Todd N. Bucher ¹

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Newspaper: Sunbury Daily Item: Wounded Marine Recovering, 29 Jul 2005. NORTHUMBERLAND \emdash Todd Bucher was severely wounded by a bomb in Iraq, but he considers himself fortunate.
"I am lucky to be alive," he said. "Somebody was watching over me. I was only two feet away from when it went off."
The Marines lance corporal was talking about the IED, or improvised explosive device, that detonated while he and other Marines were on foot patrol during the early morning hours of July 10 in Iraq.
"I only remember bits and pieces of what happened," said Mr. Bucher, who is at home with his mother, Debbie, for 30 days. He goes two days a week for physical therapy.
Another Marine was hurt in the explosion, but Mr. Bucher didn't know how badly he was injured.
"I just remember waking up on the ground and screaming for a medic," Mr. Bucher, 21, said Thursday.
He suffered multiple injuries from shrapnel.
"I have pain every day," he said. "Some days are worse than others. The pain is from all my wounds in my stomach, my hip, lower back and hand. My feet swell from shrapnel when I walk."
Shrapnel hit the entire left side of his body, along with both his hands and feet.
"I have 144 pieces in my left arm alone," he said. "A piece went through my back and my spleen had to be removed. I lost hearing in my left ear."
Doctors weren't able to remove all the shrapnel and he isn't sure if any more will be taken out. Besides the surgery when his spleen was removed, he underwent surgery to have the holes cleaned out in his hip and one hand.
He goes to Lebanon Veterans Hospital for physical therapy for his left hand.
He has limited movement in the hand and barely any strength. He expects therapists to work with his left leg as soon as they can. His mother, family or friends take turns driving him to the hospital.
Mr. Bucher, who uses a cane to walk, was able to come home after being taken off IVs at Bethesda Naval Hospital.
His mother dresses his seven large wounds.
"I have to pack them and put adhesive bandages on them," she said.
Mr. Bucher said he couldn't discuss where he was stationed in Iraq. He was with the 1st Battalion, Sixth Marines security patrol, whose mission was to "kill or capture the enemy and train Iraqi forces and win the hearts and minds of locals," he said.
He didn't want to discuss the Iraqi forces or the Iraqi people since his unit is still there.
"Service people over there are making it. There's no way to describe what it's like unless you're there," said Mr. Bucher who spent 4 1/2 months in Iraq. He previously served seven months in Afghanistan.
After the explosion, he was taken to Camp Fallujah and then flown to Germany.
His mother was notified 10 hours after he was injured. There's an eight-hour time difference between Iraq and the Valley.
"A staff sergeant called me and said he was injured, was in surgery, was in stable condition and took shrapnel wounds to the majority of his body," she said.
At that time, he was in Germany.
"I went numb and didn't know what to think. I was just devastated," she said.
The staff sergeant told her that her son would call her as soon as he was stable enough.
Mr. Bucher later phoned saying: "Hi Mom. I'm alive. I'm doing good."
His mother said, "I kind of broke down when I heard his voice."
After he was stable enough, he was flown July 15 to Bethesda, Md.
His mother arrived at the hospital followed by Mr. Bucher's father, Barry, of Michigan, and his brother, Nathan, 23, of South Carolina.
"I'm thankful he's alive. It could have been a lot worse," his mother said.
"The doctors and nurses at Bethesda were awesome," she added.
Since Mr. Bucher has been home, "The phone pretty much hasn't stopped ringing," he said.
The 2002 Shikellamy High School graduate joined the Marines in March 2003 and has 19 months to go.
He was influenced in joining the military by his grandfather, the late Donald Marks Sr., who served with the Navy, his grandfather, Douglas Bucher, of Sunbury, who was in the Army and two uncles in the Navy.
Mr. Bucher chose the Marines, saying "I went for the best of the best."
After the 30 days are up, he will head to Camp Lejeune to be evaluated on whether he will stay in the Marines.
Doctors expect the young man, who played baseball and basketball in school, to make a full recovery in about a year.
Regardless of whether he is discharged or continues to serve, he plans to go to college to study engineering or marketing.
He thanked everyone who sent cards and phoned. "I thank my family for everything they did and my girlfriend," he said.
His mother thanked all who supported him with prayers. "Thanks to Betty and Ronda Winters who were here for me 24-7," she said.