Butch C. Waddill died on 9 October 2018. Why does this concern you, because a question from him years ago is what set the stage for this web site to be created. The illustration to on the main page are his awards, spanning his time in the Marine Corps, starting as an enlisted man, receiving a battle field commission, and retiring as a LtCol. He came to me asking if I could find a patrol report from November 1967, where his team was ambushed, leaving behind Gary Rehn, KIA remains not recovered.

http://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/42813/GARY-L-REHN

Butch was not with the team that day, but preparing to go to Subic Bay for scuba school. His actions during the emergency extraction eventually earned him a Silver Star. However that took until June 2015 to be awarded.

https://ravallirepublic.com/news/local/article_97d074b0-0c89-11e5-9f4e-7fe1662a0cde.html

In the search for the patrol report, I was able to connect him with the pilot that lowered him into the jungle and later extracted Butch that day.

Since this site was created, there have been many visitors to this page, and hopefully it has helped most of them find what they were looking for. To his last day I don’t know that Butch or his family realized how many former Marines and their families that simple question he asked have touched. If this site has helped you, please consider leaving a guest book entry here:

https://www.meaningfulfunerals.net/obituary/butch-waddill?fh_id=14447

Semper Fi Butch

Ray Backstrom