This USS Lowndes site has been moved and updated. Please update your link to the following new site:

https://historysoft.com/lowndes



In Loving Memory of our one and only Lowndes Reunion Leader:

William "Bud" Kautz

9/2/1920 - 3/28/2011
and the Lowndes First  Lovely:
Jean Sylvia Olson Kautz
5/4/1922 - 3/21/2011

Bud and Jean Kautz

Bud Kautz

Born September 2, 1920 in Chicago, and passed peacefully from this life on March 28, 2011 at home in McHenry. Loving husband of Jean Kautz for 67 years of marriage who passed away exactly one week before him; cherished father of Pamela Jean Hennessey (Michael “Reggie”), Candace Lee Thomas (Richard), Jacqueline Sue Minaghan (Daniel), and William John Kautz (Sheri). Also left behind are grandchildren Lori Jean Suiter (Stuart), Jennifer Michele Teixeira (Maurice), Jeffrey Tyler Thomas, Claire Isabel Thomas, Adrienne Anne Thomas, Tamara Lyn McDonald (Michael), Timothy Daniel Minaghan, William Michael Kautz, and Abigale Sylvia Kautz, great-grandchildren Addison Jean Teixeira, Brynn Marie Teixeira, and Payton Jane McDonald, in addition to his sister Elsie Kautz Meisl and many other special relatives.


Bud was proud of his WWII service in the US Navy in the Pacific aboard the destroyer USS Reid and attack transport USS Lowndes. He faithfully attended reunions for both ships and even got his children to attend as well. Later in life he became proficient with a computer and wrote a quarterly newsletter for the USS Lowndes, which kept the shipmates and families connected. He also became an avid e-mailer. One of his passions in life was photography, both as his livelihood and as a hobby. He loved the game of golf and played several times a week until arthritis forced him to retire from the sport. He was also an expert woodworker and made many special items for family.

Jean Kautz

Jean Sylvia Olson Kautz, age 88, passed peacefully from this life March 21, 2011, at home in McHenry.


Born May 4, 1922 in Chicago, she was the loving wife, best friend and companion of William “Bud” Kautz for 67 years of marriage (the love of his life); and the cherished mother of Pamela Jean (Michael “Reggie”) Hennessey, Candace Lee (Richard) Thomas, Jacqueline Sue (Daniel) Minaghan, and William John (Sheri) Kautz. Also left behind are her grandchildren, Lori Jean (Stuart) Suiter, Jennifer Michele (Maurice) Teixeira, Jeffrey Tyler Thomas, Claire Isabel Thomas, Adrienne Anne Thomas, Tamara Lyn (Michael) McDonald, Timothy Daniel Minaghan, William Michael Kautz, and Abigale Sylvia Kautz, her great grandchildren, Addison Jean Teixeira, Brynn Marie Teixeira, and Payton Jane McDonald, in addition to many other special relatives.

She will now join her parents, John and Sylvia Olson, her brother John “Jack” Olson, and numerous other relatives and friends.

She was known for her patience and unwavering love for her family and friends. She enjoyed cooking and loved nothing better than curling up with a cooking magazine and books from the library. She bravely battled lung cancer for almost 9 years without complaint. During this time she also volunteered at the Pink Door resale shop for Centegra Hospital. She was a member of the Centegra Hospital Auxiliary. This past Christmas she received a beautiful blue parakeet, which she named BB for blue bird. This new family member brought her much joy once her health began to decline shortly after the holidays and she was housebound.



Members of the U.S.S. Lowndes Reunion are all veterans of this World War II ship that was commissioned in 1944 and decommissioned on April 17, 1946. The Lowndes was a 11,180-ton ship with a crew of 56 officers and 480 enlisted men and carried as many as 1,500 troops and equipment to and from staging areas in the Pacific. Amphibious training was taken in the Hawaiian Islands in preparation for the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. In February, 1945, the U.S.S. Lowndes participated for eight days in the massive assault on Iwo Jima while the ship's beach party went ashore four days to attend and evacuate casualties to salvage boats and to clear beaches for the landing craft. The Lowndes received and treated 365 wounded from the Iwo beach. The 43-member beach party had 16 casualties at Iwo, including 4 killed and 12 wounded. Eight landing boats from the Lowndes were lost during the Iwo Jima battle. In April, 1945, the Lowndes was engaged in the invasion of Okinawa. The ship suffered no damage but was under constant enemy air raids while debarking troops and unloading cargo in support of the campaign ashore. The Lowndes received two battle stars. Following D-Day and victory in World War II, the ship carried troops and cargo to Japan, the Philippines and other areas for occupation duty and returned homeward bound veterans to the United States.

Please select one the underlined links below to continue your voyage:

This Site is dedicated to the Lowndes' members
that have moved on. Especially the
ones lost February 20, 1945 on Iwo Jima
Click here to see their memorial page


Narrative History of The U.S.S. Lowndes

The USS Lowndes' Route (Animated Map)

Personal Accounts and Logs

The Complete Lowndes Deck Log

Marines on the Lowndes
The Flag of The USA and The World's Symbol of Freedom The Flag of The USA and The World's Symbol of Freedom

Pictures from the War

Video and Audio from the War


Pictures from Reunions

Video from Reunions

Past Reunion Information

2008 Reunion Information

The U.S.S. Lowndes Newsletters

Blueprints/Models of The Lowndes

APA Historical Preservation Project - Save the Gage (APA-168)

The APA Film Project (The Bayfield Archives)

Books & Movies (WWII Attack Transports)

Lowndes Games (Hangman + Trivia)

Preview of the 2004 Lowndes WWII History Calendar (Requires Adobe Acrobat)

Links to other Attack Transport Sites

Search the USS Lowndes Web Site

Web Site change history listing


The U.S.S. Lowndes in Manila Bay
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Medal


Visitors since August 2, 2002:
215469

Click Here To Sign/View the Guestbook


For our Japanese visitors, Press the button below to translate this page with Babel.


Email Contacts:

U.S.S. Lowndes' Crewman and Reunion Contact: Bud Kautz

Pages maintained by: David Brinkman





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