My neighbor plays the cello.
He likes steaks and potatoes.
He loves his country.
And flying. Andrew Geoffrey Butte – pronounced butt, like he said, “tragic in childhood”- was born an only child in Fort Worth, Texas; Mom is from Miami with Prussian origins, and Dad from Tennessee with German roots.
He grew up and went to school in Texas, then decided what he wanted to do with his life. Two things, first serve his country, second, to fly.
A little boy’s dream that never left him.
So after high school, he went to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis for four years, to start his bright future.
Andy is an avid bicyclist, on weekends he rides about 75 miles round-trip treks that takes him three hours. He wishes he could do it several times a week, but has no time to do so. He just arrived in Milton to train to be a helicopter pilot, and will get his wings later this year. He previously trained in Virginia, then Pensacola.
He is a 2nd Lieutenant in the Marine Corps, and always had the incline to serve his country. “I feel very fortunate to live in a great country, and want to give back, as a way to be thankful for this free country, with free religion, free press” he says.
The patriotic urge was a sure fit for him to both serve his country and to fly, his two lifelong dreams. He is ready and willing to give 10 years and more of his life to train to be a Marine and a pilot. He likes the Marines for the fact that it is a smaller corps and an elite corps. The training is hard but he is dedicated. To serve by flying has been his goal the whole time.
Besides training, Andy is teaching himself the guitar, I must say I never heard him play, so he is not a loud neighbor at all. He learned to play the cello as a young child, starting in elementary school, playing classical music, like Bach and Mendelssohn. He is also a runner and a swimmer, and is awaiting the warmer weather to use the pool.
On Sunday, when the daily savings time commenced, he was glad to be able to change to his summer uniform with short sleeves shirts and no tie. He finds that the disciplined type-A personalities of the guys in the Marine Corps suits his own personality, and he admires the fact that the Marines are first responders and often participate in humanitarian aid and disaster relief operations.
He is now one of the few, one of the proud. Andy, thank you for your service. Everybody has a story is a regular column presenting citizens of the community. If you have someone you would like to see featured, contact the editor at ssawyer@srpressgazette.com.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Portrait of a Marine