Pete Bucher was born on September 1, 1927, in Pocatello, Idaho. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy on November 2, 1945, and went into the U.S. Naval Reserve on October 11, 1947, receiving a commission as an Ensign through the Navy ROTC program at the University of Nebraska in 1953. Ens Bucher went on active duty beginning January 23, 1954, and served aboard the amphibious force command ship USS Mount McKinley (AGC-7) before attending Submarine School at New London, Connecticut. His first two submarine assignments were as torpedo and gunnery officer aboard USS Besugo (SS-321) and as operations officer aboard USS Caiman (SS-323) before serving on the staff of the Commander, Minecraft, Pacific Fleet. His next assignment was as executive officer aboard the submarine USS Ronquil (SS-396) from 1961 to 1964, and then with Submarine Flotilla Seven at Yokosuka, Japan, from 1964 to 1967. CDR Bucher's next assignment was as Commanding Officer of the electronic and signals intelligence ship USS Pueblo (AGER-2) from May 1967 until he was captured and taken as a Prisoner of War aboard the ship by North Korea on January 23, 1968. After spending 336 days in captivity, CDR Bucher and his men from USS Pueblo were released by the North Koreans on December 23, 1968. After recuperating from his injuries, he servede at Puget Sound Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington, and then at NTS San Diego, California. After attending Naval Postgraduate School at Monterey, California, CDR Bucher served with Headquarters 11th Naval District in Lake Bluff, Illinois, and then on the staff of the Commander, Mine Flotilla ONE, before retiring from the Navy on June 1, 1973. Pete Bucher died on January 28, 2004, and was buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, California.