The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting  a gold star in lieu of the second  DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS posthumously to

for service as set forth in the following

                 CITATION:

                               "For  heroism and extraordinary achievement in aerial flight while serving  with  Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron  364,  Marine  Aircraft Group Sixteen,  First Marine Aircraft Wing  in  connection  with  combat opera- tions against the enemy in the  Republic of Vietnam.   On  5  October 1969, First Lieutenant Butler launched as Section Leader of a flight of two CH-46 transport helicopters  assigned  the  mission of medically  evacuating a  seriously wounded Marine from an area  south of  DaNang.  Arriving over the designated  location, he  observed that  the site was obscured  by dense cloud cover  and  was  advised that the  Marine unit on the ground  had been under sporadic  hostile  fire.  Des- pite these adversities,  First Lieutenant Butler  located a break in the clouds  and commenced  his approach to the landing zone,  but was forced to regain altitude because  of  intense enemy  fire.  A second attempt to complete  the mission  was aborted  due to  the rapidly deteriorating  weather conditions.  After  completing an alternate  mission nearby,  he learned of improved  weather conditions at  the initial evacuation site and,  although fully aware of the possibility of  encounter- ing hostile fire, elected to extract the casualty.  Disregarding the lack of support- ing aircraft, he  boldly commenced  his approach, immediately coming  under  a heavy volume of fire.  Undaunted by the fusillade directed at his aircraft and the restrictions imposed by the confined zone, he achieved a partial hover  with only his rear wheels on the ground, fearlessly remaining in his dangerously exposed position  until  the  wounded man was embarked.  He  then  executed a  series of evasive maneuvers and  expeditiously directed  his aircraft out of the  hazardous area.   First  Lieutenant Butler's  courage,  superb  airmanship,  and  unwavering devotion to duty at great personal risk saved the life of a fellow Marine and were in  keeping  with  the  highest  traditions  of the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service.