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Tasmanian Seafarers' Memorial
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Raymond John Butterworth (1968)
The plaque reads ... 
R. J. Butterworth
ORDQMG R66558
04.08.1949 - 17.06.1968
Fatally hit by shrapnel when
guided missile destroyer HMAS Hobart
was mistakenly attacked by USAF jets
near Tiger Is. east coast Vietnam
Lest we forget
Raymond John Butterworth was born in London on 4 August 1949. He joined the Royal Australian Navy from Risdon Vale, Tasmania as a general entry sailor on 30 June 1967.
Having completed his basic training in September of that year, Ordinary
Seaman Quartermaster Gunner Butterworth was posted to the guided missile
destroyer Hobart. In March 1968 HMAS Hobart with
Ordinary Seaman Butterworth was deployed to Vietnam. Mid-way through
the deployment in the early hours of 17 June 1968 Hobart was
part of a naval task unit operating in the vicinity of Tiger Island
north of the demilitarized zone of the east coast of North Vietnam.
An unidentified aircraft was detected approaching the ship and although evaluated as a "friendly" it continued to close, firing a missile that struck Hobart amidships on her starboard side. The warhead passed through the main deck seriously damaging several compartments while the body of the missile passed through the outer skin of the aft funnel before embedding itself in the forward funnel. It was during its passage that shrapnel from the disintegrating missile killed Ordinary Seaman Butterworth who was closed up as a lookout on the port side, at the aft end of the flag deck above the bridge.
Two more missiles hit the ship and the aircraft was seen to turn for what appeared to be a further attack run. At 8000 yards the crew of Hobart's forward gun engaged the aggressor firing five rounds causing it to turn away.
One of the unfortunate aspects of this attack was that Hobart was one of several ships mistakenly attacked by the US 7th Air Force. Ordinary Seaman Butterworth, along with Chief Electrician Henry Hunt were casualties of friendly fire. Ordinary Seaman Butterworth was only eighteen years of age and had served less than one year in the Navy.
Photo: LCDR Calvin Johnson and Mrs Kath Fergusson OAM unveiling the plaque for Raymond Butterworth, Sunday 20 October 2019.
Above information kindly supplied by Lieutenant Commander Calvin Johnson RAN Hobart. (2019)