Butler, Leonard J.

Description

Leonard Butler was born on May 13, 1914, in Connecticut to Margaret Desey, age 31, and James J Butler, age 38. He had one sister Margaret.

In Rye his family lived at 167 Grandview Avenue and were members of the Church of the Resurrection. He attended Rye schools and was a 1936 graduate of Fordham University.

Leonard Butler enlisted in the Army on July 25, 1941, in New York City, New York, during World War II. He was 27 years old.

Enlisting before Pearl Harbor, he served for two years in Hawaii in the U.S. Army Coastal Artillery.

Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications.

Leonard was in the communication branch in the artillery laying wire between batteries between the 90mm anti aircraft guns and their radar.

In anti-aircraft use, the guns were normally operated in groups of four, controlled by the M7 or M9 gun director or Kerrison predictors. Radar direction was common, in 1944, the system was upgraded with the addition of the SCR-584 microwave radar, which was accurate to about 0.06 degrees (1 mil) and also provided automatic tracking.

With the SCR-584, direction and range information was sent directly to the Bell Labs M3 gun data computer, and M9 director, which could direct and lay the guns automatically, all the crews had to do was load the guns.

Leonard spent most of his time in Hawaii except for a short time in the Gilbert Islands to install communications.

After the war Leonard returned to Rye and was active in many community organizations and events. He was involved for many years on the board of the Rye Little League. Leonard organized many social and sporting events for the Church of the Resurrection. He was an officer and lifetime member of the Rye American legion Post 128.

Leonard Butler died on September 10, 2003, in Haverstraw, New York, when he was 89 years old. He was a beloved member of the Rye Community