Enemy Prisoner of War Camps Named For FDNY 9/11 Heroes

[thedrifter]

Enemy Prisoner of War Camps Named For FDNY 9/11 Heroes
By Coalition Forces Land Component Command PAO

FORWARD-DEPLOYED LOCATION, Iraq ? Ronald Bucca. Mark Whitford. Peter Ganci.

Each name is connected with an individual act of personal courage. Each man died in the line of duty.

And now, the heroes will be remembered with honor, thousands of miles from where he gave his life to answer the final call.

Internment facilities and holding areas currently run by the 800th Military Police Brigade in Iraq were named after these New York City firefighters as a way to memorialize their sacrifice in the Sept. 11 tragedy.

The idea was first proposed during mobilization preparations at the unit?s home station in Uniondale, N.Y., by Col. Alan Ecke, brigade deputy commander and retired firefighter, according to Lt. Col. William Cline, brigade executive officer.

?We all agreed that it was a really good idea,? said Cline, who knew the Bucca family personally.

After the idea was proposed, the brigade checked with the widows of the men. They said they would be pleased to have their husbands remembered in this way, said Brig. Gen. Paul Hill, brigade commander.

When the brigade officially assumed command of the British Holding Area Freddy, April 7, the camp was named Camp Bucca in honor of Ronald Bucca.

?It?s a small gesture, but a very important one to us,? Hill said.

Fire Marshal Ronald Bucca, Fire Department of New York, was a reserve member of the 3413th Military Intelligence Detachment, a peacetime subordinate unit of the 800th MP Bde.

?He knew the World Trade Center in and out,? Cline said.

Bucca was a member of the terrorist task force and had been a member of Rescue 1, one of the most elite fire departments within the FDNY.

?He knew Rescue 1 was in [the World Trade Center] and was going to join them inside. One of his subordinates told him he didn?t have to go in there, but he went anyway,? Cline said. ?He died with people from Rescue 1, all the guys that he loved.?

Bucca was on the 74th floor of the second tower when it collapsed.

When it became apparent that there was no immediate need for another full-fledged internment facility, the brigade decided to name the holding area at Logistical Support Area Adder after firefighter Mark Whitford.

Mark Whitford was a firefighter with Engine Co. 23 and a member of the 331st MI Co., another peacetime subordinate of the 800th MP Bde. September 11, 2001, the Engine Co. raced to Ground Zero to conduct fire and rescue operations.

Whitford died when the towers collapsed.

Trans-Shipment Point Whitford, which is operated by the 744th MP Bn., a subordinate unit of the 800th MP Bn., is a holding area for enemy prisoners of war. EPWs are convoyed from this holding area to Camp Bucca by the brigade?s subordinate escort guard units.

The brigade?s second TSP was to be named after Fire Chief Peter Ganci, FDNY. Plans for the TSP were cancelled due to lack of EPWs.

Ganci, the highest-ranking uniformed firefighter in the department, was not a member of the 800th; however, his brother Army Reserve Col. Daniel Ganci is a member of the 77th Regional Support Command, the brigade?s peacetime higher headquarters.

Ganci was last seen on September 11, 2001, directing fire operations at the base of the Twin Towers.

?I think it?s [naming the facilities] a great idea,? said Ecke, who is retired from FDNY Ladder Co. 124 in the south Bronx, N.Y. ?They were the first casualties in this global war on terrorism.?

Spc. Matthew Sherlock, a reserve intelligence specialist and member of Engine Co. 2, Smithtown, N.Y., agrees. ?It?s a good way to honor them,? he said


Sempers,

Roger