Lt Col. Jack Butcher was born in 1946 in Berwyn, IL. He was commissioned a 2d Lt in the U.S. Air Force through the Air Force ROTC program at the University of Michigan on May 13, 1969, and went on active duty beginning June 14, 1969.

Butcher next completed Undergraduate Pilot Training and was awarded his pilot wings at Webb AFB, TX, in June 1970, and then completed OV-10 Bronco Combat Crew Training before deploying to Southeast Asia in February 1971. He served as an OV-10 pilot with the 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron at DaNang AB, South Vietnam, from February 1971 until he was forced to eject over Laos and was taken as a Prisoner of War on March 24, 1971.

After spending 736 days in captivity, Capt Butcher was released during Operation Homecoming on March 28, 1973. During his time in captivity, he managed to escape twice; once for a few hours, and a second time for 10 days. He was briefly hospitalized to recover from his injuries at Wright Patterson AFB, OH, and then attended F-106 Delta Dart Combat Crew Training at Tyndall AFB, FL, from December 1973 to July 1974.

His next assignment was as an F-106 pilot with the 87th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at K.I. Sawyer AFB, MI, from July 1974 to February 1975, followed by Pilot Instructor Training at Randolph AFB, TX, from February to August 1975. Maj Butcher served as an instructor pilot with the 3389th Flying Training Squadron at Webb AFB, TX from August 1975 to January 1978, and then as an F-106 pilot, Weapons Training Officer, and Chief of Stan/Eval with the 318th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at McChord AFB, WA, from January 1978 to July 1982.

His next assignment was to Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB, AL, from August 1982 to June 1983, followed by F-15 Eagle conversion training at Luke AFB, AZ, from June to September 1983. Lt Col Butcher then served as an F-15 pilot with the 22nd Tactical Fighter Squadron at Bitburg AB, West Germany, from September 1983 to February 1986.

His final assignment was as Executive Officer to the Commander of the Northwest Air Defense Sector at McChord AFB, WA, from February 1986 until his retirement from the Air Force on July 1, 1989.

While serving 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron (TASS) as a Forward Air Controller (FAC) in the Vietnam War, Butcher was captured and taken prisoner after his North American OV-10 Bronco (s/n 67‑14693) was destroyed by enemy fire. The then Lieutenant was held as a as a Prisoner of War (POW) for two years. Butcher would later receive the Silver Star.

An OV-10 Bronco is pictured marking a target for a North American F-100D Super Sabre during a mission in South Vietnam in 1969. Of the 157 OV-10As delivered to the USAF 64 were lost in the war.

On March 24, 1971, Lt Jack Butcher was shot down in his OV-10 Bronco during a FAC mission in the skies over Vietnam. Although he ejected from the flaming aircraft, Bucher received severe shrapnel wounds in both legs. Imprisoned from March 27, 1971 to March 28, 1973, Butcher expressed that he was "lucky" since he was captured after the "bad times" (1965 to 1969) where American POWs were routinely tortured by their captors.

Following the Paris Peace Accords of January 1973, U.S. prisoners of war were returned during Operation Homecoming during February through April 1973. During this, 591 POWs were released to U.S. authorities. (On March 28, 1973 at 12 PM, Lt Bucher and 9 other POWs were released at Gia Lam Airport, Hanoi, North Vietnam, their C-141, (s/n 67-0007) landed at Clark Air Base, Philippines 3 and one half hours later ending his 2 years of captivity. Bucher was later awarded the Silver Star.

"American POWs, in serving the way they did, helped to preserve the freedom in this country necessary to correct its faults and mistakes."I learned a lot in prison camp. I learned what a great country this is. It was a daily challenge to stick up for it and to love it. And that love grows and grows."  - - Capt Jack Butcher (1977)

From "The Rescue of BAT-21", Chapter 9 pgs. 83, 84 & 85, Darrel D. Whitcomb, Naval Institute Press, 1998

On 24 March 1971, 1st Lt. Jack Butcher of the 20th TASS, call sign Covey 231, took off in an OV-10 from Da Nang. While searching for trucks along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, he was shot down by a 37 mm antiaircraft gun. Wounded in the ejection, he was treated by a North Vietnamese medical team in preparation for movement to North Vietnam. When he was strong enough, two guards were assigned to begin taking him north. Butcher watched the guards closely. A week later he saw an opportunity and escaped. All he had was the hat, pajamas, and tennis shoes he was wearing.

A few days later the JPRC (Joint Personnel Recovery Center)  received intelligence that First Lieutenant Butcher had escaped and was loose near Tchepone in central Laos. They immediately ordered photo and visual reconnaissance of the area. Butcher tried to move away from people, but the trail area was heavily populated. Moving to higher ground, he found a machete and a canteen. He used the blade to cut enough bushes to fashion a large letter N, which was the correct escape-and-evasion code letter for the previous month.

But it took a few days for the bushes to discolor enough to be noticed. After a three-day wait, Butcher was weak from lack of food and water. He realized that he had to move. So he left a message with his service number and an arrow to indicate the direction that he was going, and he set off. He was still near Tchepone in central Laos.

Nearing a village, he found a pineapple grove and took five. He ate three immediately and put the other two into a backpack that he had made. Then he attempted to follow a trail to the west. Unfortunately he stumbled into a camouflaged village and was recaptured. On that same day, in an open area on the side of a hill, JPRC spotted the escape-and-evasion code letter. An escape-and-evasion kit was dropped on the site by aircraft but was not picked up. Two Bright Light teams were inserted but could not make contact. Enemy forces quickly detected their presence and began to pursue and attack them, and the teams had to be extracted under heavy fire. Air search was resumed and confirmed that First Lieutenant Butcher had been recaptured. He was eventually moved to Hanoi and released two years later.

The near miss with Butcher was indicative of the frustrations felt by the JPRC troops. Overall during the war, the results of JPRC were a mixed bag. The leaflet drops, reward programs, and intelligence and team operations led to the recovery of 492 Vietnamese prisoners and 101 U.S. remains. But through March 1972, despite the best of efforts, JPRC had not successfully recovered any live Americans. There had not yet been a fully successful Bright Light operation.

On May 29, 1978 Butcher and his wingman, Capt Bruce Miller took off from McChord on a routine flight to Tyndall AFB when the F-106 piloted by Capt Miller (s/n 59-0144) suffered engine failure due to incorrectly installed main engine bearing. Visit  the "Vista Oaks Apartments Crash"  page under the Miscellaneous Information tab.