I don’t drink much anymore. But I felt compelled. Just a shot of rum.
Sigh. I always thought my Dad and CDR Bucher had much in common, and Bucher was railroaded by the USN, IMO. I always felt bad for him...and his wife.
I was in RVN at the time and lived on a Navy base.
The Naval officers were not very kind to CDR Bucher during their critique of the event. I felt at the time that the Navy did not respond with forces available just a short time away and left him twisting in the wind.
Some Navy officers felt that he should have put up a fight with what pathetic inadequate weapons he had available on the ship in order to allow time for the destruction of equipment etc.
(These Navy guys were in a position to know.)