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SPC Adrian J. Butler
411th MP Company, 720th MP Battalion, 89th MP Brigade

Killed In Action ~ 27 July 2005 ~ Iraq

 


They Say,
our deaths are not ours,
they are yours,
they will mean what
you make of them.

They say,
we leave you our deaths,
give them some
meaning.

Archibald MacLeish
poet and WWI
veteran.

There is no contact information

for the next of kin.

SPC Adrian J. Butler, age 28, of East Lansing, Michigan, and SPC John Q. Tollefson, age 22, of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, were killed in action when an improvised explosive device detonated near their HMMWV during a patrol in Ashraf, Iraq.

SPC Butler was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Meritorious Service and the Purple Heart Medal.

It was SPC Butlers second tour with the 411th in Iraq. He previously deployed in 2003-2004 during Operation Iraqi Freedom-I.

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"He Just Loved Life"

The best memories of Adrian J. Butler are of him hanging out with friends, listening to R&B and going bowling. Lots of bowling.

"We owned our own equipment. We were serious about it; 210 was his best score," said Brandon Barnett, Butler's best friend.

Butler, 28, of East Lansing, Mich., was killed July 27 by a bomb blast near his vehicle in Ashraf. He was based at Fort Hood.

"He just loved life, period," Barnett said. "He never had a bad thing to say; he was very positive. We always went to him for advice."

Butler saw the armed services as a step toward his dream job of being an FBI agent. After getting a degree in criminal justice from Michigan State University, he enlisted as an MP.

"He was a real soldier," said his mother, Peggy Donaldson. "He was a business type, conservative, a real professional person. He didn't do a lot of kidding. He was more formal. ... He was a loving and kind person with a good heart and spirit."

He also is survived by his father, Eldridge.

ajc.com/news

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"Flag At Half Staff"

        Michigan Governor, Jennifer M. Granholm today ordered that United States flags throughout the state of Michigan and on Michigan waters be lowered for one day on Friday, August 5, in honor of Army Specialist Adrian J. Butler who died July 27 while on active duty in Iraq. 

Butler graduated from Michigan State University in East Lansing, and grew up in Detroit.

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