Richard Leigh Butt

Vietnam War
Unit559th Tactical Fighter Squadron
RankMajor U.S. Air Force
Entered Service FromNorfolk Virginia
Date of DeathNovember 11 1966
StatusRecovered
Memorialized
Courts of the Missing
Court
A
Notes
Major Butt was a member of the 559th Tactical Fighter Squadron. On November 11, 1966, he was the weapons systems officer of a McDonnell Douglas Phantom II Fighter (F-4C) on a mission about 5 miles west of Vinh Linh, Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam when his aircraft was shot down. He was taken prisoner and died in captivity. His remains were recovered on April 10, 1986 and identified on November 17, 1986. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.
rosetta medal
When an individual’s remains have been accounted for by the U.S. Department of Defense, a rosette is placed next to the name on the Wall/Tablet/Court of the Missing to mark that the person now rests in a known gravesite.