There is a William H Butterfield that appears on various crew lists - this is a small sample - 2nd assistant engineer on the Private William H Thomas 12 th April 1954 arriving in New York.
27 Nov 1953 - Private W H Thomas.
12 Feb 1955 on the same ship
21 November 1949 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to New York - on the General W C Langfitt. Had been a deck engineer 5 years. Described as 6 ft 2 ins. weight 195.
26 March 1956 - arriving New York - on the Kingsport Victory.
Sandra