Tuckahoe to honor fallen 9/11 FF

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Post office may honor Tuckahoe's Ronald Bucca

By KEN VALENTI

kvalenti@lohud.com

THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: March 30, 2006)

TUCKAHOE — Ronald Bucca, a New York City firefighter and village resident who died at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, is expected to be immortalized soon by the renaming of the village post office branch.

"This is his hometown. What better way of honoring him?" said Phil White, a past village mayor who is a leader of the effort.

A law to rename the postal facility at 7 Columbus Ave., introduced this month by Rep. Nita Lowey, D-Harrison, is being considered by the House of Representative's Committee on Government Reform. It is co-sponsored by all other 28 New York state representatives.

"We're honored," said Bucca's daughter, Jessica Bucca, a 28-year-old teacher at Tuckahoe High School. "You realize just how much of an impact my dad made."

She spoke on behalf of herself and her family — mother Eve Bucca and brother Ron Bucca — when she said they appreciated knowing how much her father was respected for his sacrifice.

"To have something in town named after him, it's ... a nice symbol," she said.

Bucca was 47 years old when he became the only fire marshal on the New York City Fire Department to die in the attacks. He had served 29 years in the military and had been a Green Beret. He received five Medals of Valor while serving with the 101st Airborne Division.

The 23-year veteran of the city Fire Department had been a fire marshal since 1992.

In 1986, he survived a five-story fall while trying to save a fellow firefighter.

"Here's a gentleman that served our country with distinction and valor and survived several tours of duty and then was killed in a terrorist act, an act of military aggression, frankly," said Town Supervisor Anthony S. Colavita of Eastchester, which includes Tuckahoe. "We felt a great sense of loss. The Tuckahoe post office is a very busy place and it seemed appropriate to name that governmental facility for a man who served his government and all of us so well."

Post office names are occasionally changed by acts of Congress, the U.S. Postal Service said. Michael Martino, Tuckahoe's current mayor, said the village board supported the effort. He described Bucca as a "quiet hero" who remained low-key despite his many deeds.

"It's our privilege to support the dedication," he said. "It's the least of what we could do in his memory and for his family. His contributions are just unbelievable."