Frank W. Butterworth III – Rear Admiral, United States Navy

From a contemporary press report:

Frank Butterworth III, 51, a retired US Navy Rear Admiral who spent much of his career as a submariner, died of cancer Oct 9, 1988 at Bethesda Naval Hospital. He lived in Annandale.

During a naval career that spanned more than 25 years, he commanded submarines, submarine squadrons, submarine groups and a variety of submarine staff posts. In 1982 and 1983, he was Assistant Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Technology Transfer. He was Assistant Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for undersea warfare for two years before retiring from active duty in 1987.

He was the recipient of four Legions of Merit, two Meritorious Service Medals and two USN Commendation Medals.

Admiral Butterworth was a native of Pennsylvania and a 1958 graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. After graduating from submarine school in 1960, he served aboard the nuclear ballistic submarine George Washington. He later held posts at the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in New York State and at the National Reactor Testing Station in Idaho. From 1967 to 1970, he was chief engineer on the nuclear submarine Narwhal. He then spent three years as executive officer of the nuclear ballistic submarine John C. Calhoun.

He commanded the nuclear submarine Billfish from 1973 to 1976. He then spent two-year tours as a senior member of the nuclear propulsion examining board of the Pacific Fleet, as Commander of a submarine squadron based in San Diego, and as Chief of Staff of the Pacific Fleet’s submarine force before becoming an Assistant Deputy Undersecretary of Defense.

From 1983 to 1985, he commanded a submarine group based in Groton, Connecticut. At the time of his death, Admiral Butterworth was director of submarine systems analysis with Physical Dynamics Inc, a Washington, DC defense consulting organization.

He was a member of St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Annandale. Survivors include his wife, Janet D. Butterworth of Annadale; a son, Navy Lieutenant Frank W. Butterworth IV, who is stationed at Mare Island, California; two daughters, Lisa Butterworth of New York City and Laurie Butterworth of Philadelphia; his father, Frank Butterworth II of Longport, New Jersey, and a sister, Susan Brower of Burlingame, California.

He was buried with full military honors in Section 7-A of Arlington National Cemetery.

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard