For exceptionally meritorious service, he was awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, and the French Order of the Black Star. The following year, he was awarded the second Medal of Honor for bravery and forceful leadership as Commanding Officer of detachments of Marines and seamen of the USS Connecticut in repulsing Caco resistance on Fort Riviere, Haiti, 17 November 1915.ĭuring World War I, he commanded the 13th Regiment in France. He exhibited courage and skill in leading his men through the action of the 22nd and in the final occupation of the city." Maj Butler "was eminent and conspicuous in command of his Battalion. His first Medal of Honor was presented following action at Vera Cruz, Mexico, 21-22 April 1914, where he commanded the Marines who landed and occupied the city. He remained on duty in Nicaragua until November 1912, when he rejoined the Marines at Camp Elliott, Panama. He was temporarily detached to command an expeditionary battalion organized for service in Nicaragua, 11 August 1912, in which capacity he participated in the bombardment, assault and capture of Coyotepe, 12-31 October. In December 1909, he commanded the 3d Battalion, 1st Regiment on the Isthmus of Panama. He also served ashore in Puerto Rico and the Isthmus of Panama for short periods. Returning to the United States in January 1901, he served at various posts within the continental limits and on several ships. He was wounded in that battle on 13 July 1900. From 14 June to October 1900, he served with distinction in China, and was promoted to captain by brevet for distinguished conduct and public service in the presence of the enemy near Tientsin, China. In April 1899, 1stLt Butler was assigned to duty with the Marine Battalion at Manila, Philippine Islands. He was commissioned a first lieutenant in the Marine Corps on 8 April 1899 promoted to captain, 23 July 1900 to major, to lieutenant colonel, 1 August 1916 to colonel (temporary), 1 July 1918 to brigadier general (temporary), 7 October 1918 to colonel (permanent), 9 March 1919 to brigadier general (permanent), 4 June 1920 and to major general, 5 July 1929. He was still in his teens when, on, he was appointed a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps during the Spanish-American War.įollowing a brief period of instruction at Washington, D.C., he served with the Marine Battalion, North Atlantic Squadron, until 11 February 1899, when he was ordered home and honorably discharged on 16 February 1899. Butler, a Representative in Congress from the Delaware-Chester County district of Pennsylvania for over three decades and a longtime chairman of the House Naval Affairs Committee. Smedley Darlington Butler, later known to thousands of Marines as "Ol' Gimlet Eye," was born 30 July 1881. Some 50 years later that trophy was presented to the Marine Corps for permanent custody. He was not yet 20 when the citizens of his native West Chester, Pennsylvania, presented him with a sword on his return from the Boxer Rebellion in China. Butler, one of the most colorful officers in the Marine Corps' long history, was one of the two Marines who received two Medals of Honor for separate acts of outstanding heroism. Medal of Honor Citation - Vera Cruz Original General Order-Vera Cruz
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