Project Summary

Harrodsburg, Kentucky native General William R. Buster, graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1939 and entered the United States Army. He served as Battery Commander for the 92nd Armored Field Artillery Battalion in charge of planning and training for the invasion of North Africa during World War II. He was an executive officer in the planning for the invasion of Sicily, Italy in 1944. As Commander of the 2nd Armored Division, he helped organize the Allied Invasion of Normandy Beach. General Buster served on the War Department’s General Staff in post-war Germany until he retired in 1947. He served in the Army Reserves upon his return to Kentucky and was appointed Assistant Adjutant General for the Kentucky National Guard by Governor Bert Combs in 1960. He served as Commanding General XXIII Corps Artillery until his civilian retirement in 1969. In 1973, Butler became director of the Kentucky Historical Society until 1983. Additionally, he served on the board of the Kentucky Archives and Records Commission, the Kentucky Historic Records Advisory Board, the Kentucky Oral History Commission, the Editorial Board of the University Press of Kentucky and chaired the Governor’s Mansion Commission and the Midway College Board of Trustees. General Buster passed away on December 15, 1995.