DOB/DOD: February 10, 1917 (Norwalk, CT) – January 13, 1999 (Branford, CT); 81 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married Doris L. Paquet (1917-1992) on March 22, 1947, in Stamford, CT
CHILDREN: One daughter, Janet L. Buchta Miller (1944-).
LOCAL ADDRESS: 6 Pogany Street and 34 Saddle Road
ENLISTMENT: May 1, 1942
SERVICE NUMBER: 31118833
DISCHARGE: April 11, 1946
UNIT: Company D, 1st Battalion, 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division
FAMILY: Born to William (1897-1960) and Clara W. Taylor Buchta (1895-1926). Two brothers, John J. (1918-1986) and Milton F. [recipient of two Silver Star Medals in WWII] (1921-1976). One half-brother, Richard J. (1943-2012). One sister, Marjorie Buchta Fekety (1920-2011).
Photos courtesy of Ancestry.com
From The Norwalk Hour August 18, 1944
LOCAL PARATROOPERS IN D-DAY INVASION
Sergeant William Buchta, Jr. of Soundview Avenue, Lieutenant George R. Stevens of 19 East Maple Street, New Canaan, and Private Dominick Casciarl of New Canaan
are members of the 82nd Airborne Division in Normandy, who, several hours before H-Hour on D-Day, were among hundreds of paratroopers who floated into France for the first attack on the enemy of the continent of Europe. Their job was to prevent German forces from reaching the beachhead and to clear the way for Allied ground troops. The soldiers met machine-gun fire before they hit the ground, and snipers were all about. For nearly 34 hours, they were in constant contact with the Nazis.
From The Norwalk Hour March 1, 1945
“I thought all hell broke loose when I left the plane.” Paratrooper William Buchta, son of William Buchta of Glenbrook, has written his family regarding the D-Day invasion of France, after recently being returned to a base in England. Master Sergeant Buchta, who is a grandson of Mrs. Rose Buchta of Soundview Avenue, has been awarded the Infantryman’s Combat Badge and Presidential citation. He has been in the service for
three years and has been overseas for the past year and a half. Continuing his recital about D-Day, he writes: “Our regiment was one of the first outfits to land, and our company led the regiment in. The Krauts must have gotten a tip-off that we were coming. They fired at us all the way down and I can say that I never saw so many tracers in all my life. It looked like an extra large Fourth of July, but it did not take us long to find out that this was for keeps. “Of course, there are a number of things that I would love to tell you but can’t because of censors and for our own good also. Someday we will get together and I will assure you that I will tell you some stories that are true but will be hard to believe. “The Krauts knew, and we showed them what a fighting outfit is. Two hundred of us took a town the first few days that was held by 800 of the enemy. We got them on the run, and it was just like shooting ducks on a pond. What a field day! A number of prisoners said that they didn’t like the boys with the many pockets, meaning our jumpsuits, because we do not fight fair. I’m sure glad we were given all the tricks of fighting. In a number of cases, all you had to do was to show them a knife, and they were your prisoners. That is if you got that close to them. And then again, others were that lucky. Never did I see a trooper give an inch of ground that we fought for. “Some Joe from Washington said, ‘The paratroopers do not earn as much money as they get.’ Sure, wish this joker was with me on one of our many attacks. My best friend was killed in one of our advances, but they can never get even with him, for he took a number of Krauts with him. He always said to me, ‘If you get two, they never get even with you.’ “For our work in France, we were given the Presidential Unit Citation. I hope the good news we are receiving here keeps up, for I have had my fill of Army life, and I want to get settled down again and live like a human being.” Sergeant Buchta was widely known in Norwalk before he went into the service and was quite an athlete. He had the breaststroke championship of the state while swimming with the YMCA team, and also starred in football and baseball. Before he went into the service, he was the manager of the Woodway Diner, of which his father is the proprietor. His brother, Milton, is in the Army also, seeing action in Germany, and his brother Jack is in the Navy — now in New London awaiting reassignment after previous completion of duties aboard a submarine. Their sister is Mrs. Marjorie Fekety, who corresponds regularly with her three brothers.
From The Norwalk Hour March 13, 1945
MSGT WM. BUCHTA WOUNDED IN ACTION
Master Sergeant Willlam H. Buchta, Jr., paratrooper, son of William H. Buchta, Sr.. of Glenbrook, and grandson of Mrs. Rose Buchta of Soundview Avenue, was wounded in Belgium on January 14 and is now convalescing in a hospital in England. His father received word last week from the War Department but the family has since had letters from him saying that he is getting along nicely. M/Sgt Buchta, who sustained
shrapnel wounds of the right arm and right leg, underwent treatment in a hospital in France before being sent to England. He has written his sister, Mrs. Marjorie Fekety of Soundview Avenue, that other Norwalkers in the same ward with him have been Lieutenant Edwin Safir, son of Mrs. Fannie Safir of 19 Elmwood Avenue, and Private First Class Louis Acunzo, son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Acunzo of 31 Woodward Avenue.
From The Norwalk Hour June 5, 1994
NORWALK — Ask William Buchta what kept him alive as a paratrooper during the D-Day invasion, and he’ll quickly answer, “Luck.” Buchta, who was 27 years old at the time, landed eight miles inland, beyond Omaha Beach in Normandy, at 1:25 a.m. on June 6, 1944. “I was lucky I landed all right. I had no problem,” said Buchta, a Technical Sergeant who jumped from a C-47 plane. Of the 52 men in his 82nd Airborne Division platoon in Normandy, Buchta and four privates were the only ones to survive. Buchta, who still has a shred of the parachute he landed in, said his first order of business was finding one of his own men. Actually, everything was all mixed up. We didn’t get back together ‘til three days later. The first thing I was worried about was finding one of my own men, and I found him, a kid named Riley. I’ll never forget him. I could have kissed him,” the Saddle Road resident said. From that point on, Buchta and his platoon fought and attacked the Germans from 18- to 25-foot-high hedgerows. “We never left the front lines,” he said. In battle, Buchta saw a lot of men, including close friends, die but said he was not often frightened. “I was naturally a little nervous, but I had a job to do, and that was it,” he recalled. Buchta was finally relieved on July 23. “Frankly speaking, I was just hoping to get back. I was one of the lucky ones,” he said. Following D-Day, Buchta was transferred to the 17th Airborne and on to the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium, where on January 13, 1945, he was ‘hit in both legs and his right arm with a German mortar shell. He spent the next year in several hospitals. “I saw a lot of guys that were really banged up (in the hospitals). I thought they were going to have to amputate my leg. I felt very lucky to still have it,” he said. Buchta said he still has some problems with his right leg, which is partially paralyzed, and has undergone operations to have shrapnel in both of his legs removed. Buchta received a Purple Heart, a Good Conduct Medal, an Infantry Rifleman’s Badge, and two stars on his European Theater Operation (ETO) ribbon after his combat in World War II. When Buchta, a Norwalk native, returned to civilian life, he resumed his career as a short-order cook at Curley’s Diner in Stamford, where he worked for the next 27 years. Before he enlisted in the war, he had worked as a cook at his father’s restaurant in Darien. Buchta said he does not have any special plans to commemorate D-Day’s 50th anniversary on Monday but said he will never forget the day or the war. “I don’t think there’s a way you can forget. I don’t think anyone who has ever seen action can forget about it. It’s always in their minds,” Buchta said.
From The Norwalk Hour January 17, 1999
William H. Buchta
Short-order cook, life-long Norwalk resident
William H. Buchta Jr, 81, of Norwalk, died Wednesday in Connecticut Hospice in Branford. He was the husband of the late Doris Paquet Buchta. He was born in South Norwalk on Feb. 10, 1917, the son of the late William H. and Clara Taylor Buchta. He was a lifelong Norwalk resident. He was a short-order cook for several restaurants in the Norwalk area. He was a US. Army veteran of World War II, having served with the 82nd Airborne Division. He was a recipient of the Purple Heart and a life member of the American Legion, Post No. 12. Mr. Buchta is survived by a daughter, Janet B. Miller of Norwalk, and a brother, Richard Buchta of Ormond Beach. Florida; a sister, Marjorie Fekety, of Detroit, Michigan; two grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by two brothers, Jack Buchta and Milton Buchta. A memorial service will be held later. The interment will be private. There are no calling hours. The family requests that contributions be made to Connecticut Hospice, 61 Burban Drive, Branford 06405. Magner Funeral Home in Norwalk is in charge of arrangements.
Burial details, if any, are unknown.
END
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