Thomas Q. Buda
Editor’s note: Much of this story is from an interview conducted on 25-APR 2015 with grandson Eric Francis (son of Mark Francis, Tom’s son-in-law) as part of a history project at CBC High School in St. Louis County Missouri.
Thomas Quentin Buda was born on 7-MAY 1927 in St. Louis Missouri. His father was Eugene Frederick Buda (1896–1969) and his birth mother was Emily M. ‘Millie’ Neise (1896-1936). His stepmother was Irene Christine Heine Buda (1897–1985). He had one sister, Audrey. In 1930 the family lived on Elliot Ave in St. Louis MO. In 1940, the family lived on Margarett in St. Louis MO.
Buda enlisted in the Navy in 1944 at the age of 17. Tom remarked, “Everybody enlisted; it was their duty.” He picked the Navy because his uncle and cousin were in the Navy. He recalls his first days in the Navy as “difficult. It was a lot different than civilian life,” he said. “Boot camp and training was rough because I had never experienced anything like that.”
Tom finished boot camp and was off to the Pacific theater in World War II. He learned, boot camp was tough, but landing on an enemy occupied beach was much tougher.
For the rest of Tom’s story, click on the link below.
