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As NY1 continues our week-long look back at the first anniversary of the war in Iraq, NY1's Amanda Farinacci introduces us to the family of a firefighter lost on September 11, 2001 whose son is now fighting overseas.
By Amanda Farinacci
It used to be when Joe and Astrid Bucca needed help with a small task like hanging a picture, they called their son Ronnie. A fire marshall and decorated soldier, Ronnie was one of 343 firefighters killed in the World Trade Center attacks.
“It just got the best of me; I miss that kid something awful,” says Joe. “And the story goes on and on.”
The story behind the 47-year-old's death is one of bravery and honor. Radio transmissions revealed he made it to the 79th floor of the South Tower, helping people down the stairs before the buildings collapsed.
Ronnie also responded to the 1993 Trade Center bombing, and then headed an FDNY terrorist task force. Some of his work on the investigation of the 1993 bombing is detailed in a book called "1,000 Years for Revenge," a book his mother can read only in small doses.
”It's hard to visualize that he knew all this stuff, because he never would say anything,” says Astrid. “He mentioned something he was in intelligence, but it was, ‘Shh!’ So it's amazing - I find a lot of things that I didn't even know. When it first happened a lot of people came up to me and said things that I never knew he did.”
But his story does go on through his son, also named Ronnie. The 23-year-old enlisted in the Army last March, and was sent overseas about a month ago.
“We tried to talk him out of it; you know, ‘Why do you want to go into the service?’ But he had his mind set on it,” says Astrid.
“He's pretty level-headed, pretty straight, and I tell you, he's a tough kid to keep up with,” says Joe. “His ideas run around and around, but he says he's going to follow in his father's footsteps.”
His grandmother thinks he's been sent to Baghdad, though she can't be sure. One thing she is sure of - a recently constructed military base called Camp Bucca was named after his father in Baghdad.
The Bucca family is rich in military tradition. Joe and each of his three sons all spent time overseas.
While Joe says he'd rather not see a war, he says sometimes it's necessary.
“You have to protect your democracy,” he says. “I mean, let's face it; we don't like it because when you have your loved one there it really hurts.”
One year after the war began, and nearly three years since she lost her son, Astrid says she still can't believe it all happened. She and her husband worry about their grandson, but say they know he's got an angel on his shoulder.
“I hope God watches him and I always pray to his father, that his father watches him from above, you know, because he's got to be up there; he was a good guy,” she says
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