Halloween and Military Hero Paul Bucha Awaits Trick or Treaters on Main Street
Last night was no ordinary Halloween, after an unprecedented year, the goblins and spooky characters came out in full force and will high expectations. The residents on Main Street delivered, as did the Ridgefield Police Department who put on quite a show at the Lounsbury House.
Here, you see Paul Bucha enjoying the last few minutes of calm on the front steps of his Main Street home before the Halloween storm. What you may not know about this Ridgefield resident is that, in addition to the guy who delivers the candy on Halloween, he is a Medal of Honor recipient - our nation’s most prestigious military decoration.
Bucha's wife Chintz Bucha said that the first Trick or Treaters arrived at 4:30 pm and admitted that next year, "we will have to triple our stash". I guess that's what you get when Halloween falls on a Sunday! Chintz wouldn't reveal how much $$ is spent on Halloween candy but did say, "After twelve years [on Main Street] we still haven't figured this out."
So, let's turn our focus to Bucha. This Halloween and military hero is a graduate of both West Point and Stanford and was an all-American swimmer in high school. During Vietnam, Bucha served as the Captain, U.S. Army Company D, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry, 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division.
Bucha was sent to Vietnam in 1967 as a captain and commander of the U.S. Army, Company D, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment. On March 16, 1968, he and his company of 89 men were dropped by helicopter southwest of Phuoc Vinh in Binh Duong Province. The company's lead group of about twelve men came under heavy fire and were pinned down. Bucha crawled towards them and destroyed an NVA bunker. As the NVA forces withdrew, he led a party to rescue those soldiers who had been cut off from the rest of the company.
According to the U.S Army Center of Military History, the President, in the name of Congress, has awarded more than 3,400 Medals of Honor to our nation's bravest Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen since the decoration's creation in 1861.
Bucha currently is active with many groups that are encouraging America's military to seek help when adjusting to life after combat, particularly for post-traumatic stress (PTS).
HamletHub salutes Captain Bucha and all the brave men and women who put themselves in harm's way for our Country. You've paid the price for our freedom.
To learn more about Medal of Honor recipients, click here.