St. Charles Vietnam Air Force veteran now active in community

St. Charles resident and Vietnam War veteran Duane Buttell, 83, spent more than 30 years in the military, had a 29-year career as a commercial airline pilot and is a very active community member.

Since 1978, Buttell and his family have lived in St. Charles, where he and his wife raised two children and have five grandchildren. They are active in the community, working with veterans organizations, community programs and their church.

Buttell grew up in Chillicothe, a small town north of Peoria. He met his wife, Judy, when they were students at the University of Illinois in 1963 and they were married a year later.

Buttell said patriotism was a big part of his upbringing, as many small towns like his revolved around the military. He said his parents were heavily involved in local veterans organizations and he recalled attending parades and spending many nights at the Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion posts.

“Every community had a VFW and American Legion hall and they were kind of the central focus for entertainment before television,” Buttell said. “It was the center of the world, the military. ... They were very patriotic times.”

Buttell had three uncles in the military and his father served in the Army in World War II. His father was wounded and honorably discharged. Buttell said although patriotism was a major part of his upbringing, flying fighter jets and becoming a pilot never was part of his plan.

Buttell said his careers in the military and aviation started by accident. He originally planned to go to law school. At the time, all male students at the University of Illinois were required to join the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, so he signed up for the Air Force’s ROTC program.

“My entire career was aviation, which started by accident at the University of Illinois,” Buttell said. “If the University of Illinois had not mandated that I go through ROTC, it wouldn’t have happened. I never would have had 50 years in aviation.”

Although Buttell had never been in an airplane before, he learned to fly in ROTC. After graduating with a degree in economics that he never ended up using, he went straight into Air Force pilot training in Del Rio, Texas.

“I was high enough in my pilot training class that I received a fighter assignment, which was every young boy’s dream to be able to go fast and fly supersonic,” Buttell said.

After more than two years of pilot training on multiple aircrafts at military bases in the U.S., Buttell was deployed to Da Nang, Vietnam, in 1966. Between February and September 1966, he flew 153 combat missions, 100 of which were over North Vietnam. He was discharged after his 100th mission as was standard procedure.

Buttell said his claim to fame came July 14, 1966. He was piloting an escort mission over Vietnam when his team was attacked two enemy MiG-21 fighter jets. They eliminated the jets and successfully completed the mission.

Buttell was awarded a Silver Star and the Distinguished Flying Cross, two of the highest decorations awarded to military personnel, as well as 10 air medals for gallantry in action. He accrued 16 service ribbons by the time he left the Air Force.

After his time in the service, Buttell remained active as an instructor pilot in the Air Force Reserves. He spent his last 10 years in the Reserves as a liaison officer, working with Air Force Academy and ROTC students, and retired as a colonel in 1993. He went on to be a pilot for American Airlines for 29 years before retiring in 2001.

In his military career, Buttell logged more than 4,000 hours of flights in fighter jets, including the F-100C Super Sabre, the F-105D/F Thunderchief and F-4C/D Phantom II.

“In a squadron that lost a lot of pilots, saw a lot of damage and a lot of bad things happen in the war, I was fortunate enough to survive that,” Buttell said. “I basically have been very, very fortunate to have stumbled through life and to do things that I love to do. It also provided a better-than-average standard of living for my family.”

Buttell uses the term “the angel was on my shoulder” to describe many of the opportunities that were presented to him throughout his life.

“I was never remarkably talented at anything. I was just good enough and fortunate enough to be at the right place at the right time,” Buttell said. “What I tell kids that are in school is, ‘Don’t just do well enough. Always do your best’ because you want to open doors and keep doors open and you never know what doors you’re going to open by doing your best.”

Reflecting on his experience in the military, Buttell is torn between the positive aspects of the opportunities it presented him and the traumatic experiences he went through in combat.

Buttell said people often ask him if he would do it over again, which gives him pause. He said that although in many ways he would love to have his military experience again, because of what he saw during combat, he wouldn’t trade his experience for $1 million, but he wouldn’t do it again for $1 million.

“The military basically made me,” Buttell said. “My experiences are so important to me and so valuable, but I would not wish it upon anybody to have to go through those experiences. ... That is part of the experience you can’t explain.”

All things considered, Buttell said joining the military turned out to be one of the best decisions he ever made.

“The reason I have a chest full of medals, a Silver Star and the Distinguished Flying Cross is because of the missions that I was tasked to fly in North Vietnam, and I saw a lot of good people that were killed,” Buttell said. “You grow up real fast when you’re put in that situation. ... A lot of veterans won’t talk about it. It was such a traumatic experience.”

Buttell said one special thing about being a fighter pilot is the common bond. He said being part of a group of people your age with a common background and a common cause is almost like being on a sports team. He said you become very close when you’re depending on one another for life and death.

“All I saw when I was in the military was dedicated people who were working hard together to stay alive and to do the job they were tasked to do, so I am very proud to be associated with those people today,” Buttell said.

Buttell attributes many of the opportunities he was given to the military. He said he thinks all young people should serve their country in some capacity, either by joining the military or doing some type of government service.

“I highly recommend that all young people should have to give back,” Buttell said. “I think that’s a great way to level, economically and socially, our economy with young people. ... It certainly was a great thing for me.”

Buttell said he and his family moved to St. Charles in 1978 to be close to O’Hare International Airport and because, at the time, it felt like a small-town community. He and his wife are very close with their family. They enjoy taking their kids and grandkids on trips around the world and have visited Jordan, Israel and Africa.

Buttell and his wife are very involved with local community organizations, which he feels is his duty.

“We have been very fortunate, and I believe it’s everyone’s responsibility to give back,” Buttell said.

Buttell is a member of the St. Charles Veterans Center and is involved with all of the local veterans organizations.

Buttell has been a member of the Exchange Club of the Tri-Cities, a national service organization, for more than 40 years, and he served as president in the 1970s and ‘80s. The group meets at the veterans center every week and has been active in St. Charles for 45 years. He said their mission is to work with local organizations and contribute funds mainly to women and abused children.

As the club’s liaison officer in the early 1980s and ‘90s, Buttell did a lot of work in local schools, speaking with students, and he still regularly speaks publicly at community events.

Buttell and his wife also are very active in the church. He previously served as a deacon for their church and his wife currently is a deacon at the Presbyterian church in Wheaton, where his family belongs.

When not working with community and veterans organizations, Buttell said they stay very busy and always have something going on with their grandkids.