Sutherland, IA—When attending the 50th Anniversaries of Pearl Harbor & D-Day, thoughts of family who sacrificed, from the Civil to Korean Wars, were ever present in the mind of Michael B. Butler. One he was well aware of, from family stories and research, was his Grandfather Harvey Byron Butler, born and raised in Sutherland, Iowa who served in First World War with the 168th Iowa Infantry Regiment, a unit with a distinguished history attached to the 42nd Rainbow Division. Harvey suffered was shot in the right leg at the key Battle of Chateau Theirry on July 28, 1918, after which he spent months in hospital before it was amputated below the knee.
Butler's new book, History Leading to 50th Anniversary of D-Day, Book 2, contains an extensive and detailed 50 page chapter which relates the story of the 168th Iowa Regiment and Rainbow Division in that devastating, world changing conflict.
The Rainbow was named by then Major Douglas MacArthur and was the first National Guard Division to be formed from units around the country, hence the name Rainbow stretching over a wide swath of states. Major William Donovan, eventual head of the OSS during World War Two, served with the Old Irish Fighting 69th Regiment and the Rainbow, earning a Medal of Honor and national recognition in the process.
Because the Rainbow Division had regiments from 26 states, and was one of the first National Guard units commissioned for service in 1917, it became famous nationally during training at Camp Mills in Long Island, New York, now Garden City with monument's to the Rainbow's brief sojourn there. Visitors flocked in from around the country to see loved ones during well-publicized weekend festivities.
Harvey served in the 168th with seven other Sons of Sutherland, Iowa— Here are the eight —Company E, Harvey B. Butler and Harry Hill—Company H, Robert Johnston—Company M, Albert Behmer (killed 3/9/18), Neil Brewer, Ted A. Butler, Byron Hill, and William Klema.
His primary source material for the 168th was a book published in 1919, The Price of Our Heritage: In Memory of the Heroic Dead of the 168 Infantry, put together by regimental Chaplain Winfred Robb. The book offers Robb's and scores of first-hand accounts as they progressed from Des Moines to Long Island to England and thence to French trenches and brutal combat against Imperial Germany. Snapshots of long forgotten young men of the 168th, who paid the ultimate price in training or combat, are spread throughout the chapter.
The following is the Foreword from the 1919 book, The Story of the Rainbow Rainbow Division by Richard Tompkins, written by the commanding officer of the Rainbow, Major General Charles T. Menoher, "When the history of the recent war has been analyzed, it will be found that psychological forces at work have been the most powerful of all those called into exercise to save the world for democracy. The fact that the 'Rainbow Division' was composed of elements of the National Guard selected from a majority of the states of the Union should have constituted an element of weakness; should have made for lack of cohesion. If the idea of constituting a division in this way was a happy thought, the selection of the name 'Rainbow' for this composite organization was an inspiration.
"I consider that the name in itself was perhaps the strongest asset the division had. Instead of lack of cohesion; instead of an organization made of elements, each with local interests that might have been antagonistic, the Division constituted a complete, compact, cohesive, single unit which ran like a well oiled machine. Of course, it had a most excellent staff, which was headed by a most brilliant officer, General MacArthur, and the Division was privileged to plume itself more or less on its excellent staff work. Yet I believe these desirable results would never have been arrived at without the name 'Rainbow.'
"It is an interesting fact that on the morning when the Division left the Baccarat Sector, after four months of intensive training in trench warfare, to be thrown in the Champagne to assist in checking this last desperate drive of the Germans, a most beautiful rainbow appeared directly over the sector occupied by the Division. Again on the morning the Division became engaged on the Ourcq, another beautiful rainbow appeared directly over the point where contact was first gained. On at least one other occasion this same phenomenon appeared.
"When on the defensive as in the Champagne, resisting the desperate attempts of the Germans to break through, there was never any thought—it never entered into the calculations, that the Division might have to retire. In the same way when on the offensive, there was never any thought except that of going forward.
"To have commanded such a body of men throughout the entire time of its service against the enemy, of some nine months, was a privilege indeed. In this book the story of the Rainbow Division has been told accurately, fully and absorbingly. As nearly as it is possible to do so in a narrative that tells of the experiences of but one division, The Story of the Rainbow tells the story of America's part in the Great War."
History Leading to 50th Anniversary of D-Day, Book 2: My Journey Thru World & Family History Landed at Omaha Beach, 6/6/94
Michael B. Butler's Author Page on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/mbbutler
History Leading to 50th Anniversary of D-Day, Book 2 available in Amazon paperback (979-8328241489) or Kindle E-Book (B0F4GH8679) and at Barnes & Noble.
www.50thDDay.com
Pat Murphy, One of Michael Butler's D-Day Saviors
Great Uncle Henry Olivas, 5th Armored Division
Uncle Roy Larson, B-17 Pilot, Lost Over Germany April 1944
June 1941 German Invasion of Russia to Stalingrad
German Invasion of Poland, September 1939
Michael B. Butler's second book, released in 2022, is Without Redemption: Creation & Deeds Freeway Killer Bill Bonin, His Five Accomplices & How One Who Escaped Justice. In 2024-26 three books are slated for release: Round the World & Across Russia in 21 Days, 30 Years Later and the two-book history set dedicated to 15 wartime military veterans, many who saw combat, from his family—History Leading to 50th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor, Book 1 and History Leading to 50th Anniversary of D-Day, Book 2.