[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 135 (Thursday, July 30, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E703-E704]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING THE LIFE OF LEWIS MERRIMAN BUTTERY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BILL FLORES

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 30, 2020

  Mr. FLORES. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy 
of Mr. Lewis Merriman Buttery of Lampasas, Texas, who passed away on 20 
December 2008. Lewis Buttery was born on 20 March 1924 in San Angelo, 
Texas, to Albert James and Dorothy Hoss Buttery.
  On his 18th birthday, just 3 months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, 
he attempted to enlist in the United States Navy. He had hoped to join 
his older brothers in service--one, an Army artillery officer, and the 
other, a naval aviator. Unfortunately, Lewis was denied enlistment at 
that time due to health issues.
  This denial only strengthened his resolve to serve his country. Each 
month he attempted to enlist until he was finally accepted and sworn in 
on 20 October 1942.
  Lewis was called to Active Duty in June of 1943 and was sent to the 
University of Texas to continue pursuit of his engineering degree. He 
was later sent to Midshipmen School at Columbia University in New York. 
In March 1944, Lewis was commissioned as an ensign and ordered to San 
Francisco to complete gunnery school.
  He was ultimately assigned to USS Patrol Craft Escort 880 in Adak, 
Alaska, as a gunnery officer.
  In preparation for the invasion of Japan, his ship was converted into 
a weather ship, and he became the areological, (weather) officer. The 
ship was transferred to the Marshall-Gilbert Islands area to transmit 
weather observations and to guide Army Air Corps bombers which were 
preparing the way for the invasion of Japan. The invasion did not occur 
due to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, after which Japan 
quickly surrendered.
  Prior to being released to Inactive Duty in the Ready Reserve in July 
1946, he became the executive officer of the ship and was promoted to 
lieutenant junior grade.
  Lewis was called back to Active Duty in June 1950 at the start of the 
Korean war, but his orders were canceled before he could reach his ship 
in San Diego. Ultimately, Lieutenant Buttery received an honorable 
discharge in 1954.
  Following World War II, Mr. Buttery came home and finished his degree 
in chemical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. He also 
married Virginia Kerzee in Limestone County, Texas, raised a family, 
and had a successful career.
  Lewis was also a student of maps and cartography. Prior to the war in 
1941, he completed courses in surveying and mapping at Texas A&M 
University and continued that avocation through the rest of his life. 
During his extensive work-related travels, Mr. Buttery collected 
numerous atlases and maps, which he and his wife later donated to the 
University of Texas at Arlington's Cartographic History Library.
  He was a founding member of the Texas Map Society and author of 
numerous monograph and facsimile portfolios devoted to early Texas. One 
of his works, entitled, ``Regional Maps of Texas: 1720-2001; Region 1 
North

[[Page E704]]

Texas,'' contains many valuable insights about the mapping history of 
large portions of Texas. The maps that he and Virginia donated and the 
works that he published will continue to educate future generations 
interested in cartographic history.
  He was very proud of his time in the Navy and believed that it molded 
and shaped him throughout the remainder of his life. In recognition of 
this, the ``Navy Hymn'' was solemnly played at his funeral.
  I have requested that a United States flag be flown over our Nation's 
Capitol to honor the life, legacy, and service of Lewis Merriman 
Buttery.
  As I close today, I urge all Americans to continue praying for our 
country in these difficult times, for our military men and women who 
protect us, and the first responders who protect us at home.

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