I did a search for Bucher in the forums to no avail. My understanding of the man Flanagan was that he was actually a selfless guy and that the evil permutations of Boys Town only began long after after Flanagan passed away, in 1948 in Berlin.
I was perusing the Good Magazine website and came across an infographic on North Korea, which mentioned the captured US spy ship USS Pueblo, the only currently commissioned, captured ship in the US military.
I did a bit more research on the Pueblo, because I wanted to know how exactly the ship was captured and if the crew survived (all but two did, and they were eventually released from their POW camp through the usual Cold War procedures). The commanding officer on board the Pueblo was Commander Lloyd M. Bucher, who suffered many various abuses, including being put through a mock firing squad and tortured. He was almost court-martialed upon his release, and died in 2004, partially as a result of the injuries he suffered in the POW camp some 36 years prior.
Commander Lloyd M. Bucher was born in 1927. Here is an account of his early life from wikipedia:
Bucher was born in Pocatello, Idaho, where he was given up for adoption by his birth mother, and was orphaned at an early age (his adoptive mother dying of cancer when he was age 3). He was raised by his father, grandparents, various other family members, his father again, then drifted through a series of Catholic orphanages in Idaho until he read a magazine article about Father Flanagan's Boy's Town in Nebraska. He wrote to Father Flanagan and was surprised when he wrote back to Bucher. Bucher was accepted at Boy's Town in the Summer of 1941, and for the rest of his life considered it to be his home. Bucher flourished at Boy's Town, making honor roll the majority of his time there and playing football, basketball, track and baseball. Like most young men during World War II, he dropped out his senior year to enlist in the Navy, serving the last year of the war and for 2 years afterward (1945–1947). As an enlisted man, Bucher reached the rank of quartermaster second class and obtained a high school diploma. He then worked in construction and as a bartender before entering the University of Nebraska on a football scholarship in 1949. While attending university, he signed up for Naval ROTC. He graduated with a BS degree in 1953 and was commissioned an Ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd_M._Bucher
Lloyd M. Bucher was nicknamed "Pete" for some reason. Check out this old post:
chiggerbit wrote:www.girlsandboystown.org/...gations
Dear Alumni,
We are currently in the midst of Lent and Easter is fast approaching. Best wishes to each of you for a fruitful Lenten Season and a very Happy Easter.
I would like to share three items with you. First is the investigation we did into allegations of wrongdoing 25 years ago here at the Home. We assembled a top-notch team of investigators who have long years of experience and are now retired from the FBI and the Omaha Police force. Their eport is a very important one. They interviewed more than 200 boys who were here during the period in question and more than 50 staff and others. Such a thorough nvestigation helps build credibility. They found no evidence of contagion or cover up and the conclusion I come to is that either it happened in the greatest of secrecy or, on the other hand, it didn’t happen at all and some of them are making up these stories.
Across America there are both abusers and, at the same time, gold brickers who want to make a quick buck. Father Flanagan’s dream is at stake and we needed to make the most thorough investigation.
Thank goodness Father Flanagan’s dream is intact.
Secondly, I wanted to share with you a little bit about Washington, D.C. Our one site on Sargent Road is flourishing with a short-term place for 300 kids a year, a top-notch foster care program, and home for boys.
The property we are building on at Pennsylvania and Potomac has been delayed for more than three years. The U.S. Department of Justice agrees with us that these delays are violating the Fair Housing Act and the civil rights of handicapped minority children. We need to take care of children as fast as possible. It is nice that the property is now worth quite a bit more than we paid for it. The D.C. government will either give us all of our permits or we will quickly go elsewhere.
My third point is to tell you how sad we were when one of Father Flanagan’s sons, Pete Bucher, passed away recently. He was a true American hero and the country is just now beginning to realize that fully. Like you, he came to Boys Town without dreams. And like you, he left with dreams galore. May God give him rest.
A very Happy Easter to each and every one of you. Please get to church during Holy Week and get working on your relationship with the dear Lord. God bless you now and always.
Sincerely yours,
Father Val J. Peter, JCD, STD
Executive Director
Father Flanagan’s Dream is Intact
Edited by: chiggerbit at: 9/21/06 7:58 pm
WTF? Was Bucher adopted by Flanagan? Why "Pete"?
i realize this is likely nothing, but it was an odd coincidence that I ran across, especially when the unrelated subject that I researching touched on the issues of abuse and torture.
