This page is dedicated to Ron Bucca

Article from Army Reserve Magazine about Ron's son: SPC Ron Bucca at Camp Bucca in Iraq

These pictures were contributed by WO1 Bailey

These pictures were all taken in March 2001 at Fort Rucker, Alabama while Ron was attending Warrant Officer Candidate School

Article from WOCS Class 01-003 Red Wizards classmate

November 17, 2001

Dear Fellow Warrant Officers,

As you are probably already aware, WO1 Ron Bucca was killed in the 9/11 attacks in NYC. Since the attacks, I have been heavily involved in the investigation end of it, and as such, have not had much time to do much else. I am sorry if this is the first you are hearing about Ron. The last I had seen Ron was on August 12, 2001, where I worked with him during a special operations mission exercise, (very similar to the events that were to unfold a month later). And since we were supposed to attend WOBC together in October, we were in constant contact. He was a great man, and someone who I began to mentor off of.

Ron responded to the WTC attacks on 9/11. He was heading towards the 74^th floor of the second tower when he was separated from his supervisor, who went to help a woman out of the building. Shortly after that the towers collapsed, he was the only Fire Marshall missing until October 23, 2001. They recovered his body close to one of the stairwells. He is the first Fire Marshall to be killed in the line of duty.

Ron had saved a number of people, by assisting them in escaping from the building. Make no mistake, Ron knew what he was getting into when he entered that hell. Besides being in the MI field in the Army, Ron was also part of the terrorism task force in NYC. He even had plans in his locker of the WTC’s!. And saying all that, the man ran into the building. For those of you who have not had the opportunity to visit my city, or the downtown area, I can only tell you that it is a city onto itself. The man is a hero.

Last weekend, I attended Ron’s funeral, along with many others. I could only guess, there must have been about 1,500 people. There were representatives from the Army (BG, INSCOM), the DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency), FDNY, NYPD, and so on. One couple particularly stood out to me. There was an oriental couple present, the woman had an entire face bandage around her. However, from what I could see, she had been severely burned. Her husband carried two roses, and held them for hours, I assume in honor of Ron.

Ron was in the Army for 29 years! During his active duty, he was with the 101^st Airborne. Most of his career was with the 11^th SF Group and the DIA. The SF Association was present in force, always by the side of his casket (along with a FDNY rep).

Ron left behind his wife, son and daughter.

For those of you who wish to contribute, a fund was established;

Fire Marshal Ron Bucca Memorial Fund

C/o/ the law office of Carro, Velez, Carro & Mitchell LLP

475 Park Avenue South

New York, NY 10016

In his memory

To this day, the area, now termed Ground Zero still burns. Depending on the weather pattern, my building (26 Federal Plaza, about 6-8 blocks away) is consumed with the smell. I can only say that unless you see the WTC site with your eyes, hear all the activities, and taste the burning odor (of God knows what) in your lungs, you cannot fully appreciate what has occurred. There is such an incredible amount of destruction, that words cannot encompass it. Well, I will close for now, as this is my first weekend off from work. My family life has suffered, and I need to spend time with them. Take care and hope that you are all well.

Paul

Please send all comments concerning this website to our

This website maintained by MJD Web Design