Marine Richard Buttery, one of 16 to graduate Sharon Springs Central School in June of 1947, has the sad distinction of being the only man from Sharon to lose his life in the Korean War.
Now, he’ll have another.
The Sharon Springs American Legion Post 1269 has begun work on a distinctive monument that will recognize not only Corporal Buttery, but four other men: Walter Sall, Howard Slater, Andrew Empie, and Laurence Stephens, all of them killed in World War II.
It’s an ambitious project expected to cost some $20,000, but everyone involved has pledged to see it through to the end.
“He deserves it,” said Corporal Buttery’s sister, Faye Rudnicki, who with her sister, Shirley Pyrdol, unknowingly became the catalysts for the monument.
“But to hear that the Legion wants to do something like this…I’m just floating on air.”
Corporal Buttery is buried in the Slate Hill Cemetery, where the Legion remembers veterans with small flags every Memorial Day.
“We knew Richard was there, but we didn’t know his story until his sisters came up to see me this summer,” said Tony Desmond, a Legion member and Sharon supervisor.
Richard Alfred Buttery was born January 12, 1930 West Haven, Connecticut; the family moved to Slate Hill Road, Sharon about 1945. For many years his parents, Herman and Hazel, had a farm there and his father owned a gas station as well.
Corporal Buttery joined the Marines right after graduation and as a member of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, his unit was part of the X Corps assault on the “Punchbowl” Korea .
Remembered in a news clipping at the time of his death as “an enthusiastic sportsman…played on both the basketball and baseball teams while a student at Sharon Springs central school,” Corporal Buttery was killed in action near Yanggu on June 3, 1951 .
His photo is taped to the front of a black binder Mr. Desmond and others, including Post Commander Dave Costello, are using to keep track of the stories of the five men they want to make sure aren’t forgotten again.
To that end, the Legion has begun fundraising for a pair of granite monuments designed by Dan Viscosi of Cherry Valley Memorials that will flank the existing World War I monument in front of the school.
Corporal Buttery will remembered on one monument and the four men killed in WWII on the other; both will include benches “for reflection,” Mr. Desmond said.
SSCS administrators have already pledged their support to the project, which will begin with some landscaping work and cleaning up the existing monument in time for Memorial Day 2008, when sketches of the two new memorials will also be on display.
Mr. Costello said they’d like to see the Buttery and WWII monuments in place by Memorial Day 2009; down the road, a final phase will include a paved walkway, where bricks will recognize others who’ve died.
“The American Legion has some money, but not nearly enough for a project this large,” Mr. Desmond said.
“We’re not looking for corporate funding; we want people to contribute from the heart. Failure is not an option.”
All four Buttery children graduated from SSCS and Mrs. Rudnicki said it was always her mother’s wish that her brother be remembered there.
“He was just a boy—they all were,” she said. “We need to remember that they were killed for all of us…My mother would be so pleased…”
Mrs. Buttery, 106, died in 2006. She, her husband, Richard, and another son, Herman Jr., are all buried at Slate Hill.
A Corporal Richard A. Buttery Building Memorial Fund been set up at the Sharon Springs NBT, PO Box 387, Sharon Springs, NY 13459. Donations can also be sent directly to Sharon Springs American Legion Post 9269, PO Box 273, Sharon Springs, NY 13459.
The Legion is also hoping for help from other veterans’ and fraternal organizations.

The otheers...

Information on some of the other soldiers who will be remembered along with Corporal Buttery is sketchy and the Legion is still trying to uncover more about them, and in some cases, a photo.
Sergeant Walter Sall, Janaury 22, 1913-December 5, 1942, SSCS Class of 1932, was killed in an airplane crash in Alabama. His family lived on Button Street and he’s buried in the Ames Cemetery.
The Legion has been unable to find a photo of Sergeant Sall and is looking for additional information on him.
Private Howard Slater, November 19, 1924-February 19, 1944. Buried near Rome, Italy.
Lieutenant Andrew Empie, January 4, 1920-September 29, 1944, SSCS Class of 1938. MIA over Lae, New Guinea. According to a news clipping announcing a memorial service in his honor, Lieutenant Empie was an Air Corps fighter pilot who entered the service in April 1942, trained for a year in the U Infantry, and after being transferred to the Air Corps, left for New Guinea in July 1943.
The Legion has been unable to find any family.
Corporal Laurence Stevens, February 11, 1919-October 29, 1944. SSCS Class of 1938.
Before enlisting, Corporal Stevens worked for the Harder Refrigeration plant in Cobleskill and Beech-Nut Packing in Canajoharie.
He died in Holland from battle wounds; he may be buried in France.