Senior Master Sergeant Paul Garfield Buege, An Airman's Story
Senior Master Sergeant Paul Garfield Buege, An Airman's Story
Senior Master Sergeant Paul Garfield Buege was born on July 11, 1947, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He graduated from Custer High School before enlisting in the United States Air Force in July 1968, beginning a career that would span more than two decades of continuous service.
Buege served through the final years of the Vietnam War and later joined the 16th Special Operations Squadron, a unit tasked with some of the Air Force’s most demanding missions. Over the course of his career, he deployed to Grenada in October 1983 in support of Operation Urgent Fury and to Panama in December 1989 during Operation Just Cause.
In September 1990, Senior Master Sergeant Buege deployed to Saudi Arabia aboard the AC-130H Spectre gunship Spirit 03 in response to Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm during the Gulf War. His role placed him directly in combat support of coalition ground forces operating in hostile environments.
On January 31, 1991, while providing fire support for U.S. Marine Corps units during the Battle of Khafji, Spirit 03 was struck by a surface-to-air missile and crashed into the Persian Gulf. Senior Master Sergeant Paul Garfield Buege was killed in action along with other members of the crew. The aircraft was later located, and the recovered remains of the crew were repatriated to the United States in March 1991.
Senior Master Sergeant Buege is laid to rest at Barrancas National Cemetery.
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About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life
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