Captain Paul William “Buddy” Bucha passed away on July 31, 2024. He was a man of many accomplishments and accolades. Beloved father, husband, brother, friend, Gold Medallion Inductee of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, Lindy Champion of St. Louis, named alongside Elvis Presley as one of the Ten Most Outstanding Young Men in America by the Jaycees, two-time All American Swimmer, West Point graduate, Stanford MBA, Army Airborne Ranger, member of the Ranger Hall of Fame, and recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor. He is survived by his wife Cynthia “Chintz” Bell-Bucha, sisters Maryanne Hertzer (Norman), Judy Shelton (Steve), and Sandra
Bucha Kerscher (John), his four children Jason, Heather, Lindsay, and Becky, with his first wife Carolyn Maynard Bucha, and nine grandchildren.
Paul Bucha was born in Washington D.C. on August 1st, 1943 to his parents, Mary and Paul, a colonel in the U.S. Army. He spent his childhood in Germany, Japan, Indiana, and St. Louis, graduating from Ladue Hortons Watkins High School in 1961. Paul received several scholarships for both academics and athletics, but instead decided to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point. At his first Yale Army swim meet he realized that he had forgotten to let Yale know he would not be attending. He supposed they had figured it out, and he went on to be a two-time All American and captain of the swim team at West Point. After graduating number two in Military Order of Merit in 1965, Paul attended Stanford University where he received an MBA and attended Airborne and Ranger schools, before reporting to Fort Campbell, and then to Vietnam in 1967.
Paul Bucha exemplified courage both in action and compassion. On March 18th, 1968 Paul directed the men of Delta Company in the defeat of a vastly superior enemy force. Upon returning home, Paul was informed that he was to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Paul, a man of exceeding humility, knew that he would not have survived without the courage and competence of the men he commanded. He accepted the medal on behalf of Delta Company, and always acknowledged that when he wore it, he did so for them all. Paul always denied that he had “won” the honor, insisting that it was a medal he had received, and never forgot the ten men that were lost in that battle. He thought of them every day.
In his years following Vietnam, Paul impacted countless lives, as he lectured on leadership to heads of all branches of the U.S. military, as well as students, educators, business leaders, at Harvard and Yale, to incoming West Point cadets, and graduates of all four service academies, on his five pillars of leadership: Honor, Integrity, Competence, Confidence, and Humility. Paul approached everyone as an equal, and his eagerness to listen to the concerns of others, to offer guidance, assistance, or friendship, was inherent to his character. He advocated before the United States Senate for fair and compassionate acknowledgement of the contributions made by immigrants in our armed forces, for which he received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 1994. Paul argued on behalf of racial equality, using his platform to urge people to open their hearts to the concerns of others. He asserted that those calling for racial justice should be thanked for speaking out so that together we can work towards a better future. After having the courage to treat his own post traumatic stress through counseling, Paul spoke publicly about his struggle in an effort to normalize the conversation around trauma for all who served in our armed forces. Paul was a member of the foreign policy panel during the first Obama Presidential campaign, and traveled with Michelle Obama as she spoke to military families. It was Paul’s compassion and dedication that convinced Mrs. Obama to focus her work as First Lady on aiding military families.
After Vietnam, Paul turned down an offer to attend Harvard Law school when he was recruited by Ross Perot to launch EDS abroad in 1975. He and his family lived in Tehran until the Iranian Revolution in 1979, when he was sent to Paris, France. There, Paul worked in coordination with the United States government towards securing the release of EDS employees held hostage during the revolution. He was a real estate developer, corporate consultant, member of the board of the Fisher House Foundation and Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, and a powerful advocate and voice for the servicemen and women of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families.
Paul enjoyed skiing at Sugarloaf in the mountains of Western Maine, diving the reefs of the smaller islands of the Bahamas, and riding his namesake thoroughbred horse “Buddy” with Chintz. He traveled the world with friends and family, loved a passionate debate, chocolate milkshakes, and John Denver.
Paul ultimately accepted his opportunity to attend Yale. With the assistance of the West Haven VA, who took excellent care of Paul in his time of need, his brain was donated to the Center for Human Brain Discovery at Yale University. This was both an expression of his appreciation to Yale New Haven Hospital for the care they took in treating his youngest daughter’s breast cancer, and a hope that someday the possibility of a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease will be but a distant memory.
Services will be held in January 2025 at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Memorial donations may be made to Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation.