Range Named for Fallen Soldier

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Brig. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, 1st Armored Division’s assistant division commander for maneuver, and Command Sgt. Maj. Nathaniel Hopkins, 3rd Brigade Combat Team command sergeant major, unveil the sign marking the opening of the Butler Range Complex. The range is named in honor of Sgt. Jacob L. Butler, the first 1AD soldier killed during Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Army photo by Spc. John S. Wollaston

Range Named for Fallen Soldier

By U.S. Army Spc. John S. Wollaston, 3rd Brigade Combat Team

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Nov. 7, 2003 - Soldiers from 1st Armored Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team gathered Nov. 1 for a ceremony dedicating the Butler Range complex to their friend and fellow soldier, Sgt. Jacob L. Butler.

Butler, a scout for 3rd Brigade Combat Team’s 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, died during one of the first heavy engagements of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The battalion was supporting elements of the 82nd Airborne Division in and around the southern Iraqi town of as-Samwah when they ran into heavy opposition near a bridge as they crossed the Euphrates River.

The battalion’s scouts were sent forward to assess the enemy strength on the far side of the bridge. When a fellow scout was wounded after a rocket-propelled grenade struck his vehicle, Butler went forward to continue the reconnaissance mission and rescue his fellow soldier.

He was killed when small-arms fire and an rocket-propelled grenade struck his vehicle.

Butler was the first soldier from the 1st Armored Division to die in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. His death stunned the battalion.

“Sgt. Butler took the fight to the enemy so the enemy couldn’t bring the fight to us,” said 3rd Brigade commander Col. Russ Gold during the dedication ceremony. “His actions that day saved the lives of his fellow soldiers and countless others that followed.”

Gold drew a comparison between Butler and the biblical character Jacob. He pointed out how they were both were “scouting the way for those who followed behind.”

The first range of its type anywhere in Iraq, Butler Range Complex is capable of supporting various types of tank, artillery and infantry gunnery training, which is critical to maintaining a soldier’s war-fighting skills. The maneuver battalions in 3rd Brigade Combat Team have already begun blasting away at targets on the range, honing their skills should they be needed again here in Iraq.

Gold closed the ceremony by reading the words at the bottom of the sign dedicating the range in Butler’s memory.

“May all soldiers who use this range complex to better their war-fighting skills always remember Sgt. Butler, his courage and his sacrifice.”

Casualty of war honored

By John Milburn
The Associated Press ~ May 2, 2003

__________________________

Sgt. Jacob L. Butler
__________________________

State officials paused from their debate over balancing the state budget Thursday to honor the family of Army Sgt. Jacob Butler for his service to the country.

"He was willing to pay the price," Gov. Kathleen Sebelius told Butler's parents, Jim and Cindy, during a meeting in her ceremonial office.

Jacob Butler, 24, was based at Fort Riley and was a scout with the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Armored Division. He was killed April 1 at Assamawah, Iraq, when a rocket-propelled grenade hit his vehicle.

Sebelius presented his parents with a Kansas flag that was flown at the Statehouse and a commemorative coin with the state seal. She concluded the meeting with hugs and cookies for the couple's three grandchildren.

Jim Butler told the governor that his son, who wasn't married and didn't have any children, died protecting the nation's freedom and doing what he loved. The Wellsville native had been in the Army for five years.

His mother said it was important that his body was recovered and her son was buried in Wellsville.

"We can visit him when we want," she said. "Parents are supposed to go first."

Jim Butler added, "I've been there quite a lot."

Sebelius told the Butlers that her mother lost a brother in World War II and his remains were never returned home.

"There was no final goodbye," she said.

Members of the House and Senate also honored the Butlers with special introductions and a resolution.

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