Robert Dedrick Buscher was born September 3, 1925 in Oneida, Madison County, NY to Dedrick H. Buscher (1886-1977) and Jennie Jacobson (1890-1942). Both his parents were from New York and they married on September 21, 1921 in Syracuse, NY. Both sets of his grandparents were from Germany. His dad owned and operated Buscher Brothers Sporting Goods Store in Oneida for 60 years. He had an older sister Jean (1922-1995). Robert must have been a good student as he was listed in local newspapers as making the Honor Roll in 1938 and 1939. His mom died in1942 at their home on 339 Seneca Street when he was just 16 years old. He graduated from Oneida High School (not sure the year, but likely about 1943).

He enlisted in the NY National Guard on February 15, 1943 and was with their Company G, 3rd. Regiment. He left the Guard in June 1943 to enlist in the Navy with service number 6013840. His service records recorded him as being 5'-11' tall, 125 pounds with blue eyes and brown hair. He did his training at Sampson Naval Training Station in Romulus NY, then in Memphis, Tenn at the Air Technical Training school there. From there he did more advanced training in Pensacola, Fla and finally San Diego, Ca. He was assigned to the Patrol Bombing Squadron 106 (VPB-106), nicknamed the "Wolverators" and sent to West Field, Tinian aboard the USS Republic (AP-33) in November 1944.

In February 1945, aircrews from the 106 began flying long- range reconnaissance missions over Truk and strikes against the Borodino Islands. In March, the squadron conducted strikes against the Japanese home islands. VPB-106 continued operations from Tinian until moving to Palawan in the Philippines in May 1945. From Palawan, the squadron flew 850- to 1,000-mile search, reconnaissance, and strike missions throughout Southeast Asia, ranging from Singapore, the Malay Peninsula, and Indochina to Borneo and the Celebes. July 1945 was the squadron’s last full month of combat operations, and after the cessation of hostilities on 15 August, the Wolverators returned to the West Coast.

On July 30, 1945, S1c Buscher was the radioman aboard a PB4Y-2 aircraft No. 59433, piloted by Lt. Joseph William Swiencicki from Palawan, Philippines on a patrol mission over the South China Sea. The plane was never heard from again. On January 5, 1950, almost five years later, Board Findings of "non-recoverable" were disapproved for the crew. Instead, documents in Buscher's IDPF hint at perhaps a more complicated fate. They note that "Interrogation of Japanese prisoners-of-war by representatives of the American Graves Registration Service, Philippine Command, and during the War Crimes Trials resulted in the determination that 23 American airmen had been captured and executed by the Japanese at the Solotar Naval Base, Singapore, British Federated Malay States. Eight of these were survivors of a PB4Y-2 aircraft which had been shot down by the Japanese warship Kamikaze off the coast of French Indo-China in July 1945 and taken to Singapore, on Singapore. The remains of those executed airmen were cremated, placed in two boxes and interred in a vault in the Japanese Cemetery and Crematorium, Singapore. No information is available concerning the identity of the survivors who were captured and subsequently executed." His was officially listed as Killed in Action a year and a day later, July 31, 1946 in compliance with Public Law 490.

In August 1946 The Secretary of the Navy wrote a letter to Mr. and Mrs. William S. Swiencicki, the parents of the pilot of Buscher's plane. The letter in its entirety is included in the Supporting Documents section.

S1c Buscher was awarded the Air Medal with 4 Gold Stars (signifies a total of five Air Medal awards) the Distinguished Flying Cross and a Purple Heart. His remains were never found and he was memorialized at the Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines. A cenotaph in his honor was also placed in the Glenwood Cemetery, Oneida, Madison County, NY. In May 1947, during commencement ceremonies at Oneida Senior High School, a bronze plaque in memory of the 31 former students who gave their lives while on active duty with the armed forces in World War II was dedicated. Robert Buscher's name, along with 30 of his classmates is etched on that plaque.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project. This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen on Together We Served and Fold3.

(Please see - http://www.storiesbehindthestars.org).

Can you help us write these stories? Together We Served and Fold3/Find A Grave have smartphone apps that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery and read these stories of WWII fallen.

If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute, please contact Jim Greenberg at jim.greenberg@oneonta.edu.

SBTSProject/New York/Oneida

Sources

Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Casualties, 1941-1945 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.

Aviation Archaeological Investigation and Research accessed at https://aviationarchaeology.com/listPages/navy/asp/USN_Type_PB4Y.asp on July 21, 2026.

Dad's FAG - Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/194020339/dedrick_herman-buscher: accessed July 22, 2026), memorial page for Dedrick Herman Buscher (11 Jan 1886–11 Nov 1977), Find a Grave Memorial ID 194020339, citing Woodlawn Cemetery, Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York, USA; Maintained by Cyndy (contributor 48718086).

"DFC Awarded To Wife of Missing Flier", Corpus Christi Times, Corpus Christi, Texas, June 4, 1946, pg. 2.

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/76972787/robert_d-buscher: accessed July 22, 2026), memorial page for Robert D. Buscher (3 Sep 1925–31 Jul 1946), Find a Grave Memorial ID 76972787, citing Glenwood Cemetery, Oneida, Madison County, New York, USA; Maintained by Andrew L. (contributor 46818829).

Lawson, Bob, August 1995, Proceedings, Vol. 121/8/1,110, U.S. Naval Institute website at https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1995/august/lest-we-forget accessed on July 22, 2026.

Mom's FAG - Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/179048787/jennie_elsie-buscher: accessed July 22, 2026), memorial page for Jennie Elsie Jacobsen Buscher (28 Sep 1890–7 Mar 1942), Find a Grave Memorial ID 179048787, citing Woodlawn Cemetery, Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York, USA; Maintained by Walt E. Smith (contributor 47029442).

The National Archives at College Park, Maryland; College Park, MD, USA; Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities, 01/01/1939 - 01/01/1949; Record Group Title: Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, 1798-2007; Record Group:: 24

The National Archives at College Park, Maryland; College Park, MD, USA; Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities, 01/01/1939 - 01/01/1949; Record Group Title: Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, 1798-2007; Record Group:: 24

New York State Archives; Albany, New York; Collection: New York, New York Guard Service Cards and Enlistment Records, 1906-1918, 1940-1948; Series: B2000; Film Number: 44

New York Guard monthly rosters, 1940-1946, Volume 11 accessed at New York State Museum website: https://nysmm.inmagic.com/Presto/content/Detail.aspx?ctID=ZDkxMzVjMzEtZjM3Mi00MDg2LWJkYWUtMDgxYzE4MjQ4ZjI5&rID=NTc5MDYz&qrs=RmFsc2U=&q=QnVzY2hlcg==&ph=VHJ1ZQ==&bckToL=VHJ1ZQ==&rrtc=VHJ1ZQ== on July 20, 2026.

New York State Department of Health; Albany, NY, USA; New York State Birth Index

"News Notes", Daily Sentinel, Rome, NY, June 11, 1943, pg. 6.

"Oneida Sailor Reported Missing", Utica Daily Press, Utica, NY, August 7, 1945, pg. 5.

"Seaman Robert Buscher Reported Missing in Pacific", Madison County Times, Chittenango, NY, August 10, 1945, pg. ?.

Sister's FAG - Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/129691259/jean-scott: accessed July 22, 2026), memorial page for Jean Buscher Scott (22 Oct 1922–1 May 1995), Find a Grave Memorial ID 129691259, citing White Chapel Memory Gardens, DeWitt, Onondaga County, New York, USA; Maintained by Tom C. (contributor 47524987).

US, World War II War Diaries, 1941-1945, Fleet Air Wing 10, War Diary, 7/1-31/45, page 7.

U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S., Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942-1949 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.

Year: 1930; Census Place: Oneida, Madison, New York; Page: 12B; Enumeration District: 0033; FHL microfilm: 2341181

Supporting Documents

The following three images are the 3 pages from S1c Buscher's IDPF documenting the disposition of the crew.