Marine Corps, WW II showed Barrington man what’s important

Charles “Lynn” Buckingham lived a charmed life in upstate New York, graduating from prep school. That changed one week after turning 18, when he reported for duty with the Marine Corps. After 18 months of servicing airplanes, Lynn transferred to the Fleet Marine Force and headed to Guam to train for a Japanese invasion.

“I was a forward observer for a mortar crew in charge of the 81 mm mortar weapon. My job was to leave the base and find a place to observe the enemy. The mortar crew relied upon by coordinates to aim the mortar shell. Thank heaven, Harry Truman dropped the atomic bomb on Japan to end the war! He saved my life and the lives of about 100,000 Americans. But at the time, I was 20 years old and gung ho. I didn’t yet realize the horror of war and how truly fortunate I was.”

After Guam, Buckingham’s division went to the small town Tsing Tau in northern China, where they protected the harbor from Communists and put Japanese POWs on boats back to their homeland.

“I met JoAnne in Pittsburg when I was 35 and working for General Electric. Our apartments were in the same building complex. I came home from a business trip on a Saturday, and as I was walking up the stairs, JoAnne and a friend called out from the garden apartment, ‘Hey Buck, we’re having a party, why don’t you join us?’ I put my suitcase down and climbed through the window.”

Six months later, the two were married. They lived throughout the U.S., raised a family of three daughters and retired to Charlotte, N.C., and then Hilton Head, S.C. After JoAnne’s death, Buckingham relocated to The Garlands of Barrington.

Buckingham’s straight-back stance, measured gate and chiseled jaw — remnants from his military days — remain today. He credits his time with the Marine Corps for helping him know what’s important in life and his wife for helping him find it.