Colonel Crawford "Buck" Buchanan was born in Bryson City, North Carolina and was drafted into the U.S. Army at Fort Bragg, North Carolina on 23 October 1945. He attended Infantry OCS, Class 539, and was commissioned a lieutenant of Infantry on 3 July 1946. He served in the U.S. Army until 31 December 1977. His tour assignments include two tours in Korea, two tours in Vietnam, two tours in Germany, and one tour in Japan. He commanded four companies, two battalions, an Advanced Infantry Training Brigade and served one “challenging” year as Sergeant Major of a Medical General Laboratory. | Colonel Buchanan was the Honor graduate of the 1957 Armor Advanced Course at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He attended CGSC in 1959, Flight School in 1960, and The Army War College in 1969. He served as Chief of Staff/Deputy Commander of U.S. Army Aviation Center, Fort Rucker, Alabama (1973-1976), and was the U.S. Army Europe Aviation Officer at retirement. | Colonel Buchanan’s awards include the Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, Legion of Merit with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, Bronze Star with “V” device and Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Medal with “V” device and 12 Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with 2 Palms, Combat Infantryman Badge and Senior Aviator Badge. | Upon his retirement, Colonel Buchanan joined the School of Business faculty of Troy State University in Dothan, Alabama. He served as Instructor, Assistant Professor, Assistant Dean and the final three years as Dean of the School of Business. He received the Troy State at Dothan Outstanding Alumni Award in 1990. | Colonel Buchanan was inducted into the Infantry Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame on 12 June 1970.