William M. Buttner Biography-7: French Memorial
The document (in French) opens with the following tribute to the Allied pilots who fought to liberate France:
“At La Celle les Bordes we have the duty to remember the sacrifice of a young pilot who had been forgotten and yet fell on our village. This article has no other purpose than to tell its story to honor it. Our duty is to share and greet his memory with her family. Here is the story we want to share with you.”
"In 2010, while plowing a field in the village, a farmer discovered the scattered remains of a P-47, including a P-47 fuel tank plate. He shared his discovery with other townspeople, and they confirmed that the plate came from Lt. Buttner’s plane."
The author continued his research into William Buttner based on his web posting, and “…miraculously, Mr. Paul Stouffer, the nephew of an American pilot who had fallen in Normandy, offered his help to search for information and to find Mr. Buttner's family. William Buttner was a teammate of his uncle W. D. McGowan during the final pilot training in Louisiana (Feb - April 1944). Thanks to him we had the first pictures, newspaper articles, and contacts with the family.”
Lt. William M. Buttner
Remembered by the French
In June 2014, a document (in French) detailing the discovery of William Buttner’s P-47 in the village of La Celle les Bordes was published on the Internet
(Google: "william buttner" la celle les bordes ):
Article Excerpt (in French)...
"Comme partout sur le nord de la France, beaucoup d’avions sont tombés sur notre sol pour libérer la France. La “Seine et Oise” ou les Yvelines fut aussi concernée durant l’été 1944 avant la libération de Paris, le temps d’après guerre est passé, les générations aussi et l’on oublie parfois l’histoire de nos villages.
Mr Hydier nous a montré la voie avec ses recheches sur l’équipage du bombardier Lancaster de la petite forêt, Mr Huon fit de même avec un aviateur tombé à Clairefontaine. (E.King )....."