Perhaps the fact that his family changed the spelling of his last name just after World War II concluded that kept the United States Air Force from finding John Bucko to award him his Bronze Star. In September, at a ceremony held outside Washington D.C., Bucko – a former member of the Bayonne Housing Authority – received recognition for heroism 62 years late.
Bucko, formerly Buczko, said his family changed the name after World War II, but he did not realize that this would make such an impact in his life.
At 90, he had seen a lot of things and was just about to celebrate his 60th anniversary with his wife, Regina A. Bucko, when news reached him that he would receive the Bronze Star, and on Sept. 6, he and five other remaining members of his 39th Troop Carrier Squadron received their due, honored for their heroic efforts in supplying a critical base on Jan. 30-31 and Feb. 1, 1943 in New Guina.
At that time, strong enemy ground forces had penetrated into the Wau, Bulolo Valley in an effort to capture the Wow Airdrome,” Bucko’s citation said.
New Guinea was a critical and bitterly fought combat area in World War II, which the Japanese had sought several times to control in order to isolate Australia. A successful campaign by the Japanese, historians claim could have turned the tide of the war against the allies.
In early 1943, the airdrome in Wau-Bulolo Valley was garrisoned by a token allied force, too small to repulse the Japanese invasion.
“Planes of the 317 Troop Carrier Group were attached to another troop carrier group to make an unprecedented series of air movements to save the drone,” said Air Command General Ronald E. Keys, reading from the citation on Sept. 3. “For three days, the unarmed transport planes of the two groups carried Allied troops, ammunition, light artillery and supplies over the hazardous Owen-Stanley Mountains until late in the afternoon, when treacherous weather would have stopped aerial operations.”
Bucko said he remembered the mortars being lobbed at them.
In fact, the enemy was lobbing mortars at the planes as they landed, and the troops in the planes leaped out to fight back as soon as the planes stopped.
On Jan. 30, 40 planes made a told of 66 trips into the besieged outpost. On Jan. 31, 35 planes delivered 71 loads, and on Feb. 1, 40 planes brought in 53,000 pounds of needed supplies – according to military records.
By this time, the Japanese military had been killed or driven off, and Wau Airdrome, later to be used as a staging base for Allied attacks on other targets, was saved. The group lost a total of three aircraft.
“The courage and skill of the air crews in flying over a highly hazardous route subject to enemy interception and landing under fire, as well as the tireless efforts of the ground echelon in keeping the aircraft in constant operation were a vital facet in the success of this Allied counter-offensive against the Japanese forces which had pushed down into southeastern New Guinea,” Keys said.
Bucko, a staff sergeant at the time, served as acting first sergeant during the operations.
“Sometimes I had to go into a forward area with the enlisted men and officers,” he said. “We were flying for three days, bringing in supplied and personal. The moment we landed the Japanese started firing. So our as soon as our infantrymen were off the plane, they started shooting back.
A great surprise
“We found out about the citation in May,” Bucko said during a telephone interview from his home in Texas.
Born and raised in Bayonne, Bucko and his wife moved to Texas in 1979 to be near their children who were attending school out there. “The Air Corps rediscovered our paperwork after all these years.”
A 1935 graduate of Bayonne High School, he and his wife Regina, just celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. He and his wife were married at Mt. Carmel Church and were members of the Lyceum.
“The Bronze Medal is the whipped cream on top of the cake,” the thrilled Bucko said. “The only thing I regret is that many of the other squadron members are no longer around to receive the honor.”
Bucko said he still thinks of Bayonne as his hometown and misses it immensely.
“We moved here in 1979 when our daughter started college here,” he said.
Bucko still has a brother in law, named Eddie Maryanski, living in Bayonne.
An employee of what was then called Western Electric for over 34 years, Bucko also served on the Bayonne Housing Authority from 1963 to 1979, and for a time served as vice chair.
He was the 1969 Grand Marshal for the Bayonne Polish community in the Pulaski Day Parade, a member of the Polish American Citizens Club and the McKenzie American Legion Post.
“I miss all the people of Bayonne. I love each and every one of them. I think of them often, and I wanted to share this honor with them,” Bucko said.