WELCOME HOME STAFF SERGEANT KENNY BUTLER      

"All American Division" 

One of Braintree's own American heroes, Staff Sergeant Kenny Butler, is grand marshal of the July 4th Parade celebration being held June 28.  Sergeant Butler is the recipient of the fourth-highest combat metal of the United States; "The Bronze Star".  He also was awarded two (2) Purple Hearts.  

Sergeant Butler is 28 years old.  He enlisted in the Army in 2001, right after 9/11. He served three tours of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan with the 82 Airborne Division.  In Sergeant Butler's last tour an improvised explosive device (IED) ripped through his Humvee in Bagdad (May 14, 2007), where he lost his right arm and suffered other near fatal internal injuries.

Over the past 12 months Sergeant Butler has undergone numerous rehabilitative surgeries at the Walter Reed Medical Center, with more surgeries planned. 

Kenny grew up in Braintree.  I know Kenny through my son and their friends.   He is a terrific young man who has given much for his country, and he will carry his injuries and burdens the rest of his days. 

My son and I are proud to know Staff Sergeant Kenny Butler. 

All of Braintree has this opportunity to come out to meet and thank Sergeant Butler for his service to country and to us. 

PLEASE come out to greet and welcome home Staff Sergeant Kenny Butler.

The Parade starts at 11AM at Hollis School and finishes at Braintree High School.

 (Click here for more details: http://www.braintrees4th.org/braintree/ )

The 82nd Airborne Division is an elite parachute unit of the U.S. Army whose home base is at Ft Bragg, North Carolina. The Division has the ability to begin combat operations anywhere in the world within eighteen hours of notification. Every soldier in the 82nd Airborne Division is jump qualified.

As the most highly trained light infantry division in the world, the 82nd Airborne has participated in practically every potential combat deployment of the U.S. Army since Vietnam. This includes Grenada in 1983, Honduras in 1988, the invasion of Panama in 1989, Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia and into Iraq in 1990-91, Bosnia in 1995, Kosovo in 1999, Afghanistan in 2002, and the invasion of Iraq in early 2003. As of 2007, elements of the 82nd Airborne Division are on rotation to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.