Unknown donor provides memorial brick
By Joseph Goral
Staff Writer
jgoral@mihomepaper.com
OXFORD — Care packages, donations and memorials go a long way with soldiers and veterans, according to retired Master Sergeant Michael Butler.
Upon graduating high school, Butler wanted to join the Marine Corp. or become a police officer. In 1995, he became a Marine.
Service with the Marines took Butler, born and raised in Lake Orion, around the United States and the world starting in April of 1995. He spent time in South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia before reporting to Okinawa, Japan, where both of his grandfathers fought during World War II, and being deployed to South Korea.
Butler was eventually deployed to Iraq in February 2006 for Operation Iraqi

Freedom where he served as Convoy Security Commander with Combat Logistics Battalion seven. He served two tours in Iraq.
From there, Butler eventually received orders to serve as a detachment commander at the U.S. embassy in Harare, Zimbabwe in 2009, then in Lima, Peru in 2010. In 2013 he was deployed again, this time to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom, where he was the Staff Non-commissioned Officer in Charge and Convoy Commander for over 52 engineer missions throughout the Helmand Province.
Recently, an unknown person donated funds for a brick dedicated to Butler located at the Orion Veterans Memorial in Lake Orion, which gave him an opportunity to reflect about his service, Marines he led during his service and those in the United States who continuously gave support.
Butler was taken back by the donation, and began to try thinking of ways to recognize the donation.
“I’m just so gracious for it,” Butler said, later adding “if that gratitude hasn’t been reciprocated, I wanted to take that opportunity to do that.”
Butler said he always thanks other veterans which, he added, is easy for other veterans to do. When a civilian thanks Butler, he said it can be difficult to know how to respond because a civilian does not share service experiences.
“In fact, when service members transition, that’s part of the things that they say,” he said. “(They tell you) when you get out of the service, you’re going to notice that people are going to thank you for your service, and they help you to understand that. And all you can do is say ‘I appreciate that.’”
For Butler, the brick’s permanence produced more impact than other ways people showed their gratitude, and not knowing who donated it makes Butler feel as if all of Lake Orion is giving thanks.
“It was that final connection with the community,” he said, adding “(I look at it) as an example of a community that has that kind of spirit.”
That is not to say Butler and his Marines were not grateful for other forms of gratitude they received while they were serving – quite the opposite.
For most tours, Butler said soldiers only receive mail when they return to their main headquarters. Sometimes tours kept soldiers away for two or three weeks at a time, meaning mail would pile up if it was unable to be flown out to troops.
Return meant mail-call time – when the Marines would sit together while Butler inspected packages and passed them out for each to open.
“And the more (mail there was,) the better it made us feel,” he said.
Mail-call time was also another way Marines built camaraderie, according to Butler, who compared it to Christmas. The Marines would sit together opening packages and ask each other what they received.
Sometimes, mail would arrive including something for every Marine – boxes of Dunkin Donuts coffee, blankets with their favorite sports teams on them or harmonicas for example.
“My wife would send me Zebra Cakes,” Butler said. “There ain’t no Zebra Cakes in that place.”
The brick is also helping with Butler’s transition back into civilian life by allowing him to continue moving forward, which can be difficult for many veterans.
He said there are service members who deal with PTSD, anxiety and depression. He added, for some, “every day is Memorial Day, every day is Veterans Day, they’re always struggling with that stuff, but what you want to do is use these moments that are provided to you to reflect in a healthy way.”
Butler said veterans can also use these moments to push themselves to “figure out who you really are,” and not let it be part of their identity. This is part of the healing process, he said.
Butler also encouraged veterans to take advantage of discounts and other amenities, including receiving free entry to Oakland County parks.
Butler retired in 2019 and currently lives in Ortonville.