Staff Sergeant Robert Roy Butler, Jr. (1923-1944) graduated from Handley High School in Winchester, Va. in 1941. He was a student at Virginia Polytechnic Institute airport in Blacksburg, Va. in 1942, and entered the Army Air Corps in 1943. He became a flight engineer on the B-24 Liberator heavy bomber. Staff Sgt. Butler was assigned to the 944th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 489th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 8th Army Air Force at Halesworth, England.

His awards include the Air Medal (Oct. 20, 1945) and the Purple Heart (Sep. 18, 1945). He was killed in action on a bombing mission over Mainz, Germany on Oct. 19, 1944 when his aircraft was shot down. The Bomber's crew named their aircraft "Pleasant Surprise."