Austin , Texas
Luke studied counseling at the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health at the University of Texas, a program for Air Force chaplains.
Luke told the story of the foundation's benefactors, daughters of a Texas governor who named the girls Ima Hogg and Ura Hogg. Actually, the story was only half-true. Ura Hogg was a Texas legend, but Ima was actually a philanthropist who used some of the family fortune to support her favored causes, including mental health.
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Dan Buttry
The Sunday Carol was born Dad was going to preach from the Book of Philemon on "The Courage of Onesimus." When he heard he had a daughter he couldn't even say Onesimus let alone preach a sermon about him. The sermon got shelved for a couple years. Then he brought it out for a guest speaking gig. That sermon delayed by Carol's birth became his signature sermon with the line, "We don't know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future."
Years later I was in the Soviet Union during the tumultuous times of 1988. I was invited to preach in a church with only a few minutes notice. What could I say in the Soviet Union as such a time?! Dad's voice echoed in my mind and soul, and I preached "The Courage of Onesimus" -- "We don't know what the future holds, but we do know who holds the future!"- (1)
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Preaching outdoors
Utah
Luke preaching outdoors, probably in Utah. I think that's my older brother, Dan, at far right. Our mother, Harriet, has Carol on her lap and I am right next to her. I think that's our brother, Don, who's smiling, third from left. No idea who all the other kids are.
Dan Buttry
Most likely in Zion National Park, our favorite vacation spot.- (1)
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Steve Buttry
I also wondered if it might be Zion, but didn't remember any chapel trips there (though he might have led an impromptu Sunday-morning service in a campground). If this is from a chapel trip, I'd guess Lake Tahoe, Estes Park or Mountain Spa. But I'd also expect to see more adults. -
Painting sunsets
Sunset, Utah
The glorious sunsets every night on the Great Salt Lake, easily visible from our back yard, awakened the creativity that the oil-painting class at Chicksands had started. Every evening (because rainy evenings were rare), we had a spectacular view of the sunset on the Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island. Dad painted several sunsets. And painting became a lifelong hobby and a joy both for Dad and those who received his art as gifts.
I shared Dad's love of sunsets, and blogged in 2010 about my love of sunsets and my return to Sunset 41 years after we left: https://stevebuttry.wordpress.com/2010/10/08/.../ect-sunset/
After visiting the Eisenhower farm in Gettysburg, Pa., I learned that Ike also liked to paint, which inspired a blog post: http://2roadsdiverged.com/dad-and-ike-mi/.../joyed-painting/
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"If you like it, we'll buy it."
Zion National Park, Utah
Universal facts of family life are that you remember your parents' speech patterns (and probably made fun of them when you were kids, if not in adulthood) and that you, at some time, catch the same words coming out of your own mouth, usually in a similar family setting.
One of Dad's most-used (and mocked, by his kids) sayings was, to Mom, "If you like it, I'll buy it." He usually said it in some setting he couldn't possibly buy, like Zion National Park, our favorite vacation spot in our Utah years. The photographs and paintings here are all from Zion, as close as Dad ever came to buying Zion for Mom.
Some other Dad-isms we recall:
"Get with the program!" an inevitable part of any chewing out.
Dad was a learned man who usually spoke in good grammar, but the one example of bad grammar we heard a lot, perhaps reflecting his country roots, was the double-negative "can't hardly."
Dad's explanation of family finances always turned into a parable about "the pie," and why we couldn't have as big a piece as we wanted. Which turned every dessert pie into humor about Dad's lectures on family finances.
As his children approached graduation, we all endured humorous laments about birds leaving the nest, with physical arms-spread illustrations by Dad that sent the kids scrambling to pull window blinds, lest the neighbors see how crazy our Dad was.
Soft drinks were always "Coke" to Dad, whatever the brand (and it usually was Coke, if he was drinking).
I'm sure the siblings will add more that I'm forgetting at the moment (perhaps after years of trying very hard to forget).
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Luke the scavenger
Hill Air Force Base, Utah
If a building was being torn down, that was always a good place to look for Luke. He was probably asking someone if he could salvage the lumber or machinery or something there that he might be able to use in one of his projects.
This story in the Hill Top Times tells of Dad's role in getting excess hospital equipment from Hill shipped off to a World Vision Mission Hospital in India. He was creative and ingenious at finding new uses for old stuff and at getting people to work together to make it happen.
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"Chaplain, I need peace in my heart"
Hill Air Force Base, Utah
The pdf attached here is an article Luke submitted for the Chaplain's Corner column in the Hill Top Times. I don't have a published copy, but I presume it was published. It tells of Luke's ministry to a troubled airman who came into his office looking for peace.
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JFK assassination
Dad collected newspapers covering historic news, starting with the Kennedy assassination in 1963. Usually he wrapped them in large sheets of plastic, probably from dry cleaning bags. I inherited his collection of historic newspapers (and have added many more). I blogged about the Kennedy newspaper on the 50th anniversary of the assassination:
https://stevebuttry.wordpress.com/2013/11/22/.../ears-later/
We didn't have a TV at the time, because Dad and Mom wisely thought we would spend too much time watching it and it would rot our minds. They finally broke down and got a TV after we all spent a lot of time at neighbors' houses watching coverage of the assassination and funeral.
Dad's favorite TV shows were military shows: "No Time for Sergeants," "Gomer Pyle" and especially "Twelve O'Clock High."
Dan Buttry
Since Luke had been in a B-17 group in World War II, "Twelve O'Clock High" was very special to him. It aired on Sunday night, so the evening service had to conclude early enough for him to get home to watch the show. When the Buttry's left Hill AFB, one of the farewell gifts was an old Air Force flying cap with goggles so he could watch "Twelve O'Clock High" appropriately attired."- (1)
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Luke and music
Luke Buttry had an awful singing voice and deliberately stepped back away from the microphone during hymns, or even sat down. He usually had a song leader or choir director lead the congregational singing, rather than having people follow whatever tune he might be singing.
But he did love music. His favorite hymn (and the opening hymn at his funeral) was "May Jesus Christ Be Praised": https://youtu.be/mUSCdJBNCiY
He also was very proud of the musical ability Harriet, who led choirs, sang in choirs and played the piano and organ at various churches and chapels where he was pastor or chaplain. He was proud, too, of the music of his nephews, Mike and Kevin Lawson, who sang at his funeral.
And when he was in the basement painting or making something out of wood, you could always hear country music on his stereo, usually Johnny Cash. That fondness for Johnny Cash carries on in his grandsons. I've added some other favorites here, including the non-country classic "O Danny Boy," from which he named his oldest son.
We could have chosen anywhere on the timeline to address his love of music. I chose 1964 at random.
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Self-portrait
Sunset, Utah
Luke never painted a portrait. A few paintings have distant human figures, but they are not the focus of any of his paintings. I don't know whether that was a matter of interest, ability or confidence, perhaps a combination. After he had painted a few sunsets and other landscapes, Mom told him she would like him to paint a self-portrait. This is it. His explanation was that he had just gotten up to answer the phone.
But it's actually a pretty good self-portrait, showing his favorite chair, his slippers, his hat (which he would have worn outside, but not had sitting on the arm of the chair), the glass of milk he always enjoyed in the evening, with one of his paintings (long since given away as a gift; not one I recognize, but I do enjoy the picture-within-a-picture) and a planter box he built for the family room. It showed a lot of Luke, just not his face.
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Another letter from Chaplain Arnold
Hill Air Force Base, Utah
This letter from Chaplain Frank Arnold tells Luke of his next assignment, at Wakkanai Air Station, Japan. This would have been Luke's second opportunity to work under the command of his brother-in-law.
However, Uncle Frank died the next month before the Buttrys' move to Japan. We traveled to the Midwest for his funeral in May (in the Chicago area; as I recall). Then in June, we started our move to Japan. As alluded to in the final paragraph of this letter, we stopped in Hawaii for about two weeks of temporary duty, with Dad getting oriented to his duty in Japan while the family enjoyed the beaches and sightseeing. We drove around the island in Frank's old car. His family had already moved to the mainland, but they arranged for a friend to sell the car after our visit.
Mom sent distant family an eight-page travelogue of the trip to Japan and our early time there.
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Wakkanai
Wakkanai Air Station
JapanLuke was stationed at Wakkanai, on the farthest north tip of Japan, from 1965 to 1967. He was the base chaplain.
The base was in the Air Force Security Service, a radar and spying station keeping a close eye on Soviet activity on Sakhalin, just 26 miles away across frigid waters. Wakkanai is on the northern tip of Hokkaido, Japan's northern island. Here's what its Wikipedia entry says about Wakkanai's climate:
"Snowfall at 6.6 metres (260 in), the third highest for a big city in Japan after Asahikawa and Aomori and one of the highest anywhere in the world. For comparison, Nain in Canada receives 194 inches (4.9 m) of snow. The Aleutian Low also makes the sunshine hours the lowest of Japan’s major population centres and in the winter the wind speeds are the highest in Japan with an average of 20.2 km/h (12.6 mph), which adds to the −4.7 °C (23.5 °F) cold of a typical winter day."
That sounds about right. Personal cars were not allowed on base. Shuttle buses drove people from the base housing area to the operations area, which included the lovely chapel. Except for the commanders' quarters, housing was in quadplexes arranged in horseshoes. The men of each horseshoe would dig a tunnel through mountains of snow left by the snowplows, so people could get out to catch the bus (and have some shelter from the wind while we waited).
On a few occasions, "whiteouts" would stop even the buses, and transportation around the base was only by "snow cats," tank-like vehicles with treads that could ride over the drifting snow. We had chapel services even in whiteouts, with snow cats bringing the chaplain and a few hardy souls to the chapel.
When Soviet fighters shot down Korean Airlines Flight 707 in 1983 after it wandered into Soviet air space, our whole family knew exactly the origin of the cockpit audio recordings that were released swiftly after the incident. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-his/.../n-by-soviet-union
I can't find the exact date, but the U.S. Air Force eventually turned the base over to the Japanese Air Force. http://www.wakkanaiwasmyhome.citymax.com/home.html
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Johnny Mathis
Wakkanai Air Station
JapanJohnny Mathis visited Wakkanai on a tour of overseas military bases. The day was bitterly cold, with a brisk wind blowing in off the water. Luke was backstage with Mathis and offered the singer his parka. But Mathis politely declined, singing in his suit (and not shivering, that we could see).
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