Memorial to a Brave Man

Here in Washington D.C., we went to Arlington National Cemetery. While there, I found out that Archibald Butt was memorialized here. He was a man that died on the Titanic, but he was also the military aid of presidents Teddy Roosevelt, and William Taft. He helped others into the lifeboats and then waited for the end, which came that cold, April night. Although his body was never found, his father and brothers had an empty casket and memorial buried in the place that "Archie" had selected. The link earlier will take you to a biography I did about him. If you ever go there, you might want to look at it. Look under 1734.

Know Your Stuff! 3

1. Who is the most famous TITANIC artist today in "The TITANIC Artist"?

A. Robert Ballard

B. Ken Marshall

C. Jean Lafitte


2. The TITANIC's dome broke like in the movie in "Wrong Ideas"?

A. True

B. False


3. Why did the TITANIC fire rockets in "Distress Rockets"?

A. For a party

B. To alert other ships of the ice

C. To alert other ships that they were sinking.


4. In the "Veranda Cafe", who made friends on the night of the sinking?

A. Mrs. Churchill Candee and Archibald Gracie

B. Jack Thayer and Milton Long

C. Mr. Widener and Mr. Strauss


5. In "It Happened in 1912", which of these actually did happen in 1912?

A. Taft becomes president

B. Lincoln is shot

3. Teddy Roosevelt becomes president


6. In "Jock Hume", who was the band-leader?

A. Jock Hume

B. Wallace Hartley

C. Thomas Andrews


7. In "A Communication from across the Sea", what was the name of the prayer in Mrs. Gracie's prayer book that she used that night?

A. For those at Sea

B. Nearer my God to Thee

C. He gave his life for a friend

It Happened in 1912

In 1912, not only did the TITANIC sink on April 14, but other things happened like this:

1. On November 5, Woodrow Wilson won by a landslide against William Howard Taft in the presidential race.

2. On June 30, Emperor Meiji of Japan died.

3. Beginning on May 5, the Summer Olympics were played in Stockholm, Sweden.

4. On February 14, Arizona was established as the 48th state to join the Union.

5. On January 1, Chinese Republic was established.

6. On April 12, Clara Barton the founder of Red Cross and Civil War Heroine died.

The President's Aid

Major Archibald Willingham Butt was born on September 26,1865 in Augusta Georgia. As a child, he was considered bright, had excellent grades and handwriting, and very athletic. He graduated from Tennessee University and began a successful in law practice, but was drafted and sent to Mexico in 1898. He loved the military and signed on for a second year in the military and was sent to the Philippines. Slowly but surely, he worked his way up to the top and became president Roosevelt and Taft's military aid. When they were against each other, "Archie" tried to remain neutral when they were against each other. He soon became ill and so Taft sent him to Rome (In secret, he was on a secret mission but it is unclear what that mission was). He got better and scheduled himself to leave at Cherbourg, France on the Titanic. During the
voyage, the weather got colder but he never put on an overcoat. He made many friends
including the Astors, Strausses, and Widners. On April 14,1912, Butt was in bed when a steward woke him up and Archie contacted Thomas Andrews(the designer) and Andrews told him that the ship was sinking. Both men helped the women and children on board. One lady whom Archie didn't recognize was the piano teacher for the Roosevelt children After the last boat was gone, he stood with the Strausses and Mr. Astor as the ship went down. His body was never found. At his
memorial service said through tears,"I loved him like a brother; but he treated me
like a king."

Mr. George Behe has written several volumes on the life of Archie Butt and you can find them here:

http://archiebutt.com/2010/01/27/hello-world/