Tilman Klaus Bucher

June 5, 1926 ~ March 18, 2011
Tilman Klaus Bucher, Retired Lt. Colonel, USAF (June 5, 1926 to March 18, 2011), age 84
Tilman Klaus ("Tim") Bucher of Vienna, Virginia, born June 5, 1926, died peacefully on March 18, 2011 at Fairfax Hospital of a stroke. He was 84 years old. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Joan Straussene Bucher; sons Robert (Beth) and William (Terri); daughter Barbara Peake (Alexander); and 7 grandchildren: Sean Bucher, Lauren Bucher, Julie Bucher, Kevin Peake, Diane Bucher, Ryan Peake and Jessica Peake. He was the son of Martin Klaus Bucher of Erlanger, Germany, and Emily (Emmy) Josephine Dorsch of Munich, Germany, and brother of Evangelita (Elita), deceased.
Mr. Bucher enjoyed a long, prosperous, and adventurous life. He was a veteran of WWII and the Vietnam War. Having served for over 30 years in the US Military, he is one of the few individuals who wore 4 different military uniforms: Navy, Marines, Army and Air Force. For his military service, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for outstanding noncombat meritorious achievement.
Mr. Bucher was born in Straubing, Germany and immigrated with his parents to NY, NY in 1928, where they settled in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He graduated from Cardinal Hayes HS in 1944. At age 17, he enlisted during WWII and received basic training at Sampson Naval Base, NY. He was assigned to a transport ship (AKA-12) in 1945 that accompanied the USS Indianapolis across the Pacific. In the US Navy he served in combat as a Corpsman on the front lines with the First Marine Division during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. He was on Okinawa Island when the atomic bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945. After being honorably discharged from the Navy in 1946, he was able to complete his college education at the University of Southern California through the GI Bill and Army ROTC program. At USC, he became a member of the TKE fraternity. Upon graduation in 1951, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the US Air Force and was assigned to the Pentagon where he initially served as a courier and provided intelligence services to/from the White House and the Pentagon.
Subsequent assignments included Strategic Air Command (SAC), Bellevue, NB (1954 to 1955); Far East Air Force Headquarters (FEAF), Tokyo, Japan (1955 to 1957); Hickman AFB, HI (1957 to 1958); Vincent AFB, Yuma, AZ (1958 to 1959); MacDill AFB, Tampa, FL (1959 to 1960); Richards-Gebaur AFB, Kansas City, MO (1960 to 1964), including a lengthy 1963 Temporary Duty assignment on Christmas Island as administrative officer for a nuclear war testing assignment; Da Nang AFB, Vietnam (1964 to 1965) as executive officer ("XO"), which included pre-combat training in the Philippines (Da Nang AFB served as the staging base for the Gulf of Tonkin Incident between the US and North Vietnamese); Lindsey Air Station, Wiesbaden, Germany as administrative officer for European "Headquarters USAF" (1965 to 1968); SAC (1968 to 1972); and the Pentagon (1972 and retired 1976 as Lt. Colonel), assigned as an administrative officer to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
While stationed in Germany during the early 1960s, he served as the head of reconstruction of the Anglican Episcopal Church in Wiesbaden, Germany.
Upon retiring from the USAF, he became a licensed real estate agent and a licensed broker. He served as the broker/office manager for the Vienna, VA office of Long & Foster and managed nearly 100 real estate professionals. Mr. Bucher retired from real estate in the late 1980s. While in real estate, he was an active member of the Vienna Rotary Club.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to your favorite charity in Tilman Bucher's name.
We miss you and love you. Auf Wiedersehen.
Funeral Home:
Money & King Funeral Home
171 W. Maple Ave.
Vienna, VA
US 22180
Tilman Klaus ("Tim") Bucher of Vienna, Virginia, born June 5, 1926, died peacefully on March 18, 2011 at Fairfax Hospital of a stroke. He was 84 years old. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Joan Straussene Bucher; sons Robert (Beth) and William (Terri); daughter Barbara Peake (Alexander); and 7 grandchildren: Sean Bucher, Lauren Bucher, Julie Bucher, Kevin Peake, Diane Bucher, Ryan Peake and Jessica Peake. He was the son of Martin Klaus Bucher of Erlanger, Germany, and Emily (Emmy) Josephine Dorsch of Munich, Germany, and brother of Evangelita (Elita), deceased.
Mr. Bucher enjoyed a long, prosperous, and adventurous life. He was a veteran of WWII and the Vietnam War. Having served for over 30 years in the US Military, he is one of the few individuals who wore 4 different military uniforms: Navy, Marines, Army and Air Force. For his military service, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for outstanding noncombat meritorious achievement.
Mr. Bucher was born in Straubing, Germany and immigrated with his parents to NY, NY in 1928, where they settled in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He graduated from Cardinal Hayes HS in 1944. At age 17, he enlisted during WWII and received basic training at Sampson Naval Base, NY. He was assigned to a transport ship (AKA-12) in 1945 that accompanied the USS Indianapolis across the Pacific. In the US Navy he served in combat as a Corpsman on the front lines with the First Marine Division during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. He was on Okinawa Island when the atomic bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945. After being honorably discharged from the Navy in 1946, he was able to complete his college education at the University of Southern California through the GI Bill and Army ROTC program. At USC, he became a member of the TKE fraternity. Upon graduation in 1951, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the US Air Force and was assigned to the Pentagon where he initially served as a courier and provided intelligence services to/from the White House and the Pentagon.
Subsequent assignments included Strategic Air Command (SAC), Bellevue, NB (1954 to 1955); Far East Air Force Headquarters (FEAF), Tokyo, Japan (1955 to 1957); Hickman AFB, HI (1957 to 1958); Vincent AFB, Yuma, AZ (1958 to 1959); MacDill AFB, Tampa, FL (1959 to 1960); Richards-Gebaur AFB, Kansas City, MO (1960 to 1964), including a lengthy 1963 Temporary Duty assignment on Christmas Island as administrative officer for a nuclear war testing assignment; Da Nang AFB, Vietnam (1964 to 1965) as executive officer ("XO"), which included pre-combat training in the Philippines (Da Nang AFB served as the staging base for the Gulf of Tonkin Incident between the US and North Vietnamese); Lindsey Air Station, Wiesbaden, Germany as administrative officer for European "Headquarters USAF" (1965 to 1968); SAC (1968 to 1972); and the Pentagon (1972 and retired 1976 as Lt. Colonel), assigned as an administrative officer to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
While stationed in Germany during the early 1960s, he served as the head of reconstruction of the Anglican Episcopal Church in Wiesbaden, Germany.
Upon retiring from the USAF, he became a licensed real estate agent and a licensed broker. He served as the broker/office manager for the Vienna, VA office of Long & Foster and managed nearly 100 real estate professionals. Mr. Bucher retired from real estate in the late 1980s. While in real estate, he was an active member of the Vienna Rotary Club.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to your favorite charity in Tilman Bucher's name.
We miss you and love you. Auf Wiedersehen.
Funeral Home:
Money & King Funeral Home
171 W. Maple Ave.
Vienna, VA
US 22180
My thoughts and prayers are with the Bucher family during this time of loss and sorrow. Warmly, Beth Miller
Bob and Beth, My deepest sympathies to you and your whole family.