SOA President Rick Estes announced today the “sad news” of the passing of former SOA Treasurer Pete Buscetto, 71. Pete passed away in his bed at home January 24 in Summerville, S.C., outside Charleston, said his son Chris Buscetto.
Rick Estes said, “It is my sad duty to report the passing of Pete Buscetto earlier today. Pete's many years of service to the SOA made him a very close friend to so many of us and will be greatly missed by all. The family will gather in the next day or two and make decisions regarding services. I told his son Chris how much he will be missed and that the SOA stood by to help anyway we can.”
Pete was appointed treasurer of the SOA in 2011 by the SOA Board of Directors to a three-year term in office. He was elected as treasurer in 2014 and again in 2017, but due to health issues was compelled to resign from his elected position during the summer of 2018. He joined the SOA in November 2000. He ran for director of the SOA in the early 2000 years and served on the SOA membership and by-laws committees working with then chairmen Ray Calafell and Ty Furbish.
Past SOA President John S. Meyer said, “In 2011, when the SOA board asked him to serve as treasurer, Pete stepped up to the plate and did all that we asked of him and more. He was a major asset to the SOA board and the SOA membership over the years. During my three-year term in office, Pete spent several hundred hours of his own time working to improve transparency of SOA financial reports as well as working with SOA tech staff improving on-line visibility and services for SOA members.”
SOA Membership Chairman Ray Frovarp said, “Pete was instrumental in developing the SOA website to include the ability to pay dues, apply for membership online and register for the annual reunion.
He was also instrumental in starting the annual CCS Southern Brotherhood Breakfast,” which began in 2012, working with former CCS commanding officer Col. Fred Lindsey, which brought together CCS recon men with all of the aviation units that served SOG recon teams running missions into Cambodia.
Meyer added, “In reflection, Pete said the period of his life that he was most proud of was serving as a SOG recon man, a Green Beret at CCS with RT Plane, at CCC and later trained SOG teams at Camp Long Thanh – the SOG training facility. He was the COO and president of CompUSA East, during a period of time that company grew to over $2 billion in revenues in 1992. He formed other companies, but his days in SOG were the highlight of his life, after marrying the love of his life Terry. In fact, he said that he often applied lessons learned from his recon days to business practices.”
SOA member Ben Lyons was CCS Recon team leader, One-Zero on RT Plane with Pete in 1971. “We ran six or seven missions together. He was real good in the jungle. On top of that, he was a good man and superb team mate. No ‘BS’ and no ‘Why this/why that/”crapopla with him unless he had a point to make and it was a good one. I never got the same questions twice from him and he always learned the first time. Can’t ask for much more out of a recon man...I’m real sorry to hear that he’s gone.”
Peter James Buscetto, was born June 14, 1947 to a career Air Force father, Bruce R. Buscetto. Being a military brat, Pete spent some of his childhood overseas, to include attending Ramsey High School in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. Pete played football in high school, both as team quarterback and linebacker. He often said he enjoyed playing linebacker more than quarterback because as a linebacker his job was “to mess with the other team’s offense, I loved doing that.” During that time he became an accomplished martial arts student. He continued his education by attending Chowan College, Murfreesboro, NC, earning a Business degree (1964-1966). Pete enjoyed spending time in the woods of North Carolina, which he said helped him to be a good recon man moving through the jungle on missions from CCS and CCC.
Pete joined the Army in 1968 and served with Command and Control South (CCS), MACV-SOG 1970-1971 as a member of Recon Team (RT) Plane. In 1971 Pete was sent from CCS to CCC, and then To Camp Long Thanh to work as an instructor. Pete left Vietnam in Oct. 1971.
After his return from Vietnam, Pete married Theresa (Daiuto) on 18 Nov 1972. They enjoyed 46 years of marriage and the union produced two children, Christopher Buscetto, and Stacey (Buscetto) Wettermann.
Pete was preceded in death by his step-mother, Ruth Adelaide (Crowell) Buscetto. He is survived by his father, Bruce R. Buscetto; wife Terry Buscetto; son Christopher and daughter Stacey Wettermann; sisters JoAnn Vergnolle, Deirdre M Buscetto, Nancy B Burns and brother Bruce Greg Buscetto.
In 2001, commenting on being a recon man with MACV-SOG, Pete wrote: “Only three things counted in those days: did the man pull his missions, was he any good in the woods, and would you go to the bush with him. These standards, once meet, formed a bond among us that will last a life time.”
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