Posted by John Swensson on August 3, 2024:

A eulogy for Buddy Bucha? What to say? He was a giant among our classmates. 22 entries in Bob Doughty's great history of the class, STRENGTH AND DRIVE: THE WEST POINT CLASS OF 1965. Only Dan Christman has as many. Bob also reminds us that Bud ran once for Congress and was a heroic resucuer of Ross Perot's employees in Iran. I was privileged to be on Bud's staff when we were cadets, we taught together at West Point, and one day on my second tour in Viet Nam I got a call from Awards and Decorations Section of the AG asking me to come over and read the proposed CMH citation. What a well-deserved Award, and what Bud did with it in terms of honoring his soldiers and his profession, and his alma mater, spoke volumes. He had the courage to say to soldiers, I suffer from PTS, Post Traumatic Stress-he never used the D for disorder. And for many soldiers this encouraged them to come out of the PTS closet and seek assistance. Later in his life, I had the privilege to work with Bud on a project to build a new VA Hospital in San Francisco, a project which did not happen only because Hillary Clinton was not elected President. Bud went from West Point to take an MBA at Stanford and years later I was privileged to attend a dinner at Stanford honoring Bud. It was an evening of well- deserved tributes, but I read aloud a slug for Bud of 8 Demerits and 10 Cons for entire 2d Regimental Staff late for breakfast. Chintz was a great wife supporting him always, particularly in the later days as he suffered from dementia. She has asked for 16 Jan as a date for a Memorial Service at West Point. Sure Denny Coll will keep us apprised.

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