Originally written by Carl White.
One of the great things about Greenwich is the wonderful programs the Town’s Parks and Recreation Department provides for the public. You can catch a ferry out to the islands, see a softball game and watch fireworks at Greenwich Point or Binney Park. They also provide a concert series, which includes all kinds of music – country / western, swing, rock, Disco, and jazz.
One of my favorites is the Bob Button Band. It’s a retrospective swing band that plays music from the World War II era. They’re backed up by the well-known “Buttons and Bows” women’s chorale group. Bob and his group have provided many hours of enjoyable music. I was surprised to find out several years ago that Bob Button was part of the Enigma program in World War II, which broke the Nazi’s secret code. This gave the Allies a tool to anticipate the German’s next move in the war.
BOB BUTTON’S EARLY LIFE
Bob Button was born in Englewood, New Jersey, on July 25, 1915. His parents were John Conyers Button and Olive L. Demarest. He graduated in 1936 from Dartmouth College, where he studied communications, music, and writing. Bob was a member of the Casque and Gauntlet Honor Society, the second oldest fraternity/sorority founded in 1886. After graduation, he went to work at NBC, while pursuing a law degree (1939).
When World War II broke out, he enlisted in the service as a military intelligence officer. Bob Button received two Bronze Stars for heroic and meritorious service in a battle zone, and 6 Battle Stars for participation in specific battles, and engagements when World War II broke out, he enlisted in the service as a military intelligence officer. Bob served under Generals Bradley and Eisenhower. Due to his communications background, he was one of the first American soldiers to work on the famed “Enigma” code-breaking project at Bletchley Park, England. (His memoirs were published in “Enigma in Many Keys,” which earned him the Mark Twain Award from the Connecticut Press Club in 2006). He was discharged as a Colonel at the end of the war.
BOB BUTTON’S POST-WAR YEARS
Bob returned to NBC and pioneered early programming and television sales. In 1954, he left to become the Director of the Voice of America for the Defense Office of Special Operations. Other duties included serving as the USIS Foreign Service Officer in NATO-Paris (1958 to 1964), Executive Consultant at COMSAT (Communications Satellite Corporation, 1965 to 1973), co-founder and President of Greenwich’s TransCommunications Inc (1975-1993), the parent company of Cablevision.
Button served in many service organizations, including the Lions, Masons, Reserve Officers Association, American Legion, University Club, Old Greenwich Yacht Club, High Arctic Explorers Club, Broadcast Pioneers, and Playmakers of Connecticut. He was a founding trustee of the American College in Paris, and taught continuing education courses at Columbia, the University of Virginia, and the University of Connecticut. Button was a frequent contributor to the Greenwich Time Op-Ed section. Greenwich named him “Community Leader of the Year” in 1999. The Southeast Connecticut Volunteer Organization awarded him the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.
Bob is probably best known for his Bob Button Orchestra. The band was formed circa 1980 and consists of 4 saxophones, 4 trumpets, 2 trombones, a piano, drums, and bass. The band has had two female sextets – “Buttons and Bows” and the “Decibelles.” He also managed to direct the 24-voice retired men’s chorus “The Melody Men.”
Robert Easton Button passed away on August 9, 2008, in Old Greenwich. He left behind a legacy of unselfish service to this town and country. I’m amazed at how much he was able to achieve in his lifetime. What a role model he was for the rest of us! Whether he was defending his country, spearheading changes in communications, or entertaining the public with his band, he was very public service-minded. Although I used the term “Enigmatic” in the title, Bob was anything but secretive or mysterious. (It was more a play on words for his involvement in breaking the Nazi’s Enigma code). He was right out there making contributions in many different ways.
Thank you, Bob Button, for enriching our lives.
SOURCES
Greenwich Time; Hearst Media Sevices Connecticut LLC, Stamford CT; accessed on 7/1/2016.
The Greenwich Sentinel; Greenwich Ledger LLC, Greenwich CT 06830; accessed on 7/1/2016.
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