Archie Richard Pflugh was born in 1925 to Mr. and Mrs. Archibald Pflugh of Hoboken, N.J. He attended Saint Peter’s College from 1942-1943 but like several of his classmates, he left the College early to enlist in the United States Navy Reserve. He became a radioman 3rd Class and served on the USS Buck DD-420 in the Mediterranean Sea. On October 9, 1943, the USS Buck was on anti-submarine patrol off Salerno, Italy in the Tyrrhenian Sea area south of the Isle of Capri when it was hit in the bow by an enemy Gnat torpedo, causing the forward magazine to explode. The Buck sank within four minutes. See the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships for more information about the Buck.
Ninety-seven survivors were rescued, but Radioman Pflugh was not among them. His body was never recovered. Under the Missing Persons Act (Public Law 490, 77th Congress), he was declared dead on October 10, 1944. This is the required one-year and one-day after going "Missing in Action."
Radioman Pflugh was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. He was also given the WWII Victory Medal and the European, African, Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.
Radioman Plugh is remembered on monuments in Sicily and Rome, Italy.