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The Dedication of the Veterans Memorial at the Butler MuseumAll photos and illustrations by Pat Johns ©2009 - present
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 World War II was central to the timing of the completion of Watauga Dam, the project that led to the destruction of the original town of Butler and its move to the present location. While the project was conceived by the early 1940s, the war and its demand for material and personnel put the project on hold.
During the war citizens from the Butler area left to fight in Europe and the Pacific. Some did not return home and those who did returned to the reality that their home town would be torn down and flooded and they and their families would be forced to move. 
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The dedication ceremony and the memorial honor all area citizens who sacrificed for all wars. The ceremony began with a welcome by Herman Tester, Museum Board President and a U.S. Army Veteran. The Johnson County Honor Guard led by Richard Dionne, a U.S. Air Force Veteran presented the Colors and Daniel Wood led the singing of the "Start Spangled Banner". George Walker (a U.S. Navy Veteran) gave the invocation and Jack Dugger (a U.S. Air Force Veteran) led the flag raising ceremony. Mike and Sara Sellers, both U.S. Air Force veterans, presented a proclamation honoring the memorial.
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The guest speaker was Patti Young, a U.S. Navy Veteran who has retired to nearby Neva, Tennessee. She summarized the purpose of the new memorial: ". . .we have now come together with words and music to dedicate this beautiful memorial designed to remember those men and women of Butler heritage who have fought to preserve our freedoms, to thank those now so nobly serving in uniform, especially those in foreign lands facing the horrible dangers of armed conflict, and it is in place to honor future generations of local heroes." 
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Young's speech used the lyrics from a song recorded by the late actor John Wayne, "Why are You Marching, Son?" She added the names of locals who fought and died in wars starting with Casper Cable, a Hessian soldier captured in the Revolutionary War who was pardoned and fought with the colonists and John Dugger, Sr. who fought against the British in the War of 1812 and Lt. Colonel Roderick Butler for whom the town was named in 1868.
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Other veterans mentioned were William David Day (The Philippine Insurrection), Carson Whitehead (The Spanish-American War), B. Carroll Reece, the Tucker family (Warren, Ellis, Elbert and Charles), Dryden McCloud (died on Guadalcanal), J.L. Evans (died at Normandy), Vestal Cowan (killed in Korea), Sara Sellers (Korean Conflict and Vietnam Wars), and Douglas Dugger (died in Vietnam). Young offered an invitation to all to purchase a brick to add to the memorial (click here to learn more) and gave the following conclusion: "Just as the memory of our departed comrades has already outlived their extraordinary lives, this ceremony will outlive each and every one of us here today. It serves to remind us that our gallant heroes did not die in vain, and that all veteran sacrifices on the front line or the homefront have not been and will never be forgotten." 
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