Capt. Paul Bucha was a Vietnam War veteran who received the military’s highest award, the Congressional Medal of Honor, for his leadership during a battle against overwhelming odds in 1968.
- Died: July 31, 2024 (Who else died on July 31?)
- Details of death: Died in West Haven, Connecticut at the age of 80.
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Capt. Paul Bucha’s legacy
Born in Washington, D.C., Paul Bucha went to West Point and earned an MBA at Stanford University, then went into the U.S. Army. He was deployed to Vietnam in 1967 as a Captain, commanding Company D, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment. On March 18, 1968, his company encountered a full North Vietnamese battalion. His much smaller group came under heavy fire. For a full day, Bucha managed to hold his men together through the attack, destroying an enemy bunker on his own and leading the evacuation of the wounded while under sniper fire. He received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions.
After his time in combat, Warren taught political science at West Point. He later got involved in politics, unsuccessfully running for Congress in 1993 and campaigning for President Barack Obama in 2008.
Warren served on the board of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and was an honorary member of the Rhode Island Commandery of the Military Order of Foreign Wars. He was one of just 60 living Medal of Honor Recipients.
On how the Medal of Honor also belongs to those he served with:
“There’s a burden that comes with the medal to make sure that you comport yourself in such a way that you represent all of those people.”—Interview with the West Point Center for Oral History, 2014
Tributes to Capt. Paul Bucha
Full obituary: Ridgefield Press
