USS John C. Butler (DE-339) was the lead ship of her class of destroyer escorts in the service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. She was recommissioned between 1950 and 1957 and finally sunk as a target in 1971. Namesake John Clarence Butler was born on 2 February 1921 in Liberty, Arizona. He enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve as a seaman second class on 19 February 1941 at Long Beach, California. Reporting for active duty at the Naval Reserve Aviation Base at Long Beach, Butler transferred to Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida on 27 March. On 3 April, after termination of his enlisted service, he accepted an appointment as an aviation cadet in the Naval Reserve. He received flight training at Pensacola from 4 April-29–July 1941, and reported to the Naval Air Station, Miami for further instruction (1 August). Designated a Naval Aviator on 29 August he was appointment as Ensign in the Naval Reserve on 6 September, before receiving orders to the Advanced Training Group (ACTG), U.S. Pacific Fleet, for active duty, involving flying under instruction on 17 September. Receiving an assignment to the aircraft carrier , arriving in port at San Diego, Butler flew one of the 43 Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers attached to Saratoga'''s Scouting Squadron Three (VS-3) and Bombing Squadron Three (VB-3). On 18 April 1942, during the Doolittle Raid Butler piloted aircraft an SBD-3 Dauntless flying off , searching for any forward deployed Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ships that could radio back to Japan to give warning of the raiders. During the scouting mission, he engaged a long Japanese patrol boat towing a smaller boat "painted white". Attacking in two separate dives, Butler dropped two 100-pound bombs, both of which were duds. Striking the craft with a 500-pound bomb on the port side, his plane received three hits from enemy fire. Disengaging he noticed the smaller craft belching oil and smoke, estimating it later sank. The larger boat remained undamaged. VB-3 received a transfer from Saratoga to which left Pearl Harbor on 30 May to intercept the IJN carrier force headed for Midway Island. During the Battle of Midway on the afternoon of 4 June 1942 10 dive-bombers from VB-6 (and 14 from VB-3), took off from Enterprise (Yorktown having been damaged in an earlier Japanese attack) at 17:30. The dive-bomber pilots eventually discovered Hiryū, the fourth and only